redwatch Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 For those of you who have one, lets all show our wristi's on Monday July 20th to commemorate the 40 year anniversary of NASA Apollo 11's successful moon mission! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiespanner Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Redwatch, what a great post! I have been collating some speedmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Great idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 I've been meaning to pick up an old 145.022 861; 1977 would be nice for my birthyear Somehow it always gets pushed to the backburner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiespanner Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Here are a few interesting speedmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick92627 Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Fascinating. I knew only the barest outlines. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Interesting stuff...Excellent post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 While collating this information, I did wonder if any pilots who flew on the early NASA X15 rocket plane might have worn speedmasters. Some of the pilots (Neil Armstrong) flew this plane at the edge of space and earned "astronaut wings". They did not. Photographs and records don't show any watches and there was no official chronograph designated before the Gemeni space flights. The Mercury flights didn't have a designated watch. Deke Slayton, the boss (head of flight Crew Operations) for Gemini and Apollo missions, and one of the original Mercury 7, instituted a search for a chrono they could certify. (aside, Deke Slayton didn't go into space until after the Apollo missions. See the 'pedia link for more details) Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders wore the first Speedmasters to orbit the moon on Apollo 8. Ed White's fire damaged Speedmaster was sent to his family. His was the first worn in space when he took the first ever Spacewalk in 1965 and it's the watch he was wearing when he died in the plugs-out test of Apollo 1. More to come ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiespanner Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Cheers Pugwash, I hope you enjoyed looking up these "factoids" as much as I have. You were right about the early Mercury flights, there was no approved watch for space and pilots could wear almost any watch they wished to take. It just so happened that Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper took speedmasters for their missions. It wasn't untill March 1st 1965 that NASA had an Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soonerwatch Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Love the speedy pro. It is my only Gen. Have had it since early 2009 and it is still growing on me. Here is an amazingly detailed article on the inner workings of the watch and its NASA heritage. If you haven't seen this it is worth a look http://www.watchprosite.com/show-forumpost.../ti-362702/s-0/ Found it over at the puristpro forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Cheers Pugwash, I hope you enjoyed looking up these "factoids" as much as I have. Looking ... Up? I'm trying to hide how much of a gushing Moon Landing fanboy I am, so I'll pretend I did have to look up all the info I posted in my post. ps. I presume everyone has seen "From The Earth To The Moon", one of the best dramatisations of the moon run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet by the 'fanboys' Why all this talk about the Speedmaster? Not the only Moon watch after all, merely the only Moon chronograph Common knowledge (mostly corroborated) that many astronauts preferred and relied upon their own personal Rolex GMT Masters both in flight prep and on missions, including the Apollo series. Not the best article of the type, but plenty of interesting evidence in HERE... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Common knowledge (mostly corroborated) that many astronauts preferred and relied upon their own personal Rolex GMT Masters both in flight prep and on missions, including the Apollo series. Only Jack Swigert wore a Rolex GMT. His mission? Apollo 13. I presume you all know what happened to Apollo 13. The only watch worn on the Moon, apart from the Speedmaster, was an unknown Waltham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Only Jack Swigert wore a Rolex GMT. His mission? Apollo 13. I presume you all know what happened to Apollo 13. The only watch worn on the Moon, apart from the Speedmaster, was an unknown Waltham. Still presenting your opinions as facts Pugs? You've not changed I see... Go on then, explain this away...I'm all ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Still presenting your opinions as facts Pugs? You've not changed I see... Go on then, explain this away...I'm all ears. That doesn't look much like the moon to me. I don't doubt Astronauts wore GMTs in the CSM and LEM, but are you honestly telling me NASA would let their Astronauts wear watches under their space suits? Your Rolex fansite presents wishful thinking as fact whereas my opinion was formed by many articles, but mostly by Maddox's many articles on watches worn on and near the moon. http://www.chronomaddox.com/moonmovement.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 That doesn't look much like the moon to me. I don't doubt Astronauts wore GMTs in the CSM and LEM, but are you honestly telling me NASA would let their Astronauts wear watches under their space suits? Your Rolex fansite presents wishful thinking as fact whereas my opinion was formed by many articles, but mostly by Maddox's many articles on watches worn on and near the moon. http://www.chronomaddox.com/moonmovement.html Well if you're going to be so unimaginatively literal, let's not bother to continue this. Honestly, is that the best response you can muster? Tell me then, what is he doing in this photo? And why? Mitchell is also pictured elsewhere WEARING both 1675s in the simulator, clearly using them for operational purposes. Reading lots of stuff doesn't always make one well-informed. To flatly deny a GMT Master was worn on the moon is ridiculous. As for NASA "letting their astronauts wear watches", I think you greatly overestimate the control the civilian govt agency had over their military charges - some of whom were fast-living type-A personalities, including many of those who had come up through the Gemini programme a few years earlier. Surely you've read Tom Wolfe's seminal book? It's widely accepted as non-fiction. Oh and for what it's worth, the late Chuck Maddox was an Omega Speedmaster fetishist, so his research was hardly unbiased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Well if you're going to be so unimaginatively literal, let's not bother to continue this. Honestly, is that the best response you can muster? Tell me then, what is he doing in this photo? And why? Mitchell is also pictured elsewhere WEARING both 1675s in the simulator, clearly using them for operational purposes. Reading lots of stuff doesn't always make one well-informed. To flatly deny a GMT Master was worn on the moon is ridiculous. As for NASA "letting their astronauts wear watches", I think you greatly overestimate the control the civilian govt agency had over their military charges - some of whom were fast-living type-A personalities, including many of those who had come up through the Gemini programme a few years earlier. Surely you've read Tom Wolfe's seminal book? It's widely accepted as non-fiction. I've read The Right Stuff, yes. Good film, too, surprisingly. And yes, it's a valid point of reference in this case, even if it deals with the Mercury 7 instead of the New Nine. I do believe NASA astronauts were very in control of most of the aspects of their life, but after Apollo 1, they all took safety even more seriously than before (see the return of Gunther Wendt as an example of increased safety) and I believe they would not risk the integrity of a space suit with something as silly as a watch they could not even use on the moon. Also, seeing as they had to remove clothing to put their suits on, I would be surprised if they didn't take a watch off. David Scott replaced his Omega with a Waltham, wearing it on the outside of his suit with the Omega's velcro strap on EVA 3. I would concede that a watch other than the Speedies and Scott's Waltham could well have been worn in the LEM, but almost certainly not on an EVA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitton Mar Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Not a rep, but appropriate?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Not a rep, but appropriate?! Very much so. Here's my old rep. No longer in my possession, but still a great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 My Speedy on a NATO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcoast68 Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 I found it interesting that Aldrin's Speedmaster was lost and presumed stolen while in transit to the Smithsonian for inclusion in it's displays, according to C. Maddox's website. I wonder where it is today? Happy anniversary to the moon landing, an exciting point in American history. My faux chrono speedy copy; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 I wonder where it is today? In some private collector's safe, without question. Don't buy that 'lost' theory - stolen to order almost certainly. Sad but there you go. All being well, I'll be posting a shot of something nice later this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley357 Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Wearing mine today: ..and a group shot of some Speedmasters from a while ago .. and a special edition one, the Snoopy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Here's my contribution, some old stock photos of my gen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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