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A watch is a period of work duty, traditionally on a ship but also in some other areas of employment which have been influenced by naval language. They are generally periods of four or two hours and are designed to allocate the working hours of a ship's crew so that the ship is operated effectively over all 24 hours of the day for the duration of long voyages or operations.
Traditional system
In the traditional Royal Navy watch system, those members of the crew whose work must be done at all times of the day are assigned to one of two divisions: the Starboard or the Port division. These two groups of personnel alternate in working the following watches:
- First watch - 2000 to 0000
- Middle watch - 0000 to 0400
- Morning watch - 0400 to 0800
- Forenoon watch - 0800 to 1200
- Afternoon watch - 1200 to 1600
- First dog watch - 1600 to 1800
- Last dog watch - 1800 to 2000
The same arrangement of watch times can also be used with a crew divided into three, giving each sailor more time off-duty. Names for the three watches - instead of Port and Starboard - vary between ships; "Foremast", "Mainmast" and "Mizzen" and "Red", "White" and "Blue" are common.
Fire Fighting
In keeping with the origins of modern fire fighting, where many fire fighters were ex-navy men, the shifts worked by fire fighters are known as watches in many countries. They may be coloured, or numbered, depending on local tradition.
See also
"Watch (shift)"