Stowa has just unveiled the Flieger Klassik Sport, an enlarged, 43mm version of its bestselling pilot’s watch modelled on the Luftwaffe B-Uhr.

Now larger and with increased water resistance, the Stowa Flieger Klassik Sport still retains the signature look derived from the 55mm beobachtungsuhr (B-uhr) worn by German airforce navigators during the Second World War. While the original Stowa Flieger was just 40mm in diameter, the Flieger Klassik Sport has a 43mm case diameter, more suited to contemporary tastes. Though the modern Stowa company is a resurrected name (like much of the rest of German watchmaking), Stowa does possess a legitimate claim to be a maker of aviator’s timepieces. A contraction of Walter Storz, Stowa was one of the five companies that supplied actual B-uhr to the German airforce during the Second World War, along with A. Lange & Söhne, Laco, Wempe and IWC (the modern IWC Big Pilot is modelled on its vintage B-uhr). Like the Second World War B-uhr, the Flieger Klassik Sport is available with two dials, the cleaner Baumuster A (“Type A”) dial with only hour numerals, and the later Baumuster B dial with both hour and minute numbers. The Type A dial is offered with or without the Stowa logo, with a date at six o’clock being another option. 

Flieger Type A

Flieger Type B