Original Hanhart Torpedo Duration Artillery Stopwatch Kriegsmarine WW2 defective

Orig. Hanhart extremely rare and sought-after example of an early Torpedo run-time clock from World War II with a typical top-mounted indirect second hand and onion crown, as was common with Navy clocks in the late 1930s, see Knirim p. 258ff

Attention! The rare military chronograph is currently not working! According to the watchmaker, the movement is complete, but a single gear – for whatever reason – is totally worn out

Those in the know can buy an identical Hanhart stopwatch, even those without this very special dial, with the same movement for between 20 and 35 euros and have only this one gear replaced, then this wonderfully rare piece will be fully functional

The German military and precision watch manufacturer Hanhart was and is known for its extremely high-quality chronographs and stopwatches, especially before and during World War II

The rare piece is made particularly rare and authentic by the dial specially developed for submarine use with a tachymeter scale precisely matched to the torpedoes, starting at 3000 meters - the maximum distance of a submarine from the ship to be attacked - then running down to 0 meters, i.e. the torpedo impact in the target. If no impact was heard on the torpedo run-time stopwatch after this period of time, the commander knew that he had not hit and had to reload

Above are a few example photos of these very special torpedo run-time watches from Konrad Knirim's "Bible of Military Watches". It is clear that these on the German side also came from Junghans and Hanhart (the photos show a Hanhart with an identical dial/scale structure according to the specifications of the Kriegsmarine)

A super rare piece of military and naval watch history, which only very rarely comes onto the market

Description:

The 100% original Torpedo run-time clock, stopwatch has the usual dimensions for the Navy: 50mm case diameter, unrestored, best preserved, white, "Hanhart" signed dial with top-mounted, indirect second hand, onion crown for winding and starting and stopping the stopwatch function

Clean, signed movement, three-lid watch with internal anti-magnetic movement protection lid, both lids close absolutely flush and rock-solid

Signed movement clean, but a gear worn, case and glass show few recognizable signs of age or wear, unrestored dial best preserved

Condition: 2 - 3, apart from the movement defect, best collector's condition, dial unrestored and fully signed, flawless! Few recognizable signs of age or wear

History of the military and precision watch manufacturer Hanhart (Source: Watch Wiki):

Hanhart specializes in the production of stopwatches and high-quality chronographs. In 1882, the Swiss Johann Adolf Hanhart founded his watch factory in Diessenhofen, Canton Thurgau, and after 20 years, due to a lack of watchmakers, moved it across the border to the watchmaking stronghold of Schwenningen in the Black Forest. His youngest son Wilhelm Julius Hanhart (* October 31, 1902 - † October 22, 1986) joined the company in 1920 at the age of 18. In 1924, Wilhelm Julius Hanhart launched the world's first affordable stopwatch, which was intended to compete with the expensive Swiss brands. The success of this watch laid the foundation for the company's rise. From 1926, the product range was expanded to include wristwatches and pocket watches.

In 1932, Johann Adolf Hanhart died. The company's realignment in the same year, which focused on giving up the retail business, became a success for the company. While Hanhart employed 30 people at that time, by 1939 it had 200. In 1934, the existing factory in Gütenbach in the Black Forest was established as an extension. In 1938, Hanhart developed its first single-pusher chronograph Caliber 40. Its faithful replica is now very popular among watch enthusiasts under the name Pioneer Mk I. The single-pusher chronograph introduced in 1939 was issued to the Kriegsmarine and especially to the Luftwaffe. Due to its reliability and accuracy during World War II, it was as popular with pilots as the watches from the manufacturer Tutima. In addition to these pilot chronographs, production of the two-pusher model Caliber 41 began around 1940. Pilot watches became the manufacturer's main product at that time, which also produced pocket chronographs for naval artillery, among other things. At that time, the company produced eight different stopwatches. With the so-called Superschnellschwinger, it was possible to measure 1/100 seconds with a mechanical stopwatch. However, watch production had to be curtailed until the end of the war in favor of the production of time fuses for torpedoes