Pilot watches are not only instruments of daily life but markers of history, when watchmaking and human exploits meet.
Breguet Type XX
Breguet Type 20
Let's start with the most French ... In the early 1950s, the French Ministry of Defense organized a call for tenders with an extremely precise specifications for the creation of a timepiece for its pilots: a large box of at least 38 mm with a screwed background, a very readable black dial with luminescent index, small and above all a "return in flight" movement called Flyback-resetting the chronograph function. Dodane, Auricoste and Loniage - to name only the best known - enter the competition. But it was Breguet who prevailed in 1954 with his typical chronograph that will equip the French army pilots, Air Force and Naval Aeronautics, from 1955 to 1959. Faced with the success that the model met, the house extends its production with civil models. The case, the dial and the needles are made and assembled by Mathey-Tissot. The movement is a 222 valley, a 22 -caliber base to which the "flyback" function is added. For comparison, produced on a lower scale, around 2,000 copies, the Types 20 Auricoste take up the same characteristics, but with a LeMania 2040 movement
Breitling Aopa
1952. We leave the army benches to join those of the civil world. Breitling Navitimer AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) contacts Willy Breitling to ask him to develop a chronograph for its members. This is how the Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806 with all the elements necessary for the pilot to carry out the necessary flight calculations such as the average speed, the distance traveled, the rate of ascents and descents or the consumption of fuel. In order to allow the best possible visibility, the housing measures 41 mm in diameter, which is considerable for a watch of the time! These first models are immediately identifiable by its dial and black meters, as well as the winged logo of the AOPA which are on the dial at 12 noon. At first, movement is a Valjoux 72. It was not until 1956 that Breitling markets the Navitimer without restriction.
Blancpain air command
The partnership between the Military and Blancpain world was born when the manufacture develops the famous Fifty Fathoms for fighting, in 1952, on demand Robert Maloubier. In 1958, the US Navy adopted it for its fighting swimmers and the famous Navy Seals. Quite naturally, it is therefore towards Blancpain that the US Air Force turns when it is necessary to equip its pilots. Thus was born the "Air Command", in 1955, which resumed all the demanding technical clauses of type 20. Beyond this information, an aura of mystery surrounds its production. Especially since in fine, it was not the GIs that carried it but the Colombian army troops.Extremely rare, because produced in very small quantities, it is a grail for any collector. Proof of the growing craze for military timepieces, in 2019, Blancpain reissued the 500 copies.
IWC Big Pilot
From the 1930s, IWC began its partnership with the aviation world by providing watches to civilian airmen. Already, they were characterized by a large crown to facilitate the plug, a large dial for good readability of reading and a very robust antimagnetic case resistant to temperature variations. In 1940 the "Big Pilot" was born to serve the German Air Force pilots. His drawing was a date with a large 55 mm box, a slightly triangular crown and a very readable dial where the badge of military watches is at 12 noon, namely the triangle flanked by two points. In 1948, the factory produced the Mark 11 for the RAF pilots who would use it until the early 1980s. With this history, the manufacturer, in addition to reissues of its most emblematic models, continued to develop drivers's watches such as the Spitfire or the limited series Antoine de St Exupéry.
Finally, the story of these watches reminds us that they are above all work tools that testify to the strength of the commitment and courage of men and women who have worn them.
Watchmaking in the service of the Air Force
Pilot watches are not only instruments of daily life but markers of history, when watchmaking and human exploits meet.
Breguet Type 20
Let's start with the most French ... In the early 1950s, the French Ministry of Defense organized a call for tenders with an extremely precise specifications for the creation of a timepiece for its pilots: a large box of at least 38 mm with a screwed background, a very readable black dial with luminescent index, small and above all a "return in flight" movement called Flyback-resetting the chronograph function. Dodane, Auricoste and Loniage - to name only the best known - enter the competition. But it was Breguet who prevailed in 1954 with his typical chronograph that will equip the French army pilots, Air Force and Naval Aeronautics, from 1955 to 1959. Faced with the success that the model met, the house extends its production with civil models. The case, the dial and the needles are made and assembled by Mathey-Tissot. The movement is a 222 valley, a 22 -caliber base to which the "flyback" function is added. For comparison, produced on a lower scale, around 2,000 copies, the Types 20 Auricoste take up the same characteristics, but with a LeMania 2040 movement
Breitling Aopa
1952. We leave the army benches to join those of the civil world. Breitling Navitimer AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) contacts Willy Breitling to ask him to develop a chronograph for its members. This is how the Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806 with all the elements necessary for the pilot to carry out the necessary flight calculations such as the average speed, the distance traveled, the rate of ascents and descents or the consumption of fuel. In order to allow the best possible visibility, the housing measures 41 mm in diameter, which is considerable for a watch of the time! These first models are immediately identifiable by its dial and black meters, as well as the winged logo of the AOPA which are on the dial at 12 noon. At first, movement is a Valjoux 72. It was not until 1956 that Breitling markets the Navitimer without restriction.
Blancpain air command
The partnership between the Military and Blancpain world was born when the manufacture develops the famous Fifty Fathoms for fighting, in 1952, on demand Robert Maloubier. In 1958, the US Navy adopted it for its fighting swimmers and the famous Navy Seals. Quite naturally, it is therefore towards Blancpain that the US Air Force turns when it is necessary to equip its pilots. Thus was born the "Air Command", in 1955, which resumed all the demanding technical clauses of type 20. Beyond this information, an aura of mystery surrounds its production. Especially since in fine, it was not the GIs that carried it but the Colombian army troops.Extremely rare, because produced in very small quantities, it is a grail for any collector. Proof of the growing craze for military timepieces, in 2019, Blancpain reissued the 500 copies.
IWC Big Pilot
From the 1930s, IWC began its partnership with the aviation world by providing watches to civilian airmen. Already, they were characterized by a large crown to facilitate the plug, a large dial for good readability of reading and a very robust antimagnetic case resistant to temperature variations. In 1940 the "Big Pilot" was born to serve the German Air Force pilots. His drawing was a date with a large 55 mm box, a slightly triangular crown and a very readable dial where the badge of military watches is at 12 noon, namely the triangle flanked by two points. In 1948, the factory produced the Mark 11 for the RAF pilots who would use it until the early 1980s. With this history, the manufacturer, in addition to reissues of its most emblematic models, continued to develop drivers's watches such as the Spitfire or the limited series Antoine de St Exupéry.
Finally, the story of these watches reminds us that they are above all work tools that testify to the strength of the commitment and courage of men and women who have worn them.