That is very cool, I imagine they didn't come with display backs back then to show that off!
Funny you mention the similarity with the CWC, both Hamilton and CWC as well as a few others were enrolled to create "W10" spec watches of this type for the British Military so they all had similar design specs to meet that requirement. CWC keep the origins on the dial true to the era with the broad arrow markings etc but I fancied the higher fit and finish and specs by Hamilton in the Khaki Pilot instead hence this purchase
There's a great write-up by Hodinkee on these watches: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/cwc-mellor-72-hands-on
One thing Hodinkee and others got wrong about the Hamilton is the dimensions, it is 36mm (39mm inc crown) wide which is 1mm more than the CWC but 33mm high from case wall to case wall. Lug to lug length is a more wrist friendly 42mm. It is wider than it is taller if we ignore the lugs for a moment and it seems many reviewers focused on that 33mm case vertical length and not the horizontal dimension which is 36 (or 39 inc crown).
Funny you mention the similarity with the CWC, both Hamilton and CWC as well as a few others were enrolled to create "W10" spec watches of this type for the British Military so they all had similar design specs to meet that requirement. CWC keep the origins on the dial true to the era with the broad arrow markings etc but I fancied the higher fit and finish and specs by Hamilton in the Khaki Pilot instead hence this purchase

There's a great write-up by Hodinkee on these watches: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/cwc-mellor-72-hands-on
One thing Hodinkee and others got wrong about the Hamilton is the dimensions, it is 36mm (39mm inc crown) wide which is 1mm more than the CWC but 33mm high from case wall to case wall. Lug to lug length is a more wrist friendly 42mm. It is wider than it is taller if we ignore the lugs for a moment and it seems many reviewers focused on that 33mm case vertical length and not the horizontal dimension which is 36 (or 39 inc crown).