Type A (Baumuster A) is the earlier of two dial layouts used on the B-Uhr, the Beobachtungsuhr or observation watch built for Luftwaffe navigators during the Second World War. Made from 1940 through January 1941, the Type A dial is austere: a matte-black field, a thick minute track, Arabic hour numerals from 1 to 11, and in place of a 12 a triangle bracketed by two dots at the top. That triangle let a navigator orient the watch at a glance without reading it. Original cases ran about 55mm to house pocket-watch-grade hand-wound movements, with an oversized onion crown for gloved hands and long riveted straps to clear a flight jacket. The Baumuster B layout that followed in January 1941 pushed the hours onto a small inner ring and added a big outer minute scale, which is precisely why collectors read Type A as the cleaner, more legible of the two.
Only five firms made the original B-Uhren: four German, A. Lange & Sohne, Wempe, Laco (Lacher & Company/Durowe) and Stowa (Walter Storz), plus the Swiss IWC, every case engraved FL23883. Lange ran its in-house cal. 48, Laco the Durowe cal. 5. Today an original Durowe-powered B-Uhr trades roughly $4,500 to $13,600 among collectors. On the modern side, Archimede offers the most accessible entry, its 39mm ETA 2824-2 Type A landing near $845 shipped. Stowa's Baumuster A Flieger Vintage and Klassik run about $1,200 to $1,300, while the Laco Flieger Pro Type A sits around $1,080 to $1,200 with an SW-200. Higher up, the IWC Pilot's Watch Mark XX (IW328201) uses a clean Type-A-style dial, in-house caliber 32111 and a 120-hour reserve for about $5,250, with the Big Pilot 43 in the $8,400 neighborhood.
When buying, read the dial first: a true Type A shows only the 1-to-11 hour numerals, the thick minute track and the triangle-plus-two-dots at top, with no large minute figures on the outer ring. If you see those big outer minutes, you are looking at a Baumuster B instead. Diameter is personal. Historical purists chase the 55mm Laco Replika, but for daily wear a 39mm to 42mm case sits far better. A hand-wound caliber stays slim and period-correct, while automatics buy you convenience. The main trade-off is the date: most Type A dials skip a window to keep things clean, and those that include one usually tuck it at 6 to preserve the symmetry.
Who it suits is clear enough: anyone after a high-contrast, no-nonsense military instrument who finds the numeral-heavy Baumuster B too busy. Type A is not the watch for polish, diamonds or colored dials. It lives or dies on a matte-black field, flame-blued or white sword hands and correct proportion. The differences between brands hide in the details. Stowa leans into refined finishing and a discreet dot logo, Laco offers deep customization and a faithful FL engraving, Archimede pushes hard value, and IWC brings an in-house caliber and brand depth.