posted 01-20-2014 12:53 PM               

NASA's post-Apollo 15 press release ("Articles Carried on Manned Space Flights") offered some details:

...Scott had on board two timepieces (a wristwatch and stop watch) that were not part of the normal mission equipment.

During the preflight training period, Scott had agreed to evaluate these timepieces for the manufacturer at the request of a friend. Thinking they might be useful, particularly for the possible emergency timing of a manually controlled propulsion maneuver, Scott carried them on the mission but without prior authorization.

NASA has deliberately withheld the name of the manufacturer of the timepieces to avoid commercialization of this unauthorized action.

Therefore, on EVA-3, I used my backup Waltham watch [which was] of a similar type. It worked just fine during the even higher temperatures of EVA-3.

In "Falling to Earth," Al Worden cited NASA Administrator Jim Fletcher's testimony before Congress:

Fletcher told [committee chairman Clinton] Anderson that Dave had "carried a Bulova chronograph and a Bulova timer on the Apollo 15 flight, and these were not approved as items to be carried on the flight." Only two people at NASA knew about them, Dave explained: he and Deke. And even Deke didn't know until after the flight.

In March of 1971, Bulova's representative, General James McCormick approached David Scott through a senior ranking officer, Colonel Frank Borman, to consider carrying a Bulova chronograph on his Apollo 15 mission to Hadley Rille in the Apennine Mountain range on the Moon. Scott agreed to "make every attempt to give the Bulova Chronograph a full evaluation" and, so, a Bulova watch was packed and stored in the lunar module for the flight.

posted 01-20-2014 01:27 PM               

I have spoken with Scott about this on several occasions. He immediately identified the brand as Waltham, but does not remember which model it was. The last time I saw him at the ASF show a few years back, I took along some photos of various Waltham models and he took quite a bit of time looking through the 8 or 10 pics before settling on the one he thought it was.

posted 01-20-2014 01:57 PM               

We now know the timer was made by Bulova, and Fletcher's 1972 testimony stated both the chronograph and timer were Bulova made.

posted 01-20-2014 06:04 PM               

I purchased the stopwatch directly from Dave Scott in 2011. In 2014, as I researched the Bulova stopwatch for "The Watches of Apollo" article, Dave was extremely helpful in pulling all of his documents on the whole watch issue. I have photographs of the Bulova Chronograph model 01 now, so, yes, it is a Bulova watch.

posted 02-22-2014 11:44 AM               

The reason being is Bulova in 1970-71 did not have many chronograph wrist watches in their line — the Accutron at the time was still their most popular line, and there was never a "chronograph" Accutron made.

This particular model is a "triple register" (i.e. three sub dials) just like the Speedmaster and was the only one in their line at the time (and like the Speedmaster it used a non-glass Hexalite/plastic crystal). The only other chronos in their catalog in this period were two-register "Deep Sea" diver type watches.

Of course, what is really neat about this watch is the "Red White and Blue" motif, which I think nicely goes well with the Apollo 15 patch design!

posted 02-23-2014 09:36 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MOL:
Of course, what is really neat about this watch is the "Red White and Blue" motif, which I think nicely goes well with the Apollo 15 patch design!

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posted 03-19-2014 05:55 AM            

Page 22 or 2.12-20 in the document.

posted 03-22-2014 02:10 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Larry McGlynn:
I have photographs of the Bulova Chronograph model 01 now, so, yes, it is a Bulova watch.

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posted 03-22-2014 07:21 PM               

This is a very interesting timepiece, as over at mybulova.com you can see some of its DNA shared with other period production Bulova chronos of the 1970s. However it really does imitate a Speedmaster - especially in the black dial, triple sub-dial positions, identical hands, time division markers, tachometer scale graduations etc. A significant difference is the use of flat wide pushers (better for gloved hands) to activate the chronograph functions.

I guess the remarkable similarity to the flight-approved Speedmaster is understandable - you would want the same functionality and you wouldn't want to be adapting to a completely differently designed timepiece in the middle of a lunar mission. It would be interesting to see what is "under the hood". Are we even correct to assume this is a manual-wind mechanical watch?

posted 10-04-2015 11:26 PM               

In the late 1960s to early 70s, Bulova owned a Swiss watch company known as Universal Geneve. The case number from Dave Scott's Bulova matches exactly the case numbers found on the Universal Geneve chronograph model known as the "Space Compax." This watch featured a triple register just like a Speedmaster, but used a Valjoux 72 movement. In fact was meant to compete with it as this article from 2005 discusses.

So clearly Bulova decided to modify the dial and change the side pushers for this Apollo 15 prototype. But now we know what movement was inside.

posted 07-05-2018 10:12 AM               

Charlie Duke lost his on the surface as well. I believe he does make mention of it in the postflight report, and there is at least one good image from the EVA where you can see the dust-filled face of the watch.

posted 07-06-2018 03:54 AM               

At depressurization, just prior to the third lunar extravehicular activity, the Lunar Module Pilot noted that his chronograph crystal was gone. The chronograph hands and face were not hit. However, about 12 minutes later the movement stopped. Most likely, warpage caused by thermal cycling allowed the differential pressure across the acrylic crystal to pop it out of the case. The exposure to and penetration of lunar dust contamination about the Lunar Module Pilot's sleeves probably caused the failure of the chronograph movement.

These chronographs are certified to a maximum temperature of 160° F. Testing has demonstrated that in the range of 190° F, the crystal is weakened to the point where internal pressure can push the crystal off. For the chronograph to reach a temperature of 190° F, direct continuous exposure to incident solar radiation normal to its surface is required for approximately 12 minutes.

These chronographs are tested at the Manned Spacecraft Center when received, again before shipment to the Kennedy Space Center and again just prior to flight. The Apollo chronograph is a secondary timing device and is not critical to mission success or crew safety. There are no plans for corrective action.