MIL-W-46374

Last updated

MIL-W-46374 is a specification first published on October 30, 1964, [1] for US military watches. [2] The 46374 was specified as an accurate, disposable watch. In its span, it encompassed metal and plastic cased watches with both mechanical and quartz movements. [2] The 46374 replaced the MIL-W-3818, reducing cost and inheriting the dial from the MIL-W-3818B. These were lower quality watches than the 15 jewel movements, the transition started as US involvement in Vietnam ramped up. [3]

Contents

Revision A was released in 1968. Regarding Revision B from 1976, it "added radiation symbols to the dial, indicating that the luminous markers were radioactive, H3 for tritium. Revision D (1986) expanded the scope of the specification to encompass a wider range of watches." [2]

Pilots, divers, and other specialties continue to have military watches available for issue.

Dial font

In 1957 the DOD released MIL-C-18012A, a specification detailing the legibility of numerical displays for aircraft dials and readouts, and updated it with MIL-C-18012B in 1964. At the same time as 18012B was released, so was 46374. [3] The font 46374 inherited from W3818B is unique, "It borrows elements from the super legible Futura and Gothic style fonts of the day but it is mostly influenced by the numerical font shown in MIL-C-18012A (This font itself borrowed heavily from the Grotesk fonts of the 1920s - later known as the German DIN fonts of the 1970s). Look particularly at the flat-topped "3" and the simple geometric shapes of the other numbers. Although the numbers used on the watches (both MIL-W-46374 and the earlier MIL-W-3818B) are more rounded and bolder, the only significant departure the watch designers seem to have taken is with the "9" and "6" which have rounded and more curved tails." [3] Uncluttered, legible dial designs like the Waltham A-13, and the Chelsea Army Message Center Clock (Mark I) inspired the US Army’s Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia who created the dial specifications and designs, and "The minute hand in the Mark I Chelsea seems to have lent a strong influence to the hand designs used in MIL-W-3818B watches." [3]

Revisions

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watch</span> Personal timepiece

A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or other type of bracelet, including metal bands, leather straps, or any other kind of bracelet. A pocket watch is designed for a person to carry in a pocket, often attached to a chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydraulic fluid</span> Medium to transfer power in hydraulic machinery

A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoes, hydraulic brakes, power steering systems, automatic transmissions, garbage trucks, aircraft flight control systems, lifts, and industrial machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eco-Drive</span> Model range of watches by Citizen

Eco-Drive is a model range of watches manufactured and marketed worldwide by Citizen Watch Co., Ltd., powered primarily by light. As of 2007, the company estimated the drive system had eliminated the disposal of ten million batteries in North America.

A foot-lambert or footlambert is a unit of luminance in United States customary units and some other unit systems. A foot-lambert equals 1/π or 0.3183 candela per square foot, or 3.426 candela per square meter. The foot-lambert is named after Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777), a Swiss-German mathematician, physicist and astronomer. It is rarely used by electrical and lighting engineers, who prefer the candela per square foot or candela per square meter units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminous paint</span> Paint that glows in the dark

Luminous paint or luminescent paint is paint that exhibits luminescence. In other words, it gives off visible light through fluorescence, phosphorescence, or radioluminescence. There are three types of luminous paints: fluorescent paint, phosphorescent paint and radioluminescent paint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water Resistant mark</span> Common mark stamped on the back of watches

Water Resistant is a common mark stamped on the back of wrist watches to indicate how well a watch is sealed against the ingress of water. It is usually accompanied by an indication of the static test pressure that a sample of newly manufactured watches were exposed to in a leakage test. The test pressure can be indicated either directly in units of pressure such as bar, atmospheres, or as an equivalent water depth in metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminox</span>

Luminox is a high-end watchmaker based in San Rafael, California. Their watches are Swiss made and are notable for containing tritium inserts, providing long-term luminescence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolex Submariner</span> Line of sports watches by Rolex

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner is a line of sports watches designed for diving and manufactured by Rolex, resistant to water and corrosion. The first Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Basel Watch Fair. It was the first watch to be waterproof up to 100m. The Rolex Submariner is considered "a classic among wristwatches", manufactured by one of the most widely recognized luxury brands in the world. Due to its huge popularity, there are many homage watches by well-established watchmakers, as well as illegal counterfeits. The Rolex Submariner is part of Rolex's Oyster Perpetual line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diving watch</span> Watch designed for underwater diving

A diving watch, also commonly referred to as a diver's or dive watch, is a watch designed for underwater diving that features, as a minimum, a water resistance greater than 1.0 MPa (10 atm), the equivalent of 100 m (330 ft). The typical diver's watch will have a water resistance of around 200 to 300 m, though modern technology allows the creation of diving watches that can go much deeper. A true contemporary diver's watch is in accordance with the ISO 6425 standard, which defines test standards and features for watches suitable for diving with underwater breathing apparatus in depths of 100 m (330 ft) or more. Watches conforming to ISO 6425 are marked with the word DIVER'S to distinguish ISO 6425 conformant diving watches from watches that might not be suitable for actual scuba diving.

The United States Military Specification referred to as MIL-L-63460, "Military Specification, Lubricant, Cleaner and Preservative for Weapons and Weapons Systems" covers a type of cleaner, lubricant, and preservative used for weapons and weapons systems. This product is referred to in the US military and sold in commercial markets under the name CLP, which is short for Cleans Lubes and Protects.

Officine Panerai is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quartz crisis</span> 1970s–80s watchmaking industry upheaval

The quartz crisis was the upheaval in the watchmaking industry caused by the advent of quartz watches in the 1970s and early 1980s, that largely replaced mechanical watches around the world. It caused a significant decline of the Swiss watchmaking industry, which chose to remain focused on traditional mechanical watches, while the majority of the world's watch production shifted to Japanese companies such as Seiko, Citizen, and Casio which embraced the new electronic technology.

Cammenga is an outdoors products company, known chiefly for producing navigation equipment under contract for United States Armed Forces. They are the official supplier of the M-1950 lensatic field compass issued to U.S. Army and Marine Corps infantry and artillery units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super-LumiNova</span> Photoluminescent pigment

Super-LumiNova is a brand name under which strontium aluminate–based non-radioactive and nontoxic photoluminescent or afterglow pigments for illuminating markings on watch dials, hands and bezels, etc. in the dark are marketed. This technology offers up to ten times higher brightness than previous zinc sulfide–based materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Military connector specifications</span>

Electrical or fiber-optic connectors used by U.S. Department of Defense were originally developed in the 1930s for severe aeronautical and tactical service applications, and the Type "AN" (Army-Navy) series set the standard for modern military circular connectors. These connectors, and their evolutionary derivatives, are often called Military Standard, "MIL-STD", or (informally) "MIL-SPEC" or sometimes "MS" connectors. They are now used in aerospace, industrial, marine, and even automotive commercial applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omega Seamaster Omegamatic</span>

The Omega Seamaster 200 Omegamatic is a midsize automatic quartz watch that Omega produced from 1997 until 2000. It has stainless steel case and bracelet, screw-in crown and caseback, engraved with the Omega Hippocamp logo, 200 meters water resistant, unidirectional bezel, silver or black dial with orange accents, sapphire crystal (anti-reflective) with magnifying (cyclops) date window, case diameter 36mm, 2.4V capacitor, rotor charging micro generator, quartz controlled stepper motor and quickset date function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flatpack (electronics)</span> Flat surface mount integrated circuit package

Flatpack is a US military standardized printed-circuit-board surface-mount-component package. The military standard MIL-STD-1835C defines: Flat package (FP). A rectangular or square package with leads parallel to base plane attached on two opposing sides of the package periphery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterproof wristlet watch</span>

The watchwristlet waterproof was a type of watch manufactured in Switzerland and issued to British military forces after 1945. The (WWW) standard for wristwatches by the Ministry of Defence is believed to be one of the first official standards for a military issue watch.

US military watches are watches that are issued to US military personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marathon Watch</span> Canadian watch manufacturer

Marathon Watch Company Ltd. is a Canadian watch manufacturer founded in 1939. Its predecessor company, Weinstrum Watch, later to be named Wein Brothers, was founded in 1904. Marathon started supplying watches to the Allies of World War II in 1941. Today Marathon manufactures watches that conform to United States Military Standard MIL-PRF-46374G, as well as those of other nations. Marathon is the sole supplier of watches to the United States Armed Forces.

References

  1. Defense Logistics Agency. "Watch, Wrist: General Purpose". Defense Logistics Agency. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  2. 1 2 3 MIL-W-46374 Watches
  3. 1 2 3 4 Frederick, E (Ned). "MIL-W-46374 Military Field Watches". http://mil-w-46374.rf.gd/~brendo81/46374.html . Archived from the original on 10 December 2004.{{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  4. MIL-W-46374B • The Generic Mil Watch
  5. MIL-W-46374C Plastic is Back
  6. MIL-W-46374E • A Bright New Face

Additional sources