Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

In 1930s Japan there was a strong nationalist movement that was supported by the Military. Many Navy and Army officers held important ministerial positions, including Prime Minister, and expansionist policies were high on the agenda.

The 1931 Manchurian incident was an invented excuse for Japan to invade North Eastern China, for no reason other than Japan was experiencing shortages of minerals and wanted the territory for themselves, the Civil government in Tokyo was also unable to prevent Japanese armed forces attacking Shanghai in 1932.

The Japanese Air service was split between the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, IJAAF, and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force, IJNAF. In their early days both used obsolete imported aircraft but during the period of heightened control by the armed forces japanese designers produced aircraft specifically around Japanese operational requirements, usually powered by French, British and German power plants that were readily available. Japan attacked China again in 1937 starting the second Sino-Japanese war which continued till the end of WW2 in 1945.

The standard of Japanese pilot training was excellent and pilots were supplied with top quality watches, Navy pilots often used Longines-Wittnauer Watches, one particular model had a Weems type seconds scale which could be adjusted using a secondary crown to allow for accurate syncronisation, without stopping the hands.





Case

Polished 47mm case, 51mm with the crown, 11mm deep. 56mm lug to lug. 24mm lug width

Interior aperture 43mm across, 8mm deep. 8mm Crown, 42.5mm flat glass

Dial

42.5mm white dial. Black printed railtrack minutes scale.

Hours indicated with black Arabic numerals from 1 through 12 inclusive.

Seconds scale on central cream coloured circle representing non functional Weems scale

Blue coloured Breguet style hours and minutes hand, and a slim blue seconds hand.

Strap

Brown "Croc" effect PU leather strap 24mm wide with 22mm polished buckle. approx. fitting 185-235mm





Seems we have a new standard movement.

Miyota 7t35