Stowa Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B

Quick specs Stowa Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B
Price: starting at approx. $ 1,020 | € 950 | approx. £ 810 | approx. CHF 920
Size: 40 mm
Reference: not provided

The Stowa Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B has its roots in the 1940s, a dark period for the world. As Germany started World War II in 1939 by invading Poland, and soon after the whole world was at war against Germany and its allies.

Obviously, all combating (air) forces needed more of everything they use, including watches, also for their pilots. For that, most countries leaned on their own watch industry, if they had any. As a result, during the end of the 1930s and certainly in the 1940s, many watch brands started the production of military spec (pilot) watches. The pilots were mainly used for navigation and timing.

Watches during the World War II era

Specific watch designs and specifications during the World War II era were, in short and really not in full detail, as follows. The US Military had the A-11 spec/design watches, coming from Bulova, Elgin, Waltham. The British Military used the Mark XI specs manufactured by International Watch Company (IWC) and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The French had the Type 20/Type 21 provided by Breguet, Dodane, Auricoste and Vixa. And the Japanese had the Seikosha Tensoku design, delivered by Seikosha, the predecessor of Seiko.

The German Military got their watches from the brands A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, Laco, Wempe and Stowa. The latter produced pilot watches among other models, the so called Fliegeruhren or B-Uhren. In general, these models were made with two designs for aviation, called the Baumuster design.

What is the Baumuster design?

Baumuster is German for “model” or sometimes “prototype”, which is why this term is always accompanied by an extra identification. For the 1940 military (pilot) watches, it was either Baumuster A or Baumuster B. Indeed, it’s just model A or model B.

The Baumuster A design shows a simple, mostly black dial with large Arabic numerals from 1 to 11 and a triangle with two dots at the 12 o’clock position. The outer ring of the dial has a minutes/seconds scale. Baumuster B has a more complex dial with an outer ring with a large minute scale (from 5 to 55) for more precision. The hours (1 to 12) are on a smaller ring in the middle. At the 12 o’clock position, there is also a triangle with two dots on either side, just like the Baumuster A. This is to help pilots quickly identify the 12 o’clock position, even in low-light conditions. All with contrasting, often black and white colors for the most clearness, and all with luminescent material.

This Baumuster A and Baumuster B design is often connected with the term “B-Uhren” or “Beobachtungsuhren”, German for observation watches. These were issued to navigators and pilots of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe).

Understanding this Stowa Flieger

With all the aforementioned information, you have an idea where this watch and its design come from. Stowa’s first pilot for the German Air Force dates from 1940 and is a Baumuster A design. However, in 1942 they produced a Baumuster B for the Luftwaffe, probably – like all German pilot watches at the time – with a diameter of around 55 millimeters.

The new Stowa Flieger has the exact Baumuster B design, but now with a 40-millimeter case. Stowa also has 36-, 42- and 43-millimeter Fliegers with this design in their collection, by the way. This 40 has a black dial, white numerals, and indexes and uses super-luminova BGW9. This is a luminescent grade that has 95% of the luminosity of super-luminova C3, the brightest apart from X1. However, the luminous duration is longer than the grades C3 and C1.

The Stowa Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B has a power reserve of 41 or 42 hours

You can buy the watch with the automatic Sellita caliber SW200 in a basic version or a top version, which has a nicer finish. Or you can get it with a hand-wound Sellita caliber SW210 with a nicer finish. This one gives a little more power reserve: 38 vs 42. And all the movements are available with or without a tiny date at 6 o’clock. The price difference between these movement options varies from a few tens to a little over 100 dollars or euros.

The Stowa Flieger Verus 40 Baumuster B comes on a black leather pilot’s strap without rivets and with a pin buckle. Or you can go for the matt stainless steel Milanese strap with a folding clasp. Both in the sizes small, normal, or large.