GG-W-113 Military Watch
GG-W-113 Military Watch
US Military Issue
GG-W-113 was a spec released in 1967 and was issued concurrently for many years. The differentiation was that it featured exclusively a 17-jewel, manual-wind and hacking movement and a “sterile” dial for legibility. These watches were meant for issue to pilots and were produced by Benrus, Hamilton, Marathon, and Altus. They produced between 1967 and the late 1980’s, when quartz movements began to gain popularity and start replacing mechanical models. They were utilized most prominently in the Vietnam War, but may also have been deployed in conflicts within the Persian Gulf and other middle eastern theatres.
Technical Requirements
- A mechanical movement with an accuracy of +- 30 seconds per day
- 17 Jewels
- A hacking mechanism
- Shock resistance (must survive a fall from 4 feet onto a wooden block)
- Waterproofness
- Luminous Hands (using Tritium)
- Antimagnetic
- Minimum of 36 hour power reserve
There is generally some confusion between the GG-W-113 specification and its predecessor, the MIL-W-3818B. Although both of these watches look nearly identical, the GG-W-113 was issued to military pilots while the MIL-W-3818B was issued to troops on the ground. The MIL-W-3818B movement was generally considered lower quality, and differed primarily in its jewel count. Additionally, some of the field troop models lacked a hacking movement.
All of these watches will bear case back markings with contract type, federal stock number, manufacturing part number, contract number, manufacture month and year, and serial number. These marking make it easy to identify the manufacturer and year of issue.
