Pilot Watch Dial Type Differences and Their History - Watch and Learn #37
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Join us today as we talk about one of the most iconic watch dials in history, the Pilot's Watch Dial. Generally, they come in two varieties, an A-Dial and a B-Dial. The A dial is a simpler, cleaner design, while the B dial, with its expanded minutes track, allows more accurate time telling.
These dials were specifically developed for the purposes of pilot legibility with the flieger watch design & characteristics still prevalent today.
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Hi Marc. Great video as always.
As far as I know both watches were observer watches, in german "Beobachtungs-Uhr"
A-types were built until 1941 and then the B-type started to replace the A-types. So A- and B- was only to distinguish the two version.
They were not worn by pilots but by the navigators (on the bombers). The pilots were issued witch chronographs similar to those that Hannhart builds.
The observer watch was used in combination with an octant the get the current position of the plane and correct the course to target. So the watch was part of the "navigation system" of the plane one could say.
So intrestingly the term "pilot watch" is misleading but used by most of the brands today. To me it is more related to a pilot on a ship who plots the course compared to a pilot on a plane (who actually would be the helmsman on a ship?)
It's hard to get some real facts on this topic. So this is just my "dangerous superficial knowledge"
I like your knowledge, and I appreciate it. I did review the Stowa website as they have a decent history, but do not have a relationship with Jorg so felt funny to reach out.
Marc, another great video! It’s too bad that the origins of the two different dials are shrouded (or lost) to history. It was explained to me once long ago that the A Uhr was the pilot’s watch and the B Uhr was the navigator/bombardier/observers. The reason is that the B was better for fix position determination (the right seater’s or below deck crew’s job. The A Uhr was the pilots because when you have to fly a timed track or timed turn, the A Uhr was better for that. Anyway, great production and thanks for being mindful of the glare. I really enjoyed watching. - Mark
Thank you sir!
I’ve always been partial to the B dial, but seeing the lume shot has me convinced that the A dial is the one for me. Thanks for the video Marc!
I didn't know the pilot watches were originally around 55mm. Huge. Something Flavor Flav might wear. :-) The B dials look great. Nice video.
Yes, like clocks!
They wore it around their legs or over their thick flight jackets
Very helpful and informative. Thanks Marc!
So happy to find your video on Flieger style.
Fell in love with the "B" face a few months ago and received my first one last week. Citizen Eco - Drive B style quartz ...LOVE IT!!!
Mine includes a 3rd center ring for 24 hr "military " time. So 3 rings, big minutes, 12 hr, 24 hr.
Reminds me of the vintage Timex Bullseye watches.
I would LOVE to own that 47 mm version😁
Cool!
Thanks for the brief history of both watches, that was cool.
Thanks!
The 5s aren’t lumed because when you are bouncing around trying to read it in turbulence, all Lume close together would blur into one. When flying and training and navigating, it’s important for pilots now as we no longer have navigators!
LMAO you’re not training on a bi-plane. You’re training on a Cessna at least. 😂
Also, most cadets have G-Shock or Apple watches nowadays. It’s season pilots who strive getting Diver watches and eventually stumble on IWC and got to know about “pilot watches”. 😊
So, your lume claims doesn’t count.
@@gcm22490 not sure luftwaffe navigators were wearing G-Shocks and Apple watches, so maybe OP's lume claims make a bit more sense historically!
Thanks Mark, very good presentation. In "Beobachter", (german) the emphasis is on the "o" just for your information.
Thank you; I know I'm killing the language :)
Best vid yet.I am a sad aviation need frankly! Yes blind flying depends on minutes for dead reckoning a change of course or measuring fuel consumption etc The hour itself is of little matter in real time for a navigator who instructed the pilot of a bomber where to basically go.His watch was arguably the most important bit of kit on the aircraft? Along with the compass .? Good stuff.
The B dial is a great tool to teach kids to read time. I used a Seiko SNK809 b dial style to teach my daughter how to read time (a skill that is lost on many young kids now days- cell phones). They can read small hand to bigger hand and then bigger (seconds) hand and the dial is set up to go from inside out very easily.
Perfect! Works for kids too :)
I heard somewhere A-aviator B-bomber
It works!
Great video. Thank you for posting this.
Thank you. These lesson vids are great.
Glad you enjoy.
With the B dials I suspect that the pilots are briefed on their mission and a squadron would take off in a staggered pattern. Each crew would have their take off time and fly at different speeds that would eventually bring them into formation. At a specific minute mark the mission would then synch into “so many minutes into the mission” and act as a body. Things would then happen at say 35 past the hour (and) 30 (seconds) and there would be no distracting reference to the hour hand and the time it refers to?
I'm really surprised you don't mention Fortis. They make a great Swiss aviator, flieger watch. Sold one a few years ago, and wish I hadn't.
I like Fortis, but they were not one of the big 5 originals.
Great video
Always love to see new videos from you.
Thanks!
I bought the B Dial, just love it.
Thanks again ! Love to watch and learn !
Thank you!
Hi Marc, i started your video blog 2 days ago and now I'm here :D I'm totally love it! My question for you - what is that "arrow" or something on the bazel near 12 o'clock called? A saw that omega speedmaster also has it
Aviator's Triangle? I think it's an immediate reference to the 12 position.
As they say, "everyday is a school day". A big thanks for my latest lesson, now I understand Flieger watches.
Thanks for watching, glad you could learn something.
I like the Laco ones for the price really, probably will buy one soon rather than a Swiss watch, thanks for the vid - great stuff ! and informative,cheers
Thanks for taking the time to watch.
Very informative as usual
Sinn made some interesting Flieger-style watches I think
They do, and they are awesome!
Hello. Fascinating review. What is your take on the stuttering second-hand issue of the Miyota 821A?
beautiful LACOs.
my preferred size would be the 45mm.. any video on that??
Hi Marc. Do you know anything about the Poljot Flight Chronograph watches? Are they good watches, 3133/31861 movements ?? Whats your take on them???
what is the meaning of the triangle instead of using "12"?
Great video as always. Is there a functional reason for the particular design of the hands, and do they have a style name?
Simple and easy to read. Like sword hands.
I have the same Dec Adapter and clamp. The clamp works great, but with my Dec Adapter, and just the one screw, it seems to slip some and move with the weight of the camera. Does your have that issue? I can move it with my hand easily. It's like it needs two or three screws to be held in place. I'm a little disappointed....
Marc, in the literal sense these were not actually pilots watches but rather navigators watches. They were used in multi-crew cockpits, where certain tasks were delegated.You actually touched on this in your presentation but in my research I don’t believe this watch was ever issued to the pilot.
Hey Mark, i really like Zeppelin LZ127 automatic but i dont know if it is a good choice for a first automatic? Thank you and cheers from Serbia!
Absolutely!
Thank you for your answer! I bought it and it is amazing, really nice watch and i couldn`t be happier. Cheers!
Are the A and B dial Flieger style Laco/Aristo watches true certified chronometers?
It's for bombing runs. When they do strafing or bombing runs, they're set in specific minutes. That's why that's the only thing lumed and not the hours. They probably already know the hours, so the minutes is necessary. Also, they used that to time their flight times. Training missions and fuel "stops" as well.
Thanks.
Does anyone have a link where I can buy this watch?
Seiko SNK809 💪😍🙏
You really like the junkers. Ice seen you wear it in allot of videos. Does it carry special meaning?
It is in the current rotation. No special meaning, just a cool watch :)
Fleiger means flyer!
I really like the B-Type dial, it's unique-looking. At some point, I want to buy a 24-hour dial watch, I think those are pretty neat, as well, but are quite difficult to find. After being in the military, my brain works on military/24-hour time anyway, and all my digital clocks/watches and phone are set on 24-hour time. I did a quick search on your website when I was looking at the Marathon JDD, but I didn't see any.
I got the email that the JDD was back in stock, so it does, indeed work and hopefully mine will arrive later this week. :)
Scott R Get a Glycine Airman!
Haha, thank you!
These are the quintessential German watch. No frills, all business. The rivets on the strap are almost borderline too fancy, but I'm certain they have a purpose.
They are there for authenticity as that is how the original straps were made.
Large, clean, easy to read, pilot watch= easy to read at 52 with astigmatism. I like the look of lots of complications but have to put on a pair of reading glasses to actually see them anymore.
Hi Mark ... could you make a recommendation for a quartz movement watch, with a dial just like the Laco A dial ?
Try the Aristo 3H80 or 3H84.
Junkers made a good one a few years ago... 6140-1 or -2, I'm not sure what it was... With a date and a GMT window. I think they still make Flieger-style watches, possibly type A's.
Great video...incidentally, "flieger" literally translates to "flyer" in German. ...keep it up, love that lacco...
Thank you!
As cool as dive style watches are, pilot style watches have the coolest faces in my opinion. My SNK805 is my favorite watch with its flieger inspired dial.
Brilliant
Thank you sir!
My pleasure. Really enjoy your Watch and Learn series.
Just one watch today, Mark? What in the world is going on lol
Haha, it happens! Sorry.
I just saw the €130 price increase at Laco for these fliegers, what are they thinking Marc?
It's a good question. I don't know. We will be adjusting prices this week.
I want to buy a watch from your website but there’s no shipping to my country, can you please ship it personally to me via any international shipping ? help me mark
What country?
Type A with a minute hand from type B.
Personally I don't think there's very deep thinking behind the A and B dial names. I think when de B-dial was invented they needed a way to differentiate them, so they named the first one A-uhr and the second one B-uhr. But I have no reference at all, just my logical thinking.
Zündapp97 That’s pretty much how the Germans did things; Mark 1 or Type 1 for U -boats and tanks and Golf GTIs. I think A was first, B second.
Right, but what bothers me is "B" stands for Beobachter (I think).
I've done a quick little search and found out a view things. Beobachtungsuhr seems to be a name for a lot of watches including navigators watches but also marine chronometers. Also these watches were worn by the navigators and not by the pilots themselves. Baumuster A and Baumuster B just mean type A and type B, just like Mike also said. You should also check out the german Wikipedia page beobachtungsuhr. I'm sure you can figure some things out using translate and pictures. There is stated when a watch is considered a beobachtungsuhr.
Long Island Watch @mark did you found some more in regard to the beobachtungsuhr?
B Type dial watches.... don’t they call them field watches?
Type A = Aviation. Type B = Bomber. You said it yourself, you need to use minutes to time bombs.
Do you have a reference for the A-Dial? Like is that written somewhere? Not that I don't believe it, but I didn't come across anything that said it.
Why would the Germans name there watch types after an English abbreviation? Makes absolutely no sense to me personally....
Well, Bomber in German is "Bomber". But Observation is "Beobachter". So that one works. Aviator translates to Flieger, which doesn't work.
Long Island Watch yeah it's possible, maybe they named the B-uhr after bomber or beobachtung and figured, if this is B lets call the first one A. If I have time tomorrow I'll do some research in German. I can read German fairly well so maybe I can find something
Thanks!