What is it about Norme's avatar???
 

I thought it was a clock...now it seems to have a door hiding a cavity behind the face...maybe with a Waffenamp on the rear wall???

Is it a safe???

Lemme see if I can link his avatar...

http://forum.lugerforum.com/image.ph...ine=1276541178

Too small for a safe.

Looks like a clock, or other guage of some type from an aircraft or sea vessel control panel or cockpit, that opens to allow adjustment using the rear knob. Perhaps a barometer? Altimeter?

I'm guessing a chronometer for celestial navigation, could be aviation or marine. Then too it might just be a clock.

FN

Hi Rich, John and Fred, As Dr. Freud would say, "sometimes a clock is just a clock". My avatar is a 5" tall, eight day (still accurate, by the way), desk clock with folding legs. It is Waffenamt marked and dated 1939. I assume it was intended for senior officers, since they were most likely to have desks while in the field. What makes it interesting to me is the large diameter winding drum, allowing the clock to be rewound with gloves on. So, while Hitler was negotiating a non aggression treaty with Stalin, in 1939, the Wehrmacht was ordering cold weather desk clocks! Best regards, Norm

Hmmmm...most unusual...and quite interesting... ;)

I thought it was much taller than 5"...

My last wife collected old clocks...I still have one of the early 1900's mechanical time clocks from some factory...4' tall; wall mounted; still works (although I no longer wind it)...

Thanks for the added pics! :thumbup:

Senior officer's field desk clock...hmmm...Artillery officer, perhaps??? :rolleyes:

That is a very cool clock :thumbup:

The two metal stabilizing arms would seem to point to a naval issue item yet it is marked "Heeres"

That's beautiful, drop me a line if you ever want to get rid of that, a stunning piece :)
Cheers

"Senior officer's field desk clock...hmmm...Artillery officer, perhaps???"

The two metal stabilizing arms would seem to point to a naval issue item yet it is marked "Heeres"

It very well could have been intended for use by Artillery unit officers. The stabilizers were probably used to keep it in place during the firing of heavy Artillery. Artillery support highly depends on timing. An accurate time piece would be required.

Ron

..."heeresseigentum"... Yahoo/Babelfish/Google translates this as "Army Property"...

Also, a general Google search says "Army Property"...hmph...I guess that's reasonable...

(See pencils on this site/page) - http://www.militaryantiquesmuseum.co...s+-+Field+Gear

Norme - What was your research results??? :)

Hi Rich, I have always assumed that this clock was ordered, and accepted, by the Wehrmacht. It is both Waffenamt inspected and marked Heereseigentum, which, as you point out, translates to "Army Property". The Army may well have doled out a few of these clocks to the Navy and Air Force, as they did with Lugers, but I'm sure they kept most of them themselves. My nephew gave this clock to me a few years ago (see, even nephews have their uses), interestingly the person he bought it from thought it was a Luftwaffe clock, as Junghans made cockpit timepieces for Messerschmidt. Regards, Norm

Norm, my thought on looking at it closely was that it may have been an instrument that someone made a custom wooden enclosure for...but it would be logical for a naval or aeronautic clock to be 24-hour; not 12 hour...Even for an infantry unit it would make sense to be 24 hour...since you may be bunkered or otherwise hidden and not know whether it is day or night outside...

The wooden casement is too pretty for a combat unit...It's more like something an officer's secretary would have on her desk...To remind her when it's time for lunch...like right now... :D