Hamilton revives one of its rarest military watches – and it’s only available for a year

Hamilton has unveiled the Khaki Field Mechanical 36mm, a faithful recreation of one of its rarest and most obscure military timepieces. It’s a watch that most collectors have never seen in the metal, so this reissue is very exciting.

The new watch is based on the FAPD 5101, a navigator’s watch issued to U.S. Air Force airmen around 1970. It was made for only a short time and has been largely forgotten since.

I really like that Hamilton has dug deep into its own archives and pulled this one out – it shows a genuine commitment to its military heritage, and I can see it being very popular.

The original FAPD 5101 was built tough. It had a parkerized 36mm case, fixed bars, an acrylic crystal and a dust cover over the movement.

Hamilton has kept all of these design details in the new version. The matte stainless steel case, the box-shaped acrylic glass and the dust cover are all present and correct. It looks and feels like a tool watch should.

The movement is Hamilton’s H-50 calibre, a manually wound mechanical with an 80-hour power reserve and a Nivachron balance spring for improved accuracy.

Water resistance is rated to 100 metres, and Super-LumiNova Grade X2 handles the lume duties, giving a warm vintage glow without sacrificing legibility.

The watch sits on a textile NATO strap, which perfectly fits the military aesthetic. The black dial is clean and functional. I really love how it looks.

Production is limited to 2026 only – a nod to the 250th anniversary of American independence, and a nod to Hamilton’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania roots. Once the year is over, it’ll be gone for ever.

The Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical 36mm goes on sale 20th May 2026, priced at US$725 / £595.

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Spencer Hart Buying Guide Editor

About

As Buying Guide Editor, Spencer is responsible for all e-commerce content on Stuff, overseeing buying guides as well as covering deals and new product launches. Spencer has been writing about consumer tech for over eight years. He has worked on some of the biggest publications in the UK, where he covered everything from the emergence of smartwatches to the arrival of self-driving cars. During this time, Spencer has become a seasoned traveller, racking up air miles while travelling around the world reviewing cars, attending product launches, and covering every trade show known to man, from Baselworld and Geneva Motor Show to CES and MWC. While tech remains one of his biggest passions, Spencer also enjoys getting hands-on with the latest luxury watches, trying out new grooming kit, and road-testing all kinds of vehicles, from electric scooters to supercars.

Areas of expertise

Watches, travel, grooming, transport, tech