History
Originally known as "colour change clocks", they were introduced during the First World War by the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 to monitor the movements of German aircraft. Later, during the Second World War they played a significant role in the Battle of Britain and continued to be used by the Royal Air Force and Royal Observer Corps (ROC) as simple clocks and keepsakes, until the end of the Cold War period. These clocks are now sought after by collectors of aeronautica.
There were two versions of the clock issued, either for RAF Sector use or for the ROC. The RAF Sector Clock has an old style "King's Crown" RAF Warrant Officer's insignia under the "24" at top centre. The ROC clock has a plain face with no insignia.
Clocks were either electrical or mechanical. Electric clocks usually have the coloured segments pointing inwards, mechanical clocks have the segments pointing outwards.
The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) also adopted the RAF sector clock with a coloured block pattern rather than triangles.
Read more about this topic: Sector Clock
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