Watches Worn by The Few: Two Watches of Battle of Britain and the RAF in WWII
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” — Winston Churchill, 20th August 1940.
Anybody with a slither of knowledge of World War II history would know what this line was about, and who Churchill was referring to. Commonly known as “The Few,” this was dedicated to the young pilots of the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain.
This series of articles, which I will call “Watches Worn by ___”, will talk about significant wristwatches worn and used by specifically pilots in war. As a pilot myself, I always found myself intrigued about the days when a watch was the only instrument capable of accurately telling time. Time is important to us as pilots, it tells us when to change headings, altitudes and most importantly tells us exactly how much fuel we have left in our tanks.
The Battle of Britain was known for being the first major military campaign fought almost entirely by air forces. German forces, starting from 10th of July 1940 begun executing large scale bombing attacks against Britain and her air defenses, shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres in an attempt to bring Britain to the negotiating table. Further goals of the Luftwaffe as the battle enraged were to destroy the RAF fighter command, destroy civilian centres…