Longines-Wittnauer Weems Second-Setting Watch Sidereal Model

Before 1927, watches used with sextants for celestial sightings could only be set to the minute. A watch error of 30 seconds caused a navigational error of up to 12 kilometers (7 miles).

In 1927, P. V. H. Weems devised a watch with an adjustable second hand that could be set using radio time signals. These examples were his personal navigation watches. 

Caption:
Uses sidereal (star time), with a day of 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.1 seconds long.
Type: Artifact
Image Date: February 8, 2013
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Origin: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Creator: Mark Avino
NASM2013-00278
Navigation Methods
 

nasm2013-00278.jpg

Uses sidereal (star time), with a day of 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.1 seconds long.

nasm2013-00279.jpg

Uses sidereal (star time), with a day of 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.1 seconds long.