Thanks, Budge!

No probs, happy to share, it's the last Omega I own after my collection was stolen last year! The sad thing is that the thieves almost certainly wouldn't have known or appreciated what they got....such is life.

Budge

Below is a list of MkV Omega (BB) movement / case numbers. This is only 8 out of 40 or so watches which are known about - does anyone have an Omega watch they can add to the list?

I've assumed BBxxxx is BB-5000 and that Movement 4991xxx is 4991000 for the purposes of the graph below. Would help to get lots more data though.

Four MkV watches are known to be marked "Sth" on rear of case, no apparent logic or sequence:
BD1397 "STH 1754"
BG2695 "STH 1591"
BK6268 "STH 2801"
BE11069 "STH 1245"

Five MkV watches are known to be marked "GS Type" on the dial, possibly post-war marking added and no apparent logic or sequence? Three of these have been re-stamped A*M:
BD653, BG2695, CB3399, BB5468, BE29941

Another curiosity is when luminous watches were first commissioned. 22/220 MkV watches are luminous and in range 1567 to 8980. Night flying missings were common from early 1917. Also, two luminous MkIV watches have been found. Do you think these luminous watches were made such by the RFC/RAF before being issued to units? Surely a swiss watchmaker would not care much for such work?

hello there...i have just joined as i have been left a mark v non-luminous 30 hour watch...what i would describe as a fob, and it looks pretty much identical to many of the photo's that you have all contributed.
number is BK 1782, black face,with the A underlined on the reverse,atop the arrow.it is in perfect working order,and is near mint.
i dont collect watches of anything,just thought that you might like this info to add to your excellence in this subject thus far.
ah...why is the 'second' hand (which is seperate from the main dial and has its own twixt the 5 and 7) coloured black!! cant see the thing in day-light let alone any other time!!

Welcome, Gary. Thanks for posting the information on your Mark V watch.

If you know how to pop open the back, could you please tell us what is the marking on the movement inside the case?

The second hand in your watch is either just badly tarnished after all of these years, or it is an incorrect replacement. It should be brass colored, which when nice and clean is not hard to see against the black face.

There's a MkV watch CB 6147 on ebay at the moment. Interesting to note it has been hand-marked "13 MU" on the dial. In Oct 1938, the Home Aircraft Depot was renamed No.13 Maintenance Unit at RAF Henlow. 13MU became a massive unit responsible for repairing, modifying and assembling aircraft throughout WWII, with over 5,000 personnel and over 3,000 trainees. 13MU was disbanded in Sep 1947. A small glimpse back into history... did one of the 13MU techs claim this as his own, or might it have been used for some useful 13MU purpose?

I've just added BB188 to my collection. It's in working order and has the original cockpit mounting bracket!

A few others seen see on internet recently:

BE2154, BE4589 both Doxa NL
BG2695 Octava 8d NL
CB758 Zenith NL

Thanks, Bruce! This is great information.

That Mark V in its orginal bracket sounds great - would you be able to post a couple of nice clear photos of it?

Hi all.
If you are interested in a full gallery of CB 758, mentioned here by Bruce on the 24th (I hope "full enough", in any case 49 pictures of the PW plus last two of an "embellished" one) be so kind as to go to my site at url Mk V 30Hrs NL CB 758.
Thanks for your time & remarks (negatives one gladly accepted)

Here's a photo of my Omega BB-188...

BB-188, the ealiest Omega watch I have seen. Dial is marked 'Non-Luminous' but it clearly has luminous markings. Rear is marked "STH 1160"

BB-188, very tidy and working well. Movement 4969277, Case 5856813.

Thanks, Bruce. Could you please add another photo or two of the holder in which your Omega Mark V is sitting? Did this come together with the watch when you obtained it?

Also, the luminous markings and paint on the hands are a later addition. These watches were typically kept and used for many years by the RAF - with some being used as pocket watches into the 1930s and 1940s even. It is possible the luminous paint could have been added by the RAF repair facilities at some point, or it could be something that a civilian watchmaker added after the watch was in private hands at some point in its life. The same would be true for the bow in the winding stem.

Different WWI aircraft watch cases, but also stil in use in WWII!

. Gruesse/Regards/Salute Konrad Knirim
. konrad.knirim@t-online.de
PS: Have a look at my new book:
British Military Timepieces
. http://www.knirim.de

Thanks Konrad! I have not seen some of those cases before. Do you know whether they are all British, or are some from other countries? The reason I ask is that Britain was not the only country to use a pocket watch mounted in a holder.

Greetings All,

I came across this outstanding website and thread whilest doing a bit of research on an RFC Mark IVa watch I've just purchased online, and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of. Here is a photo of said watch:



It is tagged No. 4752AG and shows the signs of luminous numbers, (which from the photo appear to be original based on the discolouring). As can be seen, it also sports the A-Over-Arrow mark on both the face and back of the case. It's very nice that it has not had the bow modification made and I am hoping that when I have the opportunity to pop it open I will find an original, unaltered watch through and through. Any information or insight that any of you might have on this particular timepiece, (apart from the wealth of info that already resides in this thread), would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Lou

Just to add a new watch in I just purchased to day.

BE 2081. Mark V Non Luminous no movement markings or serial numbers. Unknown maker. Thanks

Photo of the above posted watch

Movement of the above post BE 2081

It looks more like BH than BE to my eye. Am I missing something?

I appologize....yes B.H. I don't know how that happend. Thank you.