I picked up an Elgin Jitter Bug timer with what appears to be the orginal box.

My question is mainly on the box, as you can see in the photos the box stamped C.I. Irons 0-700806. The box has a white label showing it to be an Ground Speed Navigation Watch, the serial number on the box matches the serial number on the case back engravings. There is also a stamp that was placed on both the label & box which also leads me to belive the box is orginal.

I was wondering if anyone has any information on the CI Irons or why that name would appear on the box.

Thanks
Tom

Face of timer

The markings on the case are readable but hard to photograph

The gold flashed movement

I have seen names and numbers like that on U.S. military items such as field packs, jackets, hats, etc.

My guess is that it's the name and serial number of the person to whom the watch was issued.

Greg

Thanks, you know I never even thought of that, when I was in everything had my name & service number, so I bet that is what that might be. I will see if by chance that fits into a service number.

Tom

Well it is not a service number, they were 8 digits, guess I will keep searching.

Tom

Tom nice find with the original box here one I got for 20.00 it did not work but by taking the regulator of and a few drop's of oil it started to work just find one of these day's I will get it done right.



I think Greg mite be right that's it's the name and serial no of the person it was issued to.I would not of thought of that one.

2nd/Lt Clement Issac Irons service number O-700806 was the Navigator on board a Fortess (42-31786) that was shot down over Germany on 8 May 1944. He was captured and became a POW.

http://www.footnote.com/browse.php#All|29030814

In case that link is bad try this one

http://www.footnote.com/image/29030814/

Craig

Thank you very much for that link, I would say that is the orginal owner of this watch.

Tom

After that great info. found by Craig, I located that Mr. Irons was born in 1921 in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, he apparently made it home after the war, I found a site that has a video interview of him about his time in the war. The video isn't available on line.

This adds some great history to the timer.

Thank you all for your help.

Tom

My father was a Army Air Force squadron commander in the war and his serial number is of the same format as this one. Maybe the AAF used this format and other branches of the military used slightly different ones?

It was not entirely uncommon for men during the war to have rubber stamps made up with the their names and serial numbers so they could stamp their possessions. They had so many things that looked like everyone elses' things that this was a useful thing to do.

These A8 timers evidently became very useful for claculating altitude over targets (time of fall of bombs), airspeed (point to point timing), and Artillery Range indication, just to mention a few. While the Elgin "Jitterbug" was the best known, the "A8" specification was also met by other contractors including Waltham and "Aristo" (Swiss), the below pictures show each type, and I must add that the Aristo is totally unique because it had a very short throw "resonating" balance wheel that actually stopped movement when the time stopped. Quite different from Waltham and Elgin which ran until the mainspring was exhausted. Also, the Elgin movement pictured is in a 3-hinge British Broad Arrow Marked case. These timers were all significant in their contribution to a more effective military force during WWII . . .

. . . and Korea. I wish this one could talk, I am sure there is a very important story there.

A little timer can have quite a story! Do you suppose it was left at the base or taken from the pilot by the Germans? Good thing the marked box was kept with the watch.

Hi

I am guessing he must have left it, I can not imagine it made it out of a crash & then it would have been taken by the Germans when he became a POW. From what I have been able to find on the owner Mr. Irons, he retired from the military as a Colonel in 1965 & served from 1942-1965. He was with the 385th Bomb Group as a navagaitor.

Tom

Tom...That is just a great find and to have this kind of history is almost unheard of. I have one of those timers but have no history. What a difference it makes having the background. Congratulations!

Roger

Thanks for the comments Roger, I had orginally planned on trying to sell this but now that the history has been discovered it might be hard to part with. It is one of the few watches that I have any history on.

Not sure how well this will show but this is the report of the lost aircraft & crew including CI Irons, the service number matches the one on the box.

Tom