Military watch history and legendary models

Why military watches were created

The requirements of the military were an important driver of innovation for watchmaking from an early stage:

• Accuracy for navigation and operations
• Robustness, dust and impact resistance
• Readability at night
• Synchronization for military actions

As early as the First World War, pocket watches evolved into the first true wristwatches , often worn by officers — a revolution in watchmaking history.

The milestones of military timepieces

World War I (1914 – 1918)

The birth of the wristwatch

• Officers began tying pocket watches to their arms with leather straps to keep both hands free.
• Typical features: wire lugs , luminous numerals, solid casing.
• Models from brands such as Longines , Omega , Zenith , and Helvetia , some with a "trench watch" design.
• Manufacturer: Swiss factories, often for both German and British troops.

Interwar period (1919 – 1939)

Precision engineering perfection and specialization

• Marine chronometers and observation watches played crucial roles in navigation and aviation.
• Glashütte precision (Strasser & Rohde, Vetterlein, Urofa/UFAG) and Swiss manufacturers (Longines, Zenith, Lemania) developed highly precise “deck clocks”.
• The first true pilot's watches appeared: large dials, distinctive luminous hands, robust hand-wound movements.

World War II (1939 – 1945)

The era of iconic military watches

German Wehrmacht / Luftwaffe

• B-Uhr (observation watches) from A. Lange & Söhne, Laco, Stowa, Wempe, IWC:
  • 55 mm diameter, large crown ("pilot's crown"), satin-finish dials.
  • Serial numbers and manufacturer's identifiers ("FL 23883") on the case back.
• Hanhart and Tutima (Glashütte) : first German chronographs for pilots – legendary today.

British Armed Forces

• Dirty Dozen (1944–45): 12 brands produced robust military watches with small seconds, black and white dial and luminous material.
  Brands: Longines, Omega, IWC, Eterna, Record, Vertex and others.
  → Today, highly sought-after collector's watches.

US Army & US Navy

• A-11 Navigation Watch (Elgin, Bulova, Waltham):
  The “watch that won the war” – a standardized, easy-to-read design.
• Later: A-17 and GG-W-113 after WW II; basis of almost all modern field watches.

Japan

• Seikosha (= Seiko predecessor) produced pilot's watches and ship's watches; robust and precise.
• Post-war period to Cold War (1945 – 1980)

From tool to icon

• Military watches became the model for civilian sports watches:
  • Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (1953) – French combat divers.
  • Rolex Submariner (1953) – British Royal Navy; icon of diving watches.
  • Omega Seamaster 300 (1960s) – Royal Navy standard.
  • Tudor MN (Marine Nationale France) – operationally proven.
  • Heuer Bundeswehr 1550 SG (Luftwaffe, 1960s–70s) – Chronograph classic.
• Soviet armies used robust watches from Poljot, Raketa, Vostok (combat divers).

Modern Era / Today

• Military watches have inspired generations :
  • Marathon , CWC , Luminox , Casio G-Shock Military continue to set standards.
  • Modern collectors are looking for originals from the Wehrmacht, B-Uhr, or Dirty Dozen series.
  • These watches tell world history in miniature – technical, military, and human.

7 watches that actually “made history”