WWII Pilot Watch

[sdennison]

I need the help of WIX brain. I'm looking for a vintage pilot watch, plain and simple black dial, sweep second hand, hack capable.

Any directions? Thanks.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Your looking for an A-11 pilot's hack Watch. They're out there, but usually not too cheap. This one is on Ebay right now, but it doesn't work and no band. Waltham, Elgin, Bulova and several other companies made them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WW-2-era-BULOVA ... 3ccccbb0e3

i picked one up years ago at a flea market. It didn't work, but my wife took it to a jeweler and $30.00 bucks later I had an original working watch for a fraction of the cost!
Jerry

[sdennison]

Correctamundo. Looking for that Mustang in a barn, ya know?

[JDK]

Looking for that Mustang in a barn, ya know?

Just make sure the correct gates are open, and the hay trail leads from the right paddock to the barn, and there y'go.

[shrike]

Bulova, at least have made some pretty good semi-replica watches lately. I'm wearing (or was til I took it off to read the back) their model 96A19, billed as a WWII hack replica.http://www.amazon.com/Bulova-96A19-Canvas-Strap-Watch/dp/B000JDY3XS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353990738&sr=8-2&keywords=bulova+hack
They have a few others in the same vein.
The only downside is that the bands, while beautiful, don't hold up well

[mike furline]

Here's some info on the A-11,
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f7/wristwa ... 07560.html

[Forgotten Field]

I have a really good clock-maker who works on my watches and clocks and here are some things I have learned owning WWII clocks and from him working on them. WWII clocks and watches have several parts issues which make them a bit difficult to work on. Almost any watch maker can work on them and can probably make them work. But that is the same as saying any A&P can make a P-51 run. Your watch might run for a while, but long-term is a big question. I recommend using somebody who provides a 6 month guarantee (like we do on my guy's work) and spending the time finding a good one. A WWII Bulova, Elgin, or Hamilton A-11 would be a good investment if it's done right, but you are realistically looking at $200 + to get one that runs well with a guarantee. I stay mostly with the aircraft clocks and don't have an A-11 wrist watch in my collection, but if you get a good one, my guy can work on it.