There are
some watch designs that not only stand the test of time, but in the case of
war, also transcend their original context to become a classic. Such a watch,
the B-Uhr, the offspring of Germany and Switzerland’s leading watchmakers, has
a noted history of design and production, but was employed for an infamous
cause. The B-Uhren watches guided German bombers in their terrible campaigns of
World War II with dropped bombs whistling through air to end in devastating
consequence. The B-Uhr remains a formidable watch.
In 1935,
Adolf Hitler announced his plans to reconstitute Germany’s Air Force and
officially created the Luftwaffe. Germany had been building its aviation
forces, decidedly military in purpose and in violation of WWI’s Versailles
Treaty, but this buildup had proceeded ostensibly for civilian purposes. With
his power consolidated, Hitler shrugged off all pretense and announced
Germany’s resumption of military procurement. Prior to 1935, the Heinkel He 111
bomber supposedly existed as a transport plane just as the National Socialist
Party supposedly sought to establish peace and prosperity. Though few
(including watchmakers) knew it at the time, Germany was preparing for war.
Schematic-WFThe
RLM (Reichs-Luftfahrtministerium), responsible for aircraft development, also
sought a commensurate time piece for its bomber navigators. The 1935 conceptual
designs first specified an hour angle indication like the Lindbergh watch (see
here), but this specification was dropped, and standard criteria emerged,
making the B-Uhr instantly recognizable.
These
watches were big. 55mm big. The size accommodated large hand-wound movements
typically used in pocket watches, but the B-Uhr was always to be a watch for
the wrist. Each one used a Breguet balance spring. Inside, the movement was
surrounded by an iron core, making the B-Uhr anti-magnetic – a must for
aviation. To correct for time discrepancies, the movements were capable of
stopping the central seconds hand by pulling the crown, or hacking, and the
oversized diamond or onion crown could be operated with gloves on the hand. A
very long, double-riveted leather strap, long enough to go over the leather
flight jacket, held the B-Uhr in place.
The large
size made them unambiguously legible and their black dials with white Arabic
numerals further aided the task of precise reading. The flame-blued sword hands
were covered in luminous material as was the distinguishing upwards-orientation
triangle or arrow at the twelve o’clock position, accompanied by two dots on
the Type A models. The initial Type A model had only an outer chapter ring, but
the later type B (starting in 1941) had an outer ring for minutes/seconds and
an inner ring for hours. Each case had FL23883 engraved on the left side. FL
designated flieger, and 23 identified the watch as a navigation watch. The
snap-off case back had the following identifying information on its inside:
type (Bauart), production number (Gerät-Nr.), movement (Werk-Bez.), order
number (Anforderz), and manufacturer (Hersteller). The RLM and its partner
watch manufacturers produced a novel design, which would attain cult status.
B-Uhren is
an abbreviation for Beobachtungs-uhren, literally Observation watches. B-Uhr is
singular, and B-Uhren is plural. The B-Uhren were property of the Luftwaffe,
not the navigators. The navigator was issued his watch before flight, and then
returned the watch after completing the mission. Navigators received a signal
beep from the airbase, which in turn set its chronometer to the standard time
of the German Naval Observatory (Deutsche Seewarte), and if the navigator’s
time was off, the hacking mechanism allowed for adjustment. An accurate watch
was necessary for navigation, so all the B-Uhren watches were regulated and
tested to the highest chronometer standards of the Deutsche Seewarte in
Hamburg. Bomber navigators peered over the navigation table, their B-Uhren at
the ready, and plotted course, copied astronomical fixes and noted events on
the map. The B-Uhr was a consummate navigational aid.
Five
manufacturers – four German and one Swiss – supplied the B-Uhren. In Germany,
A. Lange & Söhne, Wempe, Lacher & Company/Durowe (Laco), and Walter
Storz (Stowa) produced the watch. Wempe and Stowa used Swiss movements; Wempe
settled on the Thommen cal. 31, and Stowa used the Unitas cal. 2812. Lange used
its big cal. 48 and then its cal. 48.1, and Laco used its (Durowe) cal. 5 – the
only two companies to use in-house German movements. When Wempe purchased the
Chronometerwerk in Hamburg in 1938, it gained a significant increase in
production capacity, and to assist the limited production faced by Lange and
Laco, Wempe assembled watches for them. To meet demand, Lange also sent
ébauches and cases to a variety of other manufacturers for assembly and
regulation. In smaller numbers, the Swiss International Watch Company IWC who
supplied watches to both Axis and Allied forces, manufactured the B-Uhr (cal.
52T S.C.) for the Luftwaffe. These five companies were the only ones to make
the B-Uhr.
Today, the
available Lange or Wempe B-Uhren are vintage watches from the war, and if you
can find one, they come with hefty price tags. IWC’s Big Pilot watch is an
evolution from the B-Uhr, having its predecessor’s DNA, but sporting an adapted
design. This is a watch made for aviation, and as such, retains an
anti-magnetic feature – the only current watch to do so. Unlike its no-frills
B-Uhr predecessor, the Big Pilot elevates the navigational concept to a higher
echelon of quality and function, providing a luxury timepiece (see here).
Stowa, now
owned by watchmaker Jörg Schauer, offers a nice homage to the B-Uhr in a
dressier version (see here). The case is polished, the movement decorated,
visible through a transparent case back, and the 40mm size is the smallest of
this group. They also offer a date window option. Stowa makes a fine watch, but
be prepared to wait for its arrival – demand far exceeds production.
Laco offers
a wide range of movement choices, providing a greater range of affordability,
but its watches featuring ETA and hand winding movements are the watches of
note. In these, Laco produces what might be termed a reproduction, having
carefully recreated the design of the original watch down to the smallest
detail, from the dial design to the FL23883 engraved on the case’s side to the
inner case back information ingeniously moved to the outside. These Laco
watches measure 42mm and 45mm (see here). Both Stowa and Laco offer flame blued
hands, sapphire crystal, riveted leather straps, superb luminosity and Type A
and B models. Of the original manufacturers, IWC, Stowa and Laco each offer a
contemporary B-Uhr choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment