WWII Elgin Type A-8 Jitterbug Navigation Stopwatch US Military Aviation 1940s

WWII-Era Elgin Type A-8 “Jitterbug” Navigation Stopwatch, 15 Jewels, approx. 50mm, U.S.A., 1940s

A specialist American timing instrument from the Second World War period. The black dial has large aged Arabic numerals, a fine outer timing track and a subsidiary counter at 12 o’clock; the central hand sweeps the dial in just 10 seconds, which gives the A-8 its rapid tick and its “Jitterbug” nickname.

Brand heritage

The Elgin National Watch Company was founded in Elgin, Illinois, in 1864 and became one of the largest watch manufacturers in the United States. During the Second World War the factory turned almost entirely to military production, making service watches, chronometers, aircraft clocks, fuses and timing instruments for the U.S. armed forces.

Model history

The Type A-8 was a navigation stopwatch used for precise ground-speed timing, documented under U.S. military specification No. 94-27749. Its very fast-running movement drives a 10-second centre hand while the register at 12 records the accumulated intervals. This example has an Elgin National Watch Co. U.S.A. movement signed 15 Jewels, numbered 41797970, in a Star Watch Case Company case numbered 4981955.

Specifications

• Maker: Elgin National Watch Co., U.S.A.
• Type: A-8 “Jitterbug” navigation stopwatch
• Era: circa early-to-mid 1940s
• Movement: hand-wound mechanical, 15 jewels, no. 41797970
• Functions: central 10-second timing hand, subsidiary accumulator at 12 o’clock
• Dial: black with Arabic numerals
• Case: approx. 50mm, inner case signed Star Watch Case Company, no. 4981955
• Made in U.S.A.

Condition

The stopwatch is running and working well for a vintage mechanical instrument. The case, crystal and dial show visible age-related wear, scratches, oxidation, patina and marks, all shown in the photographs and consistent with an instrument roughly eighty years old. The dial has not been restored.

Please note

Please study all photos carefully. They show the actual watch you will receive and form part of the description. As with any vintage watch, it is sold as a collectible, is not guaranteed water resistant, and its timekeeping may differ from a modern watch.

Shipping

Ships from Giza, Egypt, carefully packed, with tracking.

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