The UG squirrel was particularly vicious and I picked up something well out of my area of interest, or even knowledge.

Some dial verbiage to conjure with:





Unfortunately not a rattrapante, but a nonetheless spiffy dashboard chronograph from the 1940s, presumably Regia Aeronautica. I know precious little beyond that and am having trouble turning up more.



Bottom knob winds and sets, and the 4:30 knob starts, stops and resets the chronograph. Outer bezel turns the inner bezel



The mounting plate affixes to the watch with a leather washer



I haven't had it open yet, but here is what lies within - pic from an ebay seller of a similar clock



Already asked over at the military forum, will convey any info over.

Perhaps some of our Italian members can shed a little light or point me to the appropriate authorities on Italian fora?

 

You were lucky this time, sounds like an attack from a Indian Malabar Giant Squirrel,

Ratufa indica. Some horophiles have lost their watch and their hand.​

Notice the large ear tufts used in detecting the telltale, tick, tick, tick, tick in the placid early morning jungle air.

​

Here he is in watch seeking mode.

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You can see here that this photographer has a bandage from an earlier attack.​

​

You're a lucky man Lou, a lucky man.​

 

You mean the squirrel can imitate a lawnmower? I'll bet it can run faster than a VW diesel.
gatorcpa

 

Well Lou is all about the squirrels.

 

So I have spent a good part of the afternoon touring WW2 Italian aircraft cockpits on the interwebs. I started with floatplanes and long range recon, figuring these would be most likely to require a chronograph for navigation. Then I looked at bombers, and finally at fighters. And I think I have a match.

Here are some pics from cockpits of a couple of variants of the Macchi C.202 Folgore







what do you guys think?

The beast itself:

 

Nice!

 

Sharp

 

One of these would look good on the lawn

 

The dial diameter including the inner bezel is 62mm, the outer casing is 70mm, and the outer diameter of the bezel is 80mm.

I also posted this on the Italian military forum at O&P. It appears chronographs of this pattern, manufactured by at least Leonidas in addition to Universal, were fitted into a variety of Regia Aeronautica fighters from 1943 until the end of the war. Images from a Fiat and another Macchi cockpit from user Recon59 there are quite clear. http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=67959810

Thanks to MWRforum member east Al, there is this link from IHC185 which I found interesting, although the submarine talk is apparently without foundation
http://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/990103944/m/6531096491

 

That looks like it takes a strap. How large is it?

 

That is the strap size, I assume? I should have been clearer - I was asking about the whole timer.