Basic Idea

The Airman is a 24-hour watch, with a full 24 hour cycle pictured on the dial. The hour hand goes around only 7 times per week, while the minute hand behaves more conventionally. The outer bezel is a ring which can be set to some other time zone, such as GMT. The date advance mechanism works with a precise trigger, which instantly snaps each new date into position. When setting the time, a hack pin locks the second hand at :00 so the watch can be easily synchronised to a time signal.

Versions

There were a few versions of this watch, produced in the early 1960's. The "Airman" has 17 jewels, while the "Airman Special" has 25. Both seem to be fundamentally different movements. There are two types of hour markers, which seem to have changed independantly of the "Special" distinction. I have seen both stick markers as well as dot markers. There was also a white dial version which appears to be quite rare.