Hello-
This is the Elgin 8 day clock referred to in my prior post the B-17 was on a training flight in 1943 when it developed engine trouble forcing the pilot to set the bomber down on the desert, where the crew escaped but the plane was engulfed by flames. I recovered this clock from the debris- the crystal and housing are gone. I thought it would be very interesting to have this restored back to running condition. Anyone think this could be done with the help of spare parts from another clock and a good clock repair shop, or is this clock too far gone?

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It is my personal opinion that if you were to restore this clock to its original condition & configuration you would completely lose any of the historic significance attached thereto, and in doing so would lose the story of where & how you recovered it, and it would just become another WWII aircraft clock.

If it were mine, and I was so inclined, I would research the aircraft and its crew members, and possibly follow them through to the end of the war....and then do a nice write-up about it.

As stated above.........that's only my opinion.

Marty

I followed the crew through the war and found that they unfortunately were KIA over Belgium in 1945.
I'd still like to explore how much effort it would take to get the clock restored and back to running, but what about cleaning. I have literally done nothing to it so there is a fair amount of dirt and grime on the face. Would a mild oap take some of the dirt off without removing the finish?

To get this clock working would require taking almost all of the parts out of a working example and then fitting them all in the plates of this one. In my opinion, after all that money and time spent you would end up with two wrecked historical clocks.

To do justice to the history of this artifact, it might be interesting to buy a good working example of this clock and an original period postcard/photo of the B17. Then mount the two clocks and photo into a shadowbox or frame. The working clock next to the severely damaged clock would give it some contrast and historical punch.

I agree with the others that restoration of this clock would be unfortunate and would remove the story of it - or the 'ghosts in the machine' that make this one so appealing.

I am sure you can find a good watchmaker to do the repairs but as Greg mentions, in the end you would likely have to replace almost all of the mechanism, the hands, the dial, the case, the winding stem, etc. The reason is how much is already missing plus the substantial rust which has eaten into the teeth of the gears and ruining them, and who knows what else once you get it apart. If you tried to keep the dial and refinished it, it would take a substantial amount of grinding and polishing to get it down to just a plain bare metal disk, then you would need to paint it with modern paint and markings which never looks right.

You can buy one of these in very nice working condition for about 10 percent of what it may cost you to have this rebuilt when you consider all of the work, and in the end it would only be a small fraction of original parts so that it would be mostly be 90 percent or more un-original.

My suggestion is to get it 'conserved' and not restored. Conservation would clean it up a bit and stabilize the rust from spreading.

Thanks to all who responded. It is clear now that any attempt at restoration will only diminish the value and historical significance- which or course is the last thing I want to do! It looks like conserving it would be the best option.

I have a few other interesting parts from this Fortress crash and have been wanting to display them in a shadow box as Greg mentioned. Excellent idea to place this clock next to a period one for a 'what it used to look like' comparison. Which bring me to another question or two- is this an Elgin A-11 or 5743? What does the '562' engraved on the movement mean? I tried an internet search but could not find much.
Thanks

Paul,

Grade: 562
Named for: None
Description: Grade 562, 22 size, 8 jewels, made about 1942.
Sweep seconds hand. Pendent wind and set. Three-quarter plate.

Info from:
http://elgintime.dyndns-home.c...umLookup?SN=41000693

Hope this helps

Steve

Excellent Elgin clock resource, Steve. Thanks!