Sat iz vremena Gagarina / A Wristwatch From The Time Of Gagarin

Sinoć sam na Jutjubu odgledao dokumentarac "The Red Stuff" koji govori o slavnim ali teškim pionirskim danima sovjetskog svemirskog programa. Predmet na slici potiče upravo iz vremena rastućih tenzija "hladnog rata", prvih inter-kontinentalnih balističkih projektila, "Sputnjika", "Vostoka" i globalne fascinacije kosmičkim letovima i istraživanjima. Kazaljke sati i minuta su u obliku stilizovanih raketa!

Naravno, ovaj  časovnik je bio namenjen radničkoj klasi. Sovjetski piloti i astronauti su nosili prestižne službene, namenski proizvedene "Šturmanskie", "Strele" i "Poljote". Kakve veze ovaj skromni "Start" ima sa njima?

Priča će pokazati. Ali, najpre nekoliko istorijskih i tehničkih detalja o ovom časovniku:

Brend/ime: "Start"

Model: 88ЧН/2 (proizvođen od 1956. do 1962.)

Proizvođač: 2. moskovska fabrika časovnika (2. МЧЗ), Moskva, SSSR

Godina proizvodnje: Između 1960. i 1962. (zbog promene sistema označavanja mehanizama, tačnu godinu proizvodnje nije moguće tačno utvrditi bez uvida u fabričku evidenciju serijskih brojeva)

Mehanizam: fabrička oznaka ЧН-11M ("Pobeda 2602"), kal. 26mm, mehanički, ručno navijanje, 17 rubina, kazaljka sekundi na 6h, energetska rezerva min. 34 časa, deklarisana tačnost ±45s/dan, proizveden u skladu sa državnim standardom ГОСТ 6519—58.

Prema izvorima sa Interneta, "Pobeda 2602" je izvedena iz francuskog mehanizma "Lip R26" za koji je Sovjetski Savez zvanično otkupio licencu kao deo plana modernizacije industrije precizne mehanike. Mehanizam je u SSSR pozitivno ocenjen i nakon manjih modifikacija je decenijama masovno proizvođen u nekoliko fabrika, s ciljem da domaći satovi prihvatljive cene i solidnog kvaliteta budu dostupni širim krugovima stanovništva. Neke kasnije verzije 2602 imaju dodatne funkcije i "anti-šok" ležišta (prikazani sat ih nema).

Jurij Gagarin je na svoj istorijski orbitalni let u "Vostoku 1" (1961) nosio službeni "Šturmanskie" ("Navigator"), jednostavan pilotski model tehnički identičan civilnom modelu "Sportivnie". U (prema današnjim trendovima) malom, ali robustnom i zaptivenom kućištu prvog ručnog časovnika u svemiru kucao je provereni mehanizam sa ručnim navijanjem i 17 rubina, nastao dodavanjem komplikacije u vidu centralne sekundare na izvorni francuski kalibar "Lip R26"...

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Last night I've watched the documentary called "The Red Stuff" on YouTube. It tells the story of glorious but harsh pioneering days of a Soviet space programme. The item shown here originates from the years of growing Cold War tensions and first inter-continental ballistic missiles; "Sputnik" and "Vostok" spacecraft, and also years of global fascination with space flight and exploration. Even the hour and minute hands on this watch are designed to resemble the shape of a rocket!

Of course this watch model was originally intended for the average working-class man. Soviet pilots and astronauts wore their prestigious government-issue "Shturmanskie", "Strela" and "Polyot" watches. Then what has this humble "Start" got to do with them?

This story will tell. But first, some historical and technical info on this timepiece:

Brand: "Start"

Model: 88ChN/2 (in production from 1956 to 1962)

Manufacturer: 2nd Moscow Watch Factory (2. МChZ), Moscow, USSR

Year of manufacture: Between 1960 and 1962. The exact year of manufacture can't be established without access to factory records, due to change in the system of movement marking in the course of production.

Movement: factory designation "ChN-11M" ("Pobeda 2602"), cal. 26mm, mechanical hand-wound, 17 jewels, 6 o'clock seconds dial, power reserve min. 34 hrs, accuracy ±45 secs/day. Made to government standard GOST 6519—58.

According to Internet resources, "Pobeda 2602" movement was derived from a French-made "Lip R26" engine, for which the manufacturing license was officially purchased by the USSR as a part of their watch-making industry modernization plan. This movement passed a sort of acceptance trial in the USSR and after minor modifications entered mass production in a number of factories which had lasted for several decades. The principal aim of this was to provide reliable and affordable "workhorse" wristwatches to average working class citizen, while not depending on the foreign imports. Some advanced versions of this movement featuried an USSR version of Incabloc anti-shock system and a central seconds hand.

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin took his Pobeda "Shturmanskie" ("Navigator") wrist watch to a historic "Vostok 1" orbital flight. It was a humble, complication-free, Air Force issued pilot's watch, which also had a technically identical civilian version, called "Sportivnie". In a small but robust, sealed screw-back housing of a first space watch ticked the heart of a tried and trusted hand-wound 17-jewel movement, adapted from a French "Lip R26" engine merely by adding a central seconds hand...