Flieger watches issued to Luftwaffe pilots were a massive 55mm in diameter, generally contained a pocket watch movement and were worn on the wrist outside the flight suit. Legibility was also the main goal in sizing the watch cases up. A sparse dial in matte black with high contrast painted, lumed indices and 12 o’clock arrow were specially designed to be highly legible in high and low light. Five watchmakers, including IWC were consigned by the German forces to make Type A (simple 12 hour dial) and Type B (more complex 24 hour dial) flieger watches. The most iconic flieger formats in IWC’s popular Mark, Petit Prince and Big Pilot collections is called the Type A flieger and was designed by German forces for its Luftwaffe pilots during World War II. Flieger watches were developed as tools for aviation and war. The darker sideīut to really understand why flieger watches are sizable, let’s take a step back from the giddy world of Hollywood and professional racing and lean into one of horology’s darker sides. Of course, all these factors are synonymous with IWC Pilot or flieger watches and are a big reason for their ongoing appeal. Whatever it was, the allure of an adrenaline-soaked life at Miramar with all its high-tech, rugged looking gadgets and afternoon volleyball games caught my attention.Įven now, I’m taken by the speed and supersonic boom of stealth fighters as they practice manoeuvres over where I often holiday, while getting near enough to the Australian Formula 1 track to feel the roar of the engines under my skin is a complete buzz. Perhaps it was the infectiously catchy Kenny Loggins song that I imagined playing in the cockpit whilst dog-fighting with my friends at high speed, or maybe it was my dream of having a legitimately cool call-sign, “Elektra” perhaps. When I was young, just like many other kids, I dreamed of being a fighter pilot. I/trending 6446 Big Watches, Small Wrists Part III: Can I pull off a pilot’s watch? Kylie Lloyd-Wyatt
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