WWII 1940 Pattern American Army Ordnance / ORD Watch (Automatic)
SKU: ORD1/AU In WWII Ordnance watches were made for the US military by Waltham, Hamilton, Bulova and Elgin. The original watches were made of nickel-plated brass because wartime conditions and shortages of raw materials precluded the use of stainless steel, as a consequence the original watches were not very durable hence finding one in good and sound condition today can be very challenging. The original watches were very small and measured 33/34mm but we increased the size slightly to 36.5 mm excluding the crown and 39 mm including the crown. The US Army Ordnance Department watches were intended for use by non-aviation personnel; the A-11 which is similar but with a black dial was the USAAF equivalent for aircrew. The interesting thing about the designs for the U.S military is that the British War Office procured a very similar timepiece in 1938 which was two years before the ORD watches hence the reason the watches both look pretty much identical. Before WWII and particularly during