tinker2
136
Royal Navy Chrono
Military history and my profession intersect in a big way, so I did a bit of research into my Lemania Series I nuclear submarine chrono that I acquired last year while living in London for work. I fell in love with the watch instantly (I already owned a series III). Visually, it is IMHO, gorgeous. Total tool watch, incredibly legible, and, because it spent most of its life underwater, not very harmed by the sun.
It has the Lemania cal. 2220 in it, a mono pusher movement that is almost identical to the Lemania 2310 (dual pusher), which is the same as the Omega 321 in the Speedmasters. This movement is good enough for space *and* good enough for a nuclear submarine (as well as the base movement for Patek Phlippe as Ch-27-70, and in VC, Dubuis). Here is this one, from 1962 (check out those springs!):
The seller, an expert in military watches, felt confident it was used on HMS DREADNOUGHT, the UK's first nuclear powered sub (the watch has no lume because the lume would trigger the on-board monitoring devices for radiation).
Sure enough, it's dated 1962 on the inner caseback, and DREADNOUGHT made her first dive in January of 1963. So... logic dictates that if a nuclear submarine watch existed at the same time of the only UK nuclear sub existed, the watch must have been on board.
Well, I spent some time digging, and eventually found this old Pathe film on the Dreadnought... Take a look at this watch-- I'm thinking same model, yes? On a bonklip (which they almost all wore at the time)
Pretty cool IMHO!!
This series 1 version is extremely rare, and I am guessing only the first crew or so of the Dreadnought had them. Only 6, maybe 8 are known to exist, as opposed to the asymmetrical cased Series 3, which started production mid-60s, and might number 200-300 made. I have my 1967 version Series 3 below, next to the Series 1.
These watches get a *ton* of wrist time.
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Royal Navy Chrono
Military history and my profession intersect in a big way, so I did a bit of research into my Lemania Series I nuclear submarine chrono that I acquired last year while living in London for work. I fell in love with the watch instantly (I already owned a s...
Thanks for the background
That movie might have been filmed on a set - it looks too spacious! The watch looks like it would fit right in though. Cheers, Cazalea ...
Probably not, it's a Soviet boat from a bit later in the same era
I have been on some US submarines too but the pictures are escaping me right now. In the mid-Sixties, one of my college buddies was on the Dixon, a sub tender here in San Diego. And I had a couple other pals on the subs. I think I'll dig up some photos an...
I was about to ask how a soviet boat ended up on yankee shores
You were way ahead of me!
Very interesting stuff!
And a lovely watch to boot. As an aside, I wonder what would've been used on the most famous of all ships named Dreadnought: I suppose it couldn't have been a wristwatch, at least not in the earlier parts of the ship's service life. ...
this model is the royal navy nuclear submarine fleet-series two- nato stamp no -stamped on the screw back-0552/924-3312-shock protection version of calibre 15cht
series one has different version -white dial (square and round hour markers) and different blued steel hands-for 0552/924-3312 series one had no shock protection-series two and three does have shock protection series one((gold plating) does not have nicke...
you know your stuff
i thought what you are describing is a series 2… but haven’t been able to find any confirmation either way. do you think series one and two were contemporary? my example is definitely 1962, which is the earliest possible time such a non-lumed model would ...
series 1 were first issued 1945-1950-calibre 15cht
series 2( which you bought in london) was first issued roughly between 1950-55-calibre 15cht series 3 was first issued 1957-70-calibre 2220. this is when they were FIRST issued. are you sure that 1962 is a date?photo of the inside of the screw back could ...
Couple questions
Here is a picture of my two watches and the only example I have seen anywhere of what I thought was the Series 2 (on the far right, next to my two examples the day I bought the one on the left), but I'm sure you must be correct that it's a series one, and...
from the photo of the three series together
left one=series 2 middle one=series 3 right one=series 1 notice the crown on the dial above lemania-not on series 2 and 3 on the other side of the screw back cover below the nato no there will be a 4 digit number what are they? the series 2 case back scre...