Got this Longines A9 in a round grey can from a guy in TX. He said it was used by a Army A.C. flyer before WWII. Anybody have any more dope on these things?
Posts: 6492 | Location: Southern California in the USA | Registered: July 19, 2007
It has a Hack, and the way it is done is very "un-Longine-like", it is an interrupter slide on the side. Sorta reminds me of the Ingersol "sweepster" or some-such. When I cleaned this, it took some doing to free up the "Hack-Slide" so that you did not have to emulate a chevy truck commercial to pull it on or off. btw the static error is UNDER 2 sec/day av.
Case back detail
Posts: 6492 | Location: Southern California in the USA | Registered: July 19, 2007
The serial number indicates it was part of an order that was placed by the Army Air Corps in 1940, though it could have been delivered in 1941. This would place it right at the beginning of the war though for a great many others in another part of the world WW II can be said to have started before then - 1937 is one date most commonly cited. That was when Japan invaded China. 1937 is also the year the US began helping China with military advisors to resist the Japanese forces. The best known was General Claire Chenault who "retired" from the US Army and Navy to go to China to advise Chiang Kai Shek by creating a Chinese Air Force, even though his passport listed him as a farmer. Chenault is the also the one who formed the Flying Tigers made up of young "retired" Army Air Corps hot shot pilots to fly "surplus" P-40 fighter aircraft to attack Japanese occupation forces starting in April of 1941. The US officially entered the war in December of 1941 which is the date I was referring given that the watch under discussion is a US Army Air Corps watch. That was also when Chenault and his "retired" young Flying Tiger pilots all suddenly "un-retired" and were brought back into the Army and Navy.
Nice watch!
Posts: 874 | Location: Baltimore, Maryland USA | Registered: September 20, 2004
An old friend and mentor, Robert Lupton joined the RCAF and flew Spitfires all the way from 1939 through the North Africa campaign. In about 1956, he gave me a Spitfire clock which he had pulled out of a wreck in N. Africa. Seeing the 1980's, W.S. Phillips "Confrontation at Beachyhead" painting brought vividly to mind Bob's stories of those early years. I made a matching set of the clock and print that I keep that in my office to respect the early war years. I also have an autographed picture of "Pappy" Boyington's P-40, which he gave me during his later years living in Fresno. But that is a whole different story.
Posts: 6492 | Location: Southern California in the USA | Registered: July 19, 2007
Hello David, nice timepieces you have there. I just bought a Longines and on the back it has type A-13. Do you know where the difference is to yours, which is an A-9?
My WWW collection is now complete, time to look for new ventures!
Posts: 699 | Location: Hannover in Germany | Registered: July 23, 2009
Chenault is the also the one who formed the Flying Tigers made up of young "retired" Army Air Corps hot shot pilots to fly "surplus" P-40 fighter aircraft to attack Japanese occupation forces starting in April of 1941. The US officially entered the war in December of 1941 which is the date I was referring given that the watch under discussion is a US Army Air Corps watch. That was also when Chenault and his "retired" young Flying Tiger pilots all suddenly "un-retired" and were brought back into the Army and Navy.
