Military watches and chronographs

Watch Chronograph

Dodane

Military watches and chronographs DODANE 1857

A craftsmanship in service to watchmaking precision

MILITARY CHRONOMETRIC EQUIPMENTS

Specialist in chronometric instruments of navigation for military and civil aviation, DODANE 1857 re-issues the TYPE 21, the famous chronograph watch provided to the pilots of French Airforce from the sixties.

The TYPE 21 is the symbol of precision watchmaking craftsmanship in service to the armed forces. Full-fledged navigational instruments, these chronographs were designed on the basis of draconian specifications from the Ministry of Defence.

The technical qualities of the TYPE 21, combined with its reliability, have made it a truly renowned timepiece.

The distinctive features of the watch provide a refined, authentic style, perfectly preserving the line and personality of the original watch that was the pride of generations of pilots.

This personalized limited edition is assembled in the Swiss Jura region, respecting age-old watchmaking traditions.

The uniqueness of the watch is guaranteed when it is listed in the special register maintained by the Company; from this moment on, it is a collector’s item.

The intrinsic qualities of the TYPE 21 movement enable us to offer, at special request, to have your watch certified as a chronometric instrument by an official observatory of time measurement and verification.

Dodane manufactory was founded in 1857 and rapidly became known in the world of watchmaking for its research ethos and for the interest of its ancestors in aviation.

In 2005, the fifth generation of the Dodanes decided to re-issues the TYPE 21 in order to restore the brand DODANE 1857 and perpetuating family know-how.

Today, they continue to supply TYPE 211 chronometric instruments for aircraft and TYPE 21 wristwatches for military and civil aviation.

Whether used by military or civilian pilots, they are acknowledged by professionals to be irreplaceable instruments, as a result of their extreme reliability.

SPECIFICATIONS

Three Chronographs totalisators (hour, minute, second) to the 1/5éme of second

Water-resistant 100 meters (10 bars)

57 jewels Automatic chronograph movement 42021 Dubois Depraz Swiss-made

Chronometric assortment and finish "Côte de Geneve"

Flyback function

42 hours of power reserve

316 L stainless steel case protected for allergy diameter 41,5 mms, thickness 13,7 mms

Unidirectional rotating bezel with anti-clockwise return pawl

Superluminova Hands and figures luminescent

Saphire Upper Glass and Hardenned Glass case-back

Leather strap or Stainless steel bracelet with double claps opening

FONCTIONS

The Type 21 is a very high-precision chronograph. It is equipped with a special mechanism called “fly-back” enabling to measure pre-set time with continuous or interrupted operations.

This function enables to start, stop and restart the central hand telling seconds divided to the 5th as well as the hands telling minutes and hours.

The chronometer’s Start function is set by pushing the first push-button A. With a second push on this button, the central hand is stopped. A third push on the same button re-starts the chronometer hand. This enables to stop a time measurement and re-start it at the stop mark.

Zero-setting function of seconds, minutes and hours is obtained by pushing the second push-button B.

The Fly-back device allows it to be instantly reset during the chronograph’s operation by pressing the second button (B), without having to first stop the operation with the first button (A). When pressure is maintained on the second button, the hand stays at zero and only starts again when pressure is released.

The device enables an aircraft pilot or ship’s captain to follow instructions and change headings according to a predefined course. Once a sequence has elapsed, pressure on the button launches the following sequence.

The rotating bezel completes the sums of minutes and hours by acting as a countdown timer. For a four hour flight, the pilot enters the number 4 opposite the hour hand of the main dial, and starts the chronograph: when the hour hand is opposite the luminous 0 mark, the four hours have elapsed.

The tachometer measurement enables to know the plane speed when taking off on a short runway. As a matter of fact, if the pilot has not reached the sufficient acceleration to take off regarding a pre-set distance, he will choose to reverse the engine push in order to try to take off again safely.

MILITARY HISTORY OF THE WATCH

Military watches have a history; they reflect intensive efforts in the quest for precision and authenticity. The watch actually had to compensate for onboard instrument failure by acting as a navigational instrument for the pilot.

While conserving their precision, these chronographs already withstood extreme constraints in terms of acceleration, vibration, temperature variations and resistance to magnetic effects.

By official command from the French General Staff, the House of Dodane developed the Type 21 in the 1950’s. The “fly-back” function was the principal requirement in the stringent specifications then set out for the chronograph by the Ministry of Defence.

The demands of various silent partners, particularly the Navy and Air Force, obliged our master watchmakers to advance still further in precision and reliability, as well as in complexity.

First condition: owning the “fly-back “function i-e the possibility to set to zero and then to restart immediately the chronometer function.

The high officials o in the Air Force have imposed this condition as it was vital for pilots when they would fly over a beacon or when they had to land relying on the time given by the control tower.

Such a demand may sound odd if one thinks about the evolution and sophistication of the present electronic outfits. Nonetheless, at that time, the reliability of the clock and watch making industry was a matter of life or death, the watch had become a flying instrument capable of replacing a failing on-board device.

Among other requirements from the French National Defence’s specifications: an autonomy of over 35 hours, a maximum time difference of 8 seconds per any 24 hours. The difference was reduced to 0.2 seconds per minute and 0.5 seconds per half hour for chronometers. Besides the chronometer was supposed to operate at least 300 starts, stops and zero-setting in a row.

Already used by the Air Force and other corps, the Type 21 was supplied to NATO forces involved in sensitive missions. In the 1990’s, Dodane Type 21 chronographs continued to wield their talent in Army light aviation.

DODANE :148 YEARS OF WATCHMAKING HISTORY

•1857:

Five generations have succeeded the time when Alphonse Dodane, as well as his father-in-law François-Xavier Joubert, had the idea of creating a watchmaking facility and ebauche workshop in the heart of the Doubs gorges, on the edge of the Swiss border, in order to make use of the hydraulic power that the river offered.

The first DODANE watches were manufactured at that time in these factory employing 120 workers.

•1905 :

In order to take advantage of its electricity and railroad, the facility was transferred to Morteau (in France’s Haut Doubs region). It was here that Alphonse Gabriel Dodane took the reins from his father at the dawn of the First World War.

He gave the House of Dodane its very special character by diversifying its activity in traditional watchmaking. He was convinced that the conquest of the skies would be every bit as important as that of the road.

•1917 :

Since ballistic science was still in its infancy, the projectiles dropped from the first bombers had the singularity of landing far from their targets.

Alphonse Gabriel Dodane supplied the necessary correction by developing a reverse chronograph with a very innovative design.

This invention forever changed the future of the Company, which specialized thereafter in onboard chronographs for the combat aircraft produced by the Dassault plants.

•1929 :

The third generation of the Dodane family settled in Besançon, where Raymond Dodane carried on the traditions of complex watch fabrication.

He made the Company one of the longest-standing authorized suppliers to NATO and was awarded with RAQ 2 certification by the Industrial Supervision Department of the French Armoury.

The manufacture of Dodane was also a supplier to many civil airlines and military force, both in France and abroad, as well as to the Aéropostale, the French national department of education, and post and telecommunications offices.

•1983 :

Laurent and Michel Dodane succeeded their father Raymond in directing the Company and produced up to 100,000 watches per year, distributed on all five continents.

The House of Dodane was the only French company to have been certified for the fabrication of altimetric chronographs permitting parachutists to do night jumps with delayed openings. The Company also created the 1/100th second timer for the control of the ejection seats used by Aerospatiale.

The Company’s mastery of electronic technology led to its selection by the German Army, in 1983, to develop a totally new and revolutionary onboard chronographic instrument: the Type 211.

This integrated chronograph is installed in the instrument panel of several military and civil aircraft cocpkit.

•2005 :

Today, the fifth generation of the Dodanes continues to supply aeronautic fleets in many armed forces throughout the world.

The very advanced technical developments in onboard chronographs have given Dodane Type 21 wristwatches and chronographs a unique quality and authenticity.