Journal

Waltham Field & Marine. The document by the US Army Engineering and Research Division.

Sep 24, 2023

Waltham Field & Marine. The document by the US Army Engineering and Research Division.

With this blogpost we release one of the United States Army documents which Stan Czubernat found in the United States National Archives pertaining to Charles Depollier waterproof wrist watch technology, dated November 9, 1918. This is just one of the documents he found, there is actually a big stack of them.

The Armistice was signed just two days later on November 11, 1918, that ended the bloody fighting of WWI. Note that it states the “DuBois Watch Case Company”, (owned by Charles Depollier). The U.S. Army Engineering & Research Division was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mauborgne. His division worked hand & hand with Charles Depollier in 1918 on the final case design and features for the “Field & Marine” mil-spec waterproof case.

The “Executive Board” consisted of 7 officers according to other documents he found in the National Archives. These 7 U.S. Army officers would decide what would be purchased for the War Department after all the documentation/testing on an item, was presented to the Executive Board.

It is hard to not figure out if a unanimous decision by the Executive Board was required or a simple majority vote would suffice. Either way, Depollier’s waterproof case was approved in 1918 and the United States War Department purchased 10,000 of them.

The book by Stan Czubernat “The Inconvenient Truth about the World’s First Waterproof Watch” can be. purchased here

Related Articles
Black Thursday. In memory of Edward B Hughel

Black Thursday. In memory of Edward B Hughel

Read more
105 years ago today a record flight for the Waltham Field & Marine

105 years ago today a record flight for the Waltham Field & Marine

Read more
Aviation Heritage: Discover The New Waltham A17 Pilot Watch

Aviation Heritage: Discover The New Waltham A17 Pilot Watch

Read more
Theodore Roosevelt's stolen Waltham pocket watch recovered by FBI after it was missing for 37 years

Theodore Roosevelt's stolen Waltham pocket watch recovered by FBI after it was missing for 37 years

Read more