It's a 16 mm strap made for general purpose watches and wrist compasses such as those by Hamilton and Benrus from that era.
This US military wristwatch strap no-doubt was manufactured early in the war when President Johnson ordered the increased commitment of USMC and Army personnel in 1965. This early version features the matt buckle that matches the parkerized finish of the watch cases. Later versions featured a blackened buckle. This is the rarer early version.
This actual Vietnam war US military wristwatch strap was smartly designed to be durable, practical, and very comfortable to wear.
US MILITARY NSN 6645-00-965-1488
(SPEC: STRAP, WRIST: INSTRUMENT) This NATO stock number was created on 1 January 1960. MIL-W-46374 specification was issued in October 1964 to procure a low cost, disposable alternative to the MIL-W-3818B. Specifically, the watch strap was to be olive drab. 3.3.5 Strap. – The strap shall conform to the requirements of MIL-S-60127. This Specification was later revised, and required fixed bars, and an olive drab pass through strap, manufactured according to military specification MIL-S-46383B Type II. The MIL-S-46383 strap came in three types Type I – Strap, Special Purpose; Non-Magnetic Buckle [3/4 inch wide] Type II – Strap, General Purpose [5/8 inch wide] <-- This is the version offered here Type III – Strap, General Purpose [3/4 inch wide] 3.2.4.6 Strap. – The strap shall be in accordance with MIL-S-46383, Type II. The color of the strap shall be olive drab matching color number X34087 of FED-STD-595. A NOS strap is shown below... The stock number was allocated 6645-965-1488 shown here in the October 1965 NOS batch pictured above. Other stock labels exist today for US military wristwatch straps as made by Marathon Watch Co. The buckle was stainless steel with a matt, non-reflective finish. Later buckles were blackened.
This is an authentic 57-year-old Vietnam war US military wristwatch strap that was hermetically sealed per MIL-F-22191 (Aer) TYPE II and MIL-F-23712 (WEP) using a Film-O-Rap-5500 machine.
Wherever your mission takes you today, keep one of these watchbands handy! Use this with your period watch to enhance its value.
