Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.
MWC 65 - American Airman 1950s
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, Aug 23, 2016 at 09:23 PM (36414 Views)
Towards the end of the World War II, the US company Waltham was charged with developing the successor to the highly acclaimed A11 military watch that had been produced by Elgin, Waltham and Bulova.
Although the A11 was very successful there was a need to update the pattern and improve legibility, especially in reduced lighting conditions. By 1947 pre-production models of the A17 were being made, designated under pattern MIL-W-6433 specification the new watches had Radioactive luminous dials, and additional minute numbers and a secondary 13-24 hour 'Military-Time' scale.
Waltham produced three batches in 1950, 1952 and 1956 and the watch was the one issued to US air force pilots during this period, including the Korean War.
The watch was further developed into the A-17A type which was also produced by Elgin and Bulova.
Case
Polished 31mm case, 33.5mm with crown, 8.2mm deep, 40mm Lug to Lug, 16mm lug width.
Interior diameter 25.7mm, 6mm deep, 5mm crown, 25mm flat glass, moulded coin edge bezel
Dial
2dmm Black dial, white minutes scale with Arabic numbers at 5-minute marks, white Arabic hour markers 1 through 12 and additional smaller 13-24 hour scale
Polished needle style Hour and Minute hands with white infill, and a slim polished centre seconds hand
Strap
Tan 16mm Nylon strap, polished buckle, approx. fitting 165/215mm
The Elgin A11...
And the MWC 32, Canadian pilot that was an early A11 type, even though it has a white dial and not US airforce specification.