In 1970, Hamilton came up with a slightly different watch for pilots unlike the regular Hamiltons issued to soldiers on the ground. It was designated as Type 1 Navigation watch and was issued in limited numbers to USAF and RAAF pilots. It had the same dial layout as that of GG-W-113 Hamiltons but were slightly larger in diameter, with SWISS printed below the six o'clock marker. The design of the case resembled that of British Mark XI specification, complete with 17mm lug width. Hamilton Type 1, RAAF Issue
Review by H. Seung
The model featured in this review is a Royal Australian Air Force issue and has the appropriate RAAF markings on the caseback. It reads as follows:
There are three interesting aspects to this Hamilton Type 1. First, the stainless steel case has a parkerized finish but the caseback is slightly gloss finished. Second, it lists USA (00) for NATO country code instead of Australia. I've heard that Australian issue field watch by Hamilton from the same period were also marked '00' for NATO country code. Third and last, the letters 'RAAF' are larger in size than other RAAF issue Hamilton Type 1s I've encountered. This may be an early version of the watch as it has a very low serial number of '18'. Here's a better view of the markings.
Inside the screw down caseback features a finely crafted Swiss 17 jewels Hamilton Grade 684 manual wind movement with hacking device. The movement is shielded by an antimagnetic dust cover.
As mentioned in the beginning, Hamilton Type 1 has a slightly larger profile than common Hamilton GG-W-113 field watches of similar period. Case dimension of Type 1 is approximately 36mm across (excluding crown), 47mm lug to lug, but has a smaller 17mm lug width. It has solid fixed bars and takes a one-piece band.
The watch came on a Hirsch crocodile strap for fixed strap bars but I've replaced it instead with a black 16mm nylon strap that was supplied with a GG-W-113 Hamilton. It seems more appropriate this way for some reason. Anyway, enjoy the photos!
Hyunsuk's Other Military Watches Copyright (c) 2004 Hyunsuk Seung. All rights reserved.
No text or images may be used without the express written consent from the author.
