This special edition Engineer Master II collection from BALL Watch Company celebrates the 80th anniversary of a significant WWII event known as the Doolittle Raid (also called the Tokyo Raid).
On April 18, 1942, 80 men on 16 B-25 bombers took off from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Hornet to carry out a crucial secret mission. The attack at Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941, rushed the United States to enter WWII and forced them to brave impossible challenges in order to boost American morale.
President Roosevelt engaged his military leaders to strike Japan, proving to the Empire that they were not invincible. However, reaching Japanese territory itself would be extremely difficult. To plan this arduous mission, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle was brought onboard and led a squadron of Army bombers on an impossible one-way mission.
In order to take off from the Hornet and reach Japan, the B-25 planes needed a massive transformation to become lighter and to increase their range. They had to fly without fire escorts and would not have enough fuel to make it back to the Hornet. Instead, they would have to race to safety in China after completing their mission. Doolittle recruited volunteers for this special operation.
Once briefed about the extremely difficult task they would have to face, none of the men backed out. All 16 B-25 bombers reached Japan. Thirteen planes made it to China, but three men died during bail-outs or crash landings. One plane landed in Russia where its crew was held captive for a year. Eight men were captured by the Japanese, three were executed, and one died in captivity.
While Doolittle thought his mission was a failure, the raid bolstered the American spirit. After months of defeat, hope emerged. Doolittle was promoted to Brigadier General and was awarded the Medal of Honor. The other 79 members of the raid received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The bravery of these men was beyond imagination and created inspiration for generations to come.
April 18, 2022, marked the 80th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid. To honor the flawless courage of the 80 raiders who took part in this incredible mission, BALL Watch has created the Engineer Master II Doolittle Raiders series.
This limited series includes two automatic models (40 and 45mm) and one manual timepiece (46mm).
All three models are adorned with the Doolittle Raiders emblem and the Naval Aviator Wings. The limited-edition number is proudly painted on the dial while the rest of the design is fine-tuned, containing only sober elements which allow focus on time-reading.
To ensure round the clock visibility, BALL Watch Company provided the indexes and hands with H₃ micro gas tubes.
This Swiss state-of-the-art technology makes the piece highly visible even in total darkness. The H₃ micro gas tubes do not require any external source of power and glow for up to 25 years.
They are also brighter than luminous paint commonly used in the watch industry. The wide tubes used for the indexes are bright green and orange at 12 o’clock, and the ones on the hands shine yellow.
The automatic 40 and 45mm versions feature an automatic movement with hour, minute and sweep seconds, as well as a date window at 3 o’clock.
The manual movement offered on the 46mm runs the hour and minute hands along with the second hand on a sub dial. The addition of a mu-metal shield brings the anti-magnetism of the 40mm watch to 80,000A/m or 1,000 Gauss.
All three models are made of stainless-steel cases and are available with a black, blue or green dial. A special box-set with a complimentary B-25 plane 1:72 scale has been created for this series.
Technical details
Model Name: BALL Watch Engineer Master II Doolittle Raiders 40mm
Model Number: NM3000C-S1-BK/BKR BE/BER GR/GRR
Movement
Automatic caliber BALL RR1103
Functions
15 micro gas tubes on hour, minute, second hands and dial for night reading capability
Shock resistant to 5,000Gs
Anti-magnetic to 80,000A/m
Water resistant to 100m/330ft
Hours, minutes, sweep seconds and magnified date
Case
Stainless steel
Ø 40mm, height 13.6mm
Mu-metal shield
Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Screwed-in crown
Band
Stainless steel bracelet with folding buckle
Dial
Black, blue or green
Edition
Limited edition of 999 pieces
Model Name: BALL Watch Engineer Master II Doolittle Raiders 45mm
Model Number: NM3500C-S1-BK/BKR BE/BER GR/GRR
Movement
Automatic caliber BALL RR1108
54 hours Power Reserve
Functions
14 micro gas tubes on hour, minute, second hands and dial for night reading capability
Shock resistant to 5,000Gs
Anti-magnetic to 4,800A/m
Water resistant to 100m/330ft
Hours, minutes, sweep seconds and magnified date
Case
Stainless steel
Ø 45mm, height 14.65mm
Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Sapphire crystal transparent case back
Screwed-in crown
Band
Stainless steel bracelet with folding buckle
Dial
Black, blue or green
Edition
Limited edition of 999 pieces
Model Name: BALL Watch Engineer Master II Doolittle Raiders 46mm
Model Number: NM2638C-L1-BK/BKR BE/BER GR/GRR
Movement
Manual caliber BALL RR2102
Functions
14 micro gas tubes on hour and minute hands and dial for night reading capability
Shock resistant to 5,000Gs
Anti-magnetic to 4,800A/m
Water resistant to 100m/330ft
Hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds
Case
Stainless steel
Ø 46mm, height 12.35mm
Sapphire crystal transparent case back
Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Push-in crown
Dial
Black, blue or green
Band
Calf leather strap with pin buckle
Edition
Limited edition of 999 pieces
