I would like to find a WWII airplane cockpit clock in very good condition. This will be a gift to my son who is in the Air Force. I will check any recommended sources, including members who may have one. Thanks!

Perhaps a member here can help you out, but otherwise I have found Ebay to be the largest source with the most different models. Whether you go with either Ebay or a NAWCC member, you need to do a little learning about telling a WW II vintage clock apart from a more recent one as knowledge about these is not widespread and misidentifications are common.

The first thing you need to do is decide on which model of clock you would like to buy. If you simply want 'any WW II vintage aircraft clock' my recommendation would be to find a Model A-11 panel clock. These have 1 and 7/8s inch dials, are simple 8-day clocks, were made by all of the major watch and clock makers of the era, and are very plentiful and inexpensive - relatively speaking. You should be able to find one of these in really nice condition and fully working, in the $60 to $100 range - depending on make and overall condition. Rougher examples and the occasional bargain would be less. Ebay completed auctions for these can give you a good idea of what they go for in good working condition. There are also fancier models up to the 5-dial aircraft chronometers that were used on the big bombers that go for more money.

In general there will be no way to tell which specific type of aircraft a particular clock was used as they were generic one-size fits most clocks. The 1 and 7/8s were used on every aircraft type while the models that are the larger 2 and 7/8 inch size were used on larger aircraft since they took up more room on the instrument panel. If a seller tries to tell you their clock came from a P-51 Mustang or a P-38 Lightning some other famous type of aircraft you should not believe them - even though they themselves may even believe this - unless they can provide some really serious provenance that proves the claim without a shadow of a doubt. A story that 'the old WW II vet I bought it from and who took it out of the aircraft told me so' carries little credence. Those stories are like the 'this pocket watch belonged to Hitler himself and was taken from his headquarters personally by the vet' since if that were true, with all of these such pocket watches on the market today AH would have to have owned thousands of them.

The key thing to look for is a clock with its data plate on the back of the case intact. Then look at the clock's serial number. It will start with either AC or AF and then two numbers and then a hyphen followed by a longer number. The two numbers after the letters will be the year in which the Army Air Corps or Army Air Force ordered it. You will want one that starts with 41 through 44. If you buy one that was ordered in 1945 there will be no way to tell whether it was delivered and used before the war ended. If you would like any advice on something that you find please just ask! One last thing - keep in mind that these clocks have radium markings and so you will want to be sure your son keeps it somewhere that a small child will not be able to get at it.

Try Ray Brack

He restores them to flight worthy status for the restored war birds.

Email Is:wb7upp
E-mail Address(es):
wb7upp@dc.rr.com

I think he has all WWI and II models.

They are all restored and run perfectly.

He also does restorations including making new balance stems, knobs and restoring luminous faces.

If you don't repair clocks then if you Ebay it make sure it is running.