Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.
MWC 83 - 1970s Swedish Airman
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, Apr 22, 2017 at 11:54 AM (41276 Views)
Sweden remained neutral throughout the second world war, but recognised the growing tension between the Nato Alliance and the Warsaw Pact countries, with the Russian border just 200 kilometres away Sweden knew it would have to react with lightning speed should any invasion come.
Knowing airfields would be priority targets for any invasion force the Swedish government devised a series of Sub-Airfields, dispersed across the country in remote locations, concrete bunkers designed to be self-sufficient for 14 days held air and ground crew for small groups of planes, notable amongst these was the Saab AJ37 Viggen, the Thunderbolt.
Developed jointly with the USA as part of NATO the Viggen was a highly advanced strike fighter that was capable of Short take off and landing, essential for the sub-airfields runways that were often mere stretches of road in forested areas. The Viggen proved to be reliable and easy to maintain and continued to be developed for the lifetime of its use, thanks to its highly skilled pilots and advanced avionics it was the only aircraft to get a 'Radar Lock' on the USAs most famous spy plane, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, despite its extensive Anti-radar capability.
Swedish Pilots were also equipped with Lemania Chronographs, of a design used only by Sweden and South Africa, around 630 were produced and these limited numbers make them highly desirable.
Case
Polished 41.3mm case, 44.1mm with crown, 11.5mm deep, 47.5mm Lug to Lug, 20mm lug width
Interior diameter 35.8mm, 8.5mm deep, 6mm crown, 32mm flat glass
Two cosmetic, non-functional Pushers at 2 and 4 positions
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute scale at the outside edge in 5th-second increments. Numbered at 5-minute intervals, Hours indicated in green colour Arabic numerals
polished pencil shaped hour and minute hands with green infill, and a matching slim seconds hand
Black infill bezel with Metalic green scale numbered at 10-minute marks
Strap
Black PU Leather strap 2014mm wide at the lugs, narrows to an 18mm polished buckle, approx. fitting 180/225mm