How was the 4992B released to the open market? Have batches been sold off to commercial bodies for resale? Were they released to individuals? Are many of the watches we hold still technically property of some government agency?

Peter
UK

I understand a little of both. Some were "liberated" and after the war, some were sold in the PX (Post Exchange) to the military personnel.

Charlie

While some stuff went home with the troops, we can't ignore the great surplus boom.

In the post WWII U.S.,items like watches, tents, helmets, rope, and so forth, were auctioned off in various bulk lots to surplus dealers. From the late 1940's 'till at least the early 1970's, you could walk into an Army Navy Surplus store and find almost anything for cheap prices.

The public came to expect Govt. surplus to be sold cheap. For this reason, some dealers removed military markings or re-cased surplus watches so they could be sold in retail stores. Surplus watches were also offered in magazines, the adds can be found in vintage u.S. sporting magazines from the 1950's.

Parts were available to transform the 4992B into a 12 hour watch, and sometimes these transformed watches are found on eBay.

Best regards,
Greg

Watches and clocks were not considered to be expendable material. In theory, legally speaking any watch or clock that was stolen from the U.S. Army or Navy is considered to be stolen property no matter how much time has passed. For example, wrecks of WW II ships and aircraft that were lost at sea or other places are still considered the property of the Army or Navy. Practically speaking I don't think there is any real way to tell the difference between a stolen timepiece and one that was sold off as surplus, especially since the surplused ones were sold off for so many years in such huge numbers.

There is a related problem of other kinds of stolen property that was taken by soldiers from civilians during the war when they came across houses and stores that were on the battlefield. There is an international legal effort these days for some the most valuable items to be returned to their owners, but it is a very tiny drop in the bucket. The stress of war makes otherwise honest people do things they would never think of in real life, beyond the killing and destruction.

Thanks gents for your thoughts. I was born in Liverpool (UK!) and after the second world war there was at least five surplus stores there, mainly trading in electronic/radio goods. But I do not ever remember seeing a timepiece for sale. There were tales of USAF surplus stuff being tipped down local mineshafts. Maybe because the timepieces had wider appeal they were disposed of via more specialist outlets.

Peter

As far as surplus watches in the post-war U.K., it's not unusual to find military General Service (GS/TP or GS MKII)pocket watches with the name of a retailer, such as "Bravingtons" stamped into the back. Maybe this was sufficient instead of altering the broad arrow, as was done in earlier times when the Crown sold surplus.

Further, it has been related to me, that some of the major watchmakers had contracts which called for the distruction of their watches when no longer needed, so as to avoid a glut of watches disrupting the post-war market. I'm not all that sure if this story is true, but there you have it for what it's worth.

Best regards,

Greg

The U.S. government is always selling off surplus property, including military timepieces. The way they usually do it these days is by direct auction to the public. Here is a link to a current auction being run by the U.S. military that has things in it like mechanical aircraft clocks, stopwatches, etc. I wonder what kind of aircraft clock the fourth item is? It is shown as having originally cost $1,100, or how about that "crystal clock" that originally cost $7,765.77!

Current U.S. government auction to the public of military timepieces