David, I'll openly admit that I'm out of my depth here with the dash timers, and I'm sure Jeff, who founded and runs On The Dash will be along soon to put everyone straight.

One thing that I am conscious of is this: just because a name shares some letter of the Heuer name, it doesn't remotely mean that it is a corruption of that name.. and most certainly not 'surely'. I'm always happy to be proven wrong, but I think it is highly unlikely that there is any connection.

I found this, written by Jeff..

"Heuer began making a pilot’s chronograph in ’35. These were used by Air Force pilots primarily, a lot of them in the German Air Force. For most Heuer collectors, these pilot chronographs from around 1935 are the first real survivors that regularly can be found in the market today. In 1933 Heuer had introduced a new version of its dashboard timer, which it called the Autavia. That dashboard timer was paired with a watch called the Hervue, which became the basis for Heuer’s rally watches of the ’50s, which were used in numerous racecars."

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/chronograph-collector-jeff-stein-an-interview-with-collectors-weekly/

Stewart
- Heuerville