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Navy NAF Stock Number 39XXX-** Hand Tools

Thread starter Private Lugnutz
Start date Apr 29, 2021

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Apr 29, 2021

#1

Care of four.cycle, I have this partial Walden-Worcester midget socket set, posted previously on the midget thread. (See Pics 1, 2, & 3).

Based on the construction and markings, and in comparison to very well-known Walden-Worcester wartime production, it is prewar. It is 9/32-inch square drive. I don't have to point out that it's in an OD green box. But the most interesting aspect might be the contents and configuration. The contents are an identical match to the wartime NAF 1108-1 sets (Phila. Mfg Co., Plomb, etc) that several GJ members own. From the number of tools, to the types of tools, right down to the sizes of the sockets (the number of points in the broachings has some variance), it appears to be an earlier version of the same exact set. Even the practice of neatly labeling everything on the lid of the box smacks of NAF.

See Pic 4 for a photo of my Phila Mfg Set as a reminder, with the labels in Pic 5 & 6 for comparison. Even though the actual part numbers are different, the part numbering scheme or pattern is the same.

Last edited: Apr 29, 2021

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Apr 29, 2021

#2

It gets better. Much better.

MR. X pointed out that he has several DBE wrenches with NAF stamps and 39XXX-** (and some 31XXX-**) part numbers. See Pics 1 & 2.

From top to bottom, that is a Blue Point NAF 310693-14, a Plomb NAF 310693-37 with a 1940 date code, a Bonney NAF 39427-2 with a 1940 date code, and a Par-V NAF 39460-6.

He also has a 4-point Plomb 5422-S 1/2-inch drive socket with a "39119-30" marking and a 1939 date code. See Pic 3.

Lastly, a SOE wrench made by Williams for the B.G. Corporation, which made Hornet brand spark plugs for the Navy in the Interwar and wartime periods, stamped "39117-7". It is not dated, but the wrench and the outlandishness of the marking, including the serifs on the font, smacks of prewar to me. See Pic 4.

Despite not yet being able to find any documentation to confirm this 39XXX-** USN part numbering scheme, I am fairly confident based on this empirical evidence that it is a Navy prewar stock numbering system. Given the fact that it includes 9/32- and 1/2-inch drive socket wrenches, DBE wrenches, and special purpose SOE wrenches, at a minimum, it's safe to say that it was fairly large, wide, and diverse.

If you have any tools with "39XXX-**" format markings, please post them. As we continue to try to locate Navy documentation references, we can build up a database of examples empirically that we can match to the references later.

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MR.X

Well-known member

Apr 29, 2021

#3

So here's a couple more.

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MR.X

Well-known member

Apr 29, 2021

#4

OK, well might as well throw these in as they aren't the known 11XX series and do seem to be of the same time period as the 39XXX stuff.

Plomb DOE's 39 and 41 date code

4 DBE's, top one has what looks like a wright aircraft #83472 on obverse and no other markings. The 2 Plombs have 40 date codes and the Blue Point has a 39.

Bonney DOE hard to read date code maybe a Q (39) maybe an O (37)
no idea on screwdriver.

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MR.X

Well-known member

Apr 29, 2021

#5

Here's a couple of rough samples. A Williams and an embedded shield Bonney with a 'W' date code. I'm assuming that's a 1931 code as opposed to 45. So obviously that doesn't mean the contract goes all the way back to 31 as they might have just been using old stock to fill it but it does suggest it goes back a little ways at least. Also that Par-V example brings up more questions in that same vein. In the last pic I added the already shown Bonney DOE for logo and finish comparison.

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MR.X

Well-known member

Apr 29, 2021

#6

some more 39 and 40 examples.

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LesserSon

Well-known member

Apr 30, 2021

#7

I feel like I’ve got a socket or a dbe somewhere. I’m not sure if it’s a 39XXX, but here’s a 31XXX in the meantime.

Last edited: Apr 30, 2021

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Jul 12, 2022

#8

Cross-linking a pair of Crestoloy long flat nose pliers with an NAF 39107 marking that Mintgrun found here...

More than just adjustable wrenches, post up your vintage Crescent tools

Found a pair of Crescent punches

www.garagejournal.com

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MisterEd

Well-known member

Jan 26, 2023

#9

Bonney 1242 NAF 39432 Single Head Wrench 1 5/16 Inch CV "CR"

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four.cycle

Well-known member

Jan 26, 2023

#10

@Private Lugnutz

This is the first time I've seen this thread! Did you ever figure out what the story was on that Walden set? I was pretty sure it smacked of "military", which is why it found its way to the Lugzonian.
Those two boxes I sent to you were the only instances of those I ever saw on ebay.

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Jan 26, 2023

#11

Figured out, probably. See post #1. Definitively, with documents, no.

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MisterEd

Well-known member

Apr 28, 2023

#12

Bonney NAF 39427-1

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humber2

Well-known member

Apr 28, 2023

#13

A Bonney 7033 1/2” drive stepped crowfoot NAF 39485-1

CAD plated, the step might have been fettled or milled post plating, perhaps to do another task?

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d42jeep

Well-known member

Dec 5, 2023

#14

Here is another pair of flat nose pliers that arrived yesterday. They have nice clear markings.
-Don

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Old Radar

Well-known member

Mar 19, 2024

#15

humber2 said:
A Bonney 7033 1/2” drive stepped crowfoot NAF 39485-1

CAD plated, the step might have been fettled or milled post plating, perhaps to do another task?

Here is my similar NAF 39485 that I found the other day. Mine does not have the -1.
Cad plated with a Bonny circle-B. Doesn't that indicate a later (50s/60s) manufacture date?

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d42jeep

Well-known member

Mar 19, 2024

#16

I believe that the NAF 39xxx marked tools are pre WW2.
-Don

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Mar 19, 2024

#17

Old Radar said:
Doesn't that indicate a later (50s/60s) manufacture date?

The B-circle marking has always confused me. AA seems to think so. But that looks wartime. For a very similar case, look at the two crowfoot wrenches on this thread linked here, both made by Bonney for PWA, one marked BONNEY, the other marked with a B-Circle logo. Are they from wartime and postwar? Or both from the same time, but a Bonney plant and a Bonney Forge operations in western PA? Let's tag @LesserSon and see what he thinks.

If the B-Circle marking is postwar, it could mean that the Navy ASO used that 39xxx series markings later than we previously thought. But if you peruse the thread, you'll see that that series is explicitly associated with tools that are much more definitively dated to prewar.

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d42jeep

Well-known member

Nov 29, 2024

#18

These Crestoloy diagonals came in the mail today from an eBay seller. I removed some rust to make the markings stand out.

Cleaned up

-Don

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MR.X

Well-known member

Dec 26, 2025

#19

Closer to WW1.

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Dec 26, 2025

#20

MR.X said:
Closer to WW1.

Nice find.

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MR.X

Well-known member

Dec 26, 2025

#21

Forgot to add this pic of the NAF # visible on the pressed steel style socket. They had more modern style alloy sockets in the 20’s I would think would have been a more likely contract decision.., maybe weren’t making them this large yet.

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r_olson_06

Well-known member

Dec 31, 2025

#22

I have one to add!
1939 Plomb NAF-31919-33 3/16" x 1/4" drive socket!

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MR.X

Well-known member

Jan 1, 2026

#23

r_olson_06 said:
I have one to add!
1939 Plomb NAF-31919-33 3/16" x 1/4" drive socket!

1/4" as opposed to 9/32" drive?

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r_olson_06

Well-known member

Jan 1, 2026

#24

MR.X said:
1/4" as opposed to 9/32" drive?

I just double checked and it is 1/4" drive. Do you know the difference between NAF-39119 1/4" drive vs the NAF-1110?

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Jan 1, 2026

#25

r_olson_06 said:
NAF-31919-33 3/16" x 1/4" drive socket!

MR.X said:
1/4" as opposed to 9/32" drive?

r_olson_06 said:
Do you know the difference between NAF-39119 1/4" drive vs the NAF-1110?

I know this was directed at @MR.X, but I'm just seeing your socket, your post and his query now for the first time, and I can tell you the source of it.

If you look at post #1 you'll see a Walden-Worcester midget set. It has a Navy NAF set number (39120-20), with a complete contents label, including socket 39119-33 (3/16"). It is 9/32-inch drive. You'll also see a Philadelphia Mfg. Co. midget set, with an assuredly Navy NAF set number (1108-1) and 1108-x stock numbers. It is 1/4-inch drive. As you probably know, Plomb made the same 1108-1 sets, and they were 1/4-inch drive. The contents of the 1108-1 sets exactly match the contents of the W-W 39120-20 set. Except for the drive size.

Between a few sparse prewar references I found on Google Books and what we can deduce empirically about the NAF 39120-20 sets and what we definitively know about the identical NAF 1110-1 set, documented in the Class 41 Hand Tools section inside my U.S. Navy Aviation Supply Office Stock Catalog (or "Blue Book"), we think the 39120 sets were prewar versions, with a prewar stock number scheme, in 9/32-inch drive.

I'm theorizing that your Plomb socket shows that they apparently changed from 9/32-inch drive to 1/4-inch drive version before they changed the Stock Number scheme to 1108.

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r_olson_06

Well-known member

Jan 1, 2026

#26

Private Lugnutz said:
I know this was directed at @MR.X, but I'm just seeing your socket, your post and his query now for the first time, and I can tell you the source of it.

If you look at post #1 you'll see a Walden-Worcester midget set. It has a Navy NAF set number (39120-20), with a complete contents label, including socket 39119-33 (3/16"). It is 9/32-inch drive. You'll also see a Philadelphia Mfg. Co. midget set, with an assuredly Navy NAF set number (1108-1) and 1108-x stock numbers. It is 1/4-inch drive. As you probably know, Plomb made the same 1108-1 sets, and they were 1/4-inch drive. The contents of the 1108-1 sets exactly match the contents of the W-W 39120-20 set. Except for the drive size.

Between a few sparse prewar references I found on Google Books and what we can deduce empirically about the NAF 39120-20 sets and what we definitively know about the identical NAF 1110-1 set, documented in the Class 41 Hand Tools section inside my U.S. Navy Aviation Supply Office Stock Catalog (or "Blue Book"), we think the 39120 sets were prewar versions, with a prewar stock number scheme, in 9/32-inch drive.

I'm theorizing that your Plomb socket shows that they apparently changed from 9/32-inch drive to 1/4-inch drive version before they changed the Stock Number scheme to 1108.

Thank you. I am going to have to read up a bit more on the NAF series tools. I picked up 2 Plomb NAF-310692 DOE wrenches this year that were both dated 1939. Do you have any guides on the numbering schemas?

OP

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Jan 1, 2026

#27

If you mean the prewar 31XXX and 39XXX numbers, no. I set up this thread to start to see if we could back into it empirically.

EDIT: As mentioned above, I have a March 1944 Class 41 with wartime NAF stock numbers. I scanned it and distributed PDFs to other collectors many years ago. I could shoot you one if you want. I should probably just upload it to IA/ITCL.

Last edited: Jan 1, 2026

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d42jeep

Well-known member

Jan 2, 2026

#28

r_olson_06 said:
I just double checked and it is 1/4" drive. Do you know the difference between NAF-39119 1/4" drive vs the NAF-1110?

Your 1939 Plomb 1/4” drive socket is probably the end of the line for Plomb. My NAF-1110 set is dated 1940. I posted it in the Plomb thread.

-Don

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r_olson_06

Well-known member

Jan 2, 2026

#29

Private Lugnutz said:
If you mean the prewar 31XXX and 39XXX numbers, no. I set up this thread to start to see if we could back into it empirically.

EDIT: As mentioned above, I have a March 1944 Class 41 with wartime NAF stock numbers. I scanned it and distributed PDFs to other collectors many years ago. I could shoot you one if you want. I should probably just upload it to IA/ITCL.

Makes sense to try backing into it. I believe I have seen that scan a few years back. From what I have seen of the 1/4" drive sockets from Plomb the 39XXX are much more rare than the 1110s. I have a few other big Plomb collector inventory sheets and there is only 1 other example of the 39XXX which is a 1/4" x 1/4" NAF-39119-36

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r_olson_06

Well-known member

Jan 2, 2026

#30

d42jeep said:
Your 1939 Plomb 1/4” drive socket is probably the end of the line for Plomb. My NAF-1110 set is dated 1940. I posted it in the Plomb thread.
-Don

That is a nice set!

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misterbill

Well-known member

Jan 2, 2026

#31

Private Lugnutz said:
... should probably just upload it to IA/ITCL.

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r_olson_06

Well-known member

Jan 6, 2026

#32

Here are a few 1939 N series and NAF dual stamped Plomb DOEs.

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MR.X

Well-known member

Feb 26, 2026

#33

So this would be the WW2 version of Owatonna’s NAF contract breaker bar. I believe their pre-war NAF breaker was numbered 377938-6 or something close to that. Obviously this only has the correct 1110-2 number and not the USN NAF. The earlier ones had a “N.P. “ prefix before their 3XXXXX-X number. If I remember correctly the Army OTC version was 10”? As opposed to this 15”. The original OTC catalog number for this 15" breaker would have been H-176

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Feb 27, 2026

#34

MR.X said:
So this would be the WW2 version of Owatonna’s NAF contract breaker bar...[ ]...Obviously this only has the correct 1110-2 number and not the USN NAF.

Cool piece.

MR.X said:
If I remember correctly the Army OTC version was 10”?

Short answer is yes. Early war through mid war. It was replaced with an 18" handle in early 1945.

Technically, the OAL of the "HANDLE, socket wrench, flexible head, spinner type, 1/2 inch" (FSN 41-H-1500) was specified as 10-1/2" in the first Army "GMTK" (known as Motor Vehicle Mechanics Tool-Set) manual, OQMG Circular 4, Nov 1, 1938. It was specified as 10-1/2" OAL again in QMC SNL N-19 dated Nov 1942, when the QMC was still in charge of motor vehicle maintenance. It was specified as 10-1/2" in ORD 6 SNL G-27 dated July 1944, after the QMC was relieved of duty and the Ordnance Dept took over and changed the name of the set to General Mechanics Tool-Set. It was still 10-1/2" in ORD 6 SNL G-27 dated October 1944. The hinge handle is identifiable in the RAPD figure in all those ORD 6's as the famous OTC stubby. It is the only readily identifiable OTC drive piece in the figure. The ratchet is a New Britain, just for additional context.

The April 1945 ORD 6 SNL G-27 changed the spec for the hinge handle to FSN 41-H-1502, which was 18" OAL. The figure was also changed to show an 18" hinge handle, and it is readily identifiable as New Britain. The ratchet is also the late war New Britain.

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d42jeep

Well-known member

Feb 27, 2026

#35

Here are pictures of the flex head bars that Lugz mentioned.

-Don

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LesserSon

Well-known member

Mar 2, 2026

#36

I can’t find numbers on these.

OP

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Private Lugnutz

Well-known member

Mar 2, 2026

#37

LesserSon said:
I can’t find numbers on these.

If you mean the Federal Stock Number (41-H-1500), it wasn't marked on the tool. In general, across all tools and tool-sets, very few wartime tools bore FSN's. And by very few, I mean maybe 2%. Stock numbers were overwhelmingly a supply book thing. Collecting wartime tools with their actual FSN stamped on them is a whole special niche unto itself. They are extremely rare. I once put a GMTK together with as many government stock numbers (FSN, Ordnance TAXI number, Federal Standard Stock Catalog Spec number - different than the FSN, Signal Corps, etc) as I could muster, and it was maybe 15 of the 100+ tools. I nickname all my GMTKs and that one was "the Numbers Racket", now moved on to another prominent collector.

EDIT: Thread on G503.com for that GMTK linked here if you're interested in seeing and reading further. I do expound on the subject of the stock numbers.

Last edited: Mar 2, 2026

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