Thousands of vets returning from the war...24hr time was actually fairly well used back then in the work environment as well...doesnt seem unusual for Bulova to capitalize on that. Ive seen many other watch companies with 24 hr dials in this time frame. The 10 BC is a proven and well used mvmnt, case is military-ish...makes total sense to me...
Exactly Will!
I have looked at the Gruen ads for their "Pan-Am" line, and these Bulova copies came out at around the same time.
You can see the Pan-Am line here:-http://uk.search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A7x9Qb3O1rdQ7XoAEq1LBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTE1MzFoZGVhBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2lyZAR2dGlkA1NNRVVLMjFfOTE-/SIG=11pbucc5v/EXP=1354254158/**http%3a//www.pixelp.com/gruen/1945.html
At the same time as the Pan-Am line, in the war years they had released a semi military line out too, as can be seen in above link, with a watch called the Dix, very similar to the Air Warden/Nighthawk.
Below is a link to an ad for the military Gruen line.
You can see by comparing the watches, that they copied each others lines, it's a shame no ads have turned up yet for the Bulova ones, but time will tell.
EDIT:- The "state guard" (Veri-thin Defender) in the above ad looks very similar to the subject, so it could be Military-style!