Here's what I have just read, here -- http://thewatchquote.com/9863: "In 1969, Zenith definitively put its name in the history books by presenting El Primero, the first ever integrated automatic watch, also beating at the exceptional speed of 36,000 vibrations per hour and thus displaying 1/10th second precision – an achievement that makes it the world’s most accurate series-produced chronograph to this very day. Zenith therefore naturally responded to the bid for tender launched by the French Ministry of Defence which was seeking to develop a watch for fighter pilots, especially since the brand had earned an impressive reputation in the field of aviation right from the start of the 20th century. The technical specifications to be met by the Manufacture were unequivocal: the goal was to develop a watch capable of maintaining excellent precision even in extreme conditions of use – including violent accelerations from 9 to 11 Gs, variations in pressure and temperature, as well as vibrations and magnetic fields. In rising to this demanding challenge, the Manufacture once again pushed back the boundaries of reliability and resistance to present the Rainbow Flyback model in 1997." Is this correct? I.e., that the Rainbow Flybacks were developed as military pilots chronographs? Thanks for any insights. Jeff
Yes. Not the Rainbow (which already existed), but the flyback complication to the Primero and the Rainblow Flyback watch was developed as a bid for a French ministry of defense contract for chronographs in the mid-90's. It was never adopted because of budget cuts however. It was offered to the public from about 1997 onwards, and ended up as the official watch of the (civilian) Aero-Club de France, whatever that means. The Rainbow was launched in 1993, as a successor to the DeLuca, and came both with El Primero and Elite calibers. Don't have a Rainbow Flyback, but here's a humble Rainbow Elite:
http://forumamontres.forumactif.com/t7758-cahier-des-charges-armee-francaise-pour-zenith-flyback They did a prototype for the GIGN too Jeff - http://forumamontres.forumactif.com/t108085-inedit-la-zenith-du-gign-en-1997
Nice, that one. They came within a hair's breadth of tapping into Omega's strategy of special edition Speedmasters - could have been a gold mine by the time they equipped every special forces unit across the armed services in France alone. I've cribbed the image from ZEN over at the french Zenith forum for those of you who can't be bothered to sign up over there.