Two World War II Watches Serviced and Repaired

Historic Hamilton 4992b G.C.T. 22 Jewel and famed Elgin Timer 7 Jewel Watch Repair

Sometimes important pieces of history come across my bench. These two beautiful watches in their original boxes preserved from WWII were cleaned, repaired and carefully brought back to perfect running condition. Some say the Hamilton 4992b is the finest production watch ever made. The unique 24-hour dial is pure military and highly sought after by collectors. Both these fine timepieces were used for navigation during the war. These watches were once owned by the late Theodore Brownyard and below is some background information provided by his stepson.

These two watches were cleaned, lubricated, repaired and regulated.  Placed on extended testing. Repair Complete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following information provided by Ted’s Stepson.

 

My step-father, Ted Brownyard was born in 1905 in rural Western Michigan. His father was a reluctant farmer who enjoyed reading and being a Township Supervisor more than tending to cows and planting crops. His son, Theodore, fully embraced his father’s dislike of farming and sought out every educational opportunity he could. Having obtained a BA degree from Western Michigan University, he taught high school for a couple of years and played golf with another ambitious farmer, Leon Gerber, who founded a baby food business to be able to use his machinery and employees on other than a seasonal basis.

Ted then obtained a scholarship to MIT where he studied physical engineering and worked for the Concrete Association. As WW II began, he volunteered for the Navy and was assigned to Navy Air. His eyesight disqualified him for pilot training but he excelled at navigation. He was soon designated as a Navigator Instructor and spend the rest of the war teaching navigation to airmen flying in PBY – flying boats. These planes were used primarily in air-sea rescue and lumbered across the skies at under 130 miles an hour. Consequently, the navigation was accomplished by a variation of how ships have used a sextant for years. There was a Plexiglas bubble on the top of the plane and the navigator used a variation of a sextant to make sightings of either the sun or stars, depending on the time of day. Then they could refer to charts and manuals that would if accompanied by accurate time, give them their position.

Obviously, it was necessary to have an accurate clock and each navigator was issued an official watch which they synchronized with the base clock before each flight. Some navigators, including Ted, also used stopwatches to further refine their estimates Towards the end of WWII, he was picked out to lead an effort to transfer PBYs to the Soviets in a Lend/Lease arrangement. He qualified to do this having taken one whole semester of Russian at MIT. He navigated dozens of flights over the northern pole route.

The two watches are his and I also have the original instrument for taking the sightings. We believe they stayed in his possession because he served as a Reserve Officer at the Commander rank for several years after the war ended. Ted went on to obtain a Ph.D. in physics and work as a civilian scientist for the Office of Naval Research until his retirement. He died in 1991. Being for Air Force use in WWII people staked their lives on the performance of these. This was a high-grade product of a company that took War production very seriously. They were also used on land and in Tanks.

They ran an ad that shows this watch. The copy reads “This is the Hamilton That Guided the tank That led the way Across the desert And won the Battle That turned the tide.”

In my view, this was the best widely distributed watch of the War. Rugged no, tough and reliable yes, lots of our fathers and grandfathers bet their lives on this instrument.

 

THANK YOU, TED FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!

 

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