The Type 20: French Military Chronographs

In the 1950's and 1960's, several manufacturers supplied chronograph wristwatches to the French military forces. These were originally designated Type 20. After a period, it became expensive to maintain and repair these watches and a new series was introduced using more modern movements, the Type 21.

One of the French Defense Ministry's requirements for the Type 20 and Type 21 was the flyback (retour en vol ) function. The flyback is also called the "Taylor system" or "permanent zero setting." The flyback allows you to instantly stop, reset, and restart the chronograph with a single press of the lower button. This is useful when you don't really need to know the actual event duration, only that the timed event was completed within a certain limit, and are then going on to monitor another event. While not a significant mechanical complication, the flyback feature is a great convenience for a operation that is common in aviation. The "permanent zero setting" mechanism, implemented on the basic two-button chronograph function invented by Breitling in 1933, was patented by Longines-Francillon in 1936.

Other basic mechanical specifications for the Type 20 included an accuracy within 8 seconds/day, a power reserve of more than 35 hours, and the ability to handle the start-stop-reset operation 300 times without any problems.

The primary recipients of these chronographs were the pilots and flying personnel of the French Air Force, French Navy, and the CEV (Centre D'Essai en Vol, the French flight test center). Some of these watches saw duty in the French Indochina war. A number were also sold to the air forces of Morocco and Argentina. The watches belonging to the French forces were overhauled every year (in theory, anyway). After servicing, the casebacks were marked with the letters "FG" which stand for Fin de Garantie (end of warranty) and the date of the next scheduled maintenance:

Breguet military Type 20 Ref. 5101/54 caseback

The Breguet Type 20

The Breguet Type 20 is the most famous, and, to collectors, the most valuable of the French military chronographs. Montres Breguet was founded in 1775 by the great inventor and clockmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), and had its headquarters in Paris until it moved to Switzerland in the 1970s.

The Breguet watchmaking firm had a long history of involvement with aviation industry due to Louis Charles Breguet (1880-1955), who was a pioneer in aeronautics. Louis Breguet was the great-great-grandson of Abraham-Louis Breguet. Louis Breguet developed his first aircraft in 1909 and during World War I his company, Société d'Aviation Louis Breguet, produced about 5,500 Breguet XIV (Br-14) aircraft for the Allied Forces. Designed by Louis Breguet in 1916, the innovative Breguet Br-14 was a highly successful biplane used by the French, Belgian and American air services. It was rugged and versatile, and saw service as a reconnaissance aircraft, a bomber, and an ambulance. The Br-14 had a wingspan of 14.36 m and was powered by a Renault V12 engine which gave it a maximum speed of 177 km/h at 2,000 m and a ceiling of 5,800 m.

Breguet Br-14

After the war the advanced Breguet XIX made historic long-distance flights across continents and oceans:

Breguet XIX

In parallel with the aeronautic achievements, the Breguet watchmaking firm developed aeronautical instruments and aviation chronographs. Their first clients were the American pilots stationed in France, and they were soon followed by Louis Breguet's aircraft firm and many others.

The Breguet Type 20 chronograph was produced in small numbers until it won the official approval of the French services in 1950. From 1954, Breguet was commissioned by the French government to supply the Type 20 to the Air Force, the Naval Air Arm, and the CEV. The Breguet Type 20s used stainless steel cases and screwed case backs.

The standard model for the French Air Force had an unsigned dial, a 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock and used a Valjoux cal. 22 movement with an added flyback function. (This movement may have been called the Valjoux cal. 222.) The Valjoux cal. 22 was first released in 1914 and was one of the first chronograph movements designed for wristwatches. The 17-jewel rhodium-plated movement is 14''' (31.6 mm, 1''' = 2.2558 mm) and uses a monometalic balance and Breguet balance spring:

Breguet military Type 20 Ref. 5101/54

There were approximately 2000 of this model made. The type 20 "5101/54" (signifying the number and year of the contract) was usually made with a large ball-shaped crown, enabling the watch to be rewound by a pilot whilst wearing gloves. However, any advantage gained by making the watch easy to wind was generally outweighed by the problems of the button catching on clothing under rough conditions and the majority have been fitted with a more conventional windingcrown.

In 1957, the CEV ordered 50 watches; these had an interior antimagnetic cover and were engraved with "CEV" and the serial number. The CEV version had a 15-minutes large register and a bezel engraved with hour markers. The same model was sold in a civilian version.

In 1958, the French Navy also ordered 500 watches with a 15-minute larger register for their pilots. These had signed dials,were engraved with "BREGUET MARINE NATIONALE AERONAUTIQUE NAVALE" and had an antimagnetic interior shield. The bezel is pretty much the same as the first generation of Type 20, the dial and hands are different and the winding crown is conventional.

Breguet military chronograph for the Aeronautique Navale

Breguet tried to win new contracts from the military in 1970, but their prices were too high. A second-generation civilian model was produced in the 1970's and 1980's and has a heavier, polished steel case with squared lugs. This model used a gold-plated 17-jewel 14''' movement.

Breguet chronograph circa 1970