Millitary Wristwatches During World War II

Official wristwatches were produced for the U.S. Army and other services during WW II. At that time, a watch was only considered necessary for ground and naval officers, aviators, and others with command or technical responsibilities. While official service watches were available, many enlisted men, and particularly officers, obtained their own stylish wristwatch or added a distinctive band to their military watch.

Army Air Force Type A-11 Wristwatch

The Type A-11 was produced in large numbers by Bulova, Elgin and Waltham for the Army Air Force and for the British RAF. Typical case marking for an A-11:

A.F. U.S. Army
Type A-11
Spec. No. 94-27834-6
Serial No. A.F.-45-xxxxx
MFR's Part No. 10616
ORD NO W-33-038ac-6600
Waltham

Part number above is for a Waltham watch -- Elgin would be part number 2114. The A-11 face and numerals are "military standard" in appearance with a black face, white markings, sweep second hand, and chrome plated case.

"ORD DEPT" Ordnance Watch Series

ORD DEPT Bulova Ordnance Watch Dial
Photo of the Bulova ORD Watch courtesy ebay seller A-Real-Find-Antiques.

ORD DEPT Bulova Ordnance Watch Back
Photo of the Bulova ORD Watch courtesy ebay seller A-Real-Find-Antiques.

A common watch with Army personnel was the "ORD DEPT" ordnance watch series, produced by most of the watch manufacturers during the war. There was a system of part number prefixes such as OC, OD, OF that indicated the type of movement, as explained under Ordnance Department Markings at this link.

The photos to the left and right show the dial and case back of a Bulova watch of this type. The maker's name may or many not appear on the watch back. This Bulova does have the name as the last line, but an example of a Hamiliton ORD DEPT watch just has "H1" at the bottom.

Hamilton R88-W-800 Wristwatch

Far less common, was the Hamilton R88-W-800 watch, produced by Hamilton for the Navy with black face and for the Marine Corps with white face. Only about 15,000 were produced. Typical case markings for this watch:

H-3
FSSC R88-W-800
MFR'S PART NO. 39103
HAMILTON WATCH CO.

U.S. Military Watch Bands

Watches were issued with a band, typically olive drab or black cotton. Watch bands were a separate item of issue for replacement. A typical one piece olive drab cotton band was "Strap, Wrist Watch" Stock No. F36-7198840, used to replace the band issued with the watch. You could buy a leather band in the PX if you didn't like the standard issue.

Recommended Books about Military Wrist Watches

Find More Information on the Web

There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.

For good results, try entering this: military wristwatch. Then click the Search button.

Especially recommended:

WW II U.S. Military Watches

Wrist watches were produced in large numbers during World War II for all the services. They had mechanical movements with a winding stem and typically had the hack feature, meaning that the second hand jumps from one second mark to the next, rather than move smoothly. This makes it more accurate to synchronize watches with others. Both black and white dial models were made, typically with a dull stainless steel or parkerized case and olive drab or black cotton band.

A rectangular watch on the wrist of a soldier manning one of the 16-inch coastal defense artillery guns, Ft. Story, VA, March 1942. This watch is in the style of the "Cartier Tank Watch", named for jeweler Louis Cartier, and widely copied in the 1930s and 1940s.