Original Item: Only One Available. This is a remarkable piece of WWII Navy history: a name engraved wristwatch that once belonged to Lieutenant William C. Godfrey, the Captain of Motor Torpedo Boat PT 505. PT-505 under the command of Lt. Godfrey was active during D-Day, and engaged a German U-Boat on June 7th, 1944! His D-day service as captain of PT-505 is documented at this link.

On the evening of 7 June 1944, PT-505 gave chase to what appeared to be a submarine periscope cutting through the water near St. Marcouf Island, Normandy, France, off Utah Beach. The periscope disappeared when the PT-505 came within 75 yards, and Godfrey was about to give the order to release depth charges when the PT-505 ran over a mine. A violent explosion lifted the stern of the PT out of the water, injured two men, tore loose one depth charge, snapped the warheads off the torpedoes, threw the engine beds awry, and caused some damage to practically every part of the boat. The PT went down quickly by the stern until the base of the 40mm gun was awash. Godfrey jettisoned his torpedoes and his other depth charge, and transferred his forward guns, radar, and radio equipment to PT-507, which towed the PT-505 to anchorage in the lee of St. Marcouf Island. Although there was some danger that the boat would sink, LT Godfrey, two other officers, and one enlisted man remained aboard that night. The next morning two LCM’s towed the PT-505 onto the invasion beach at high tide. Low tide left the boat high and dry for six hours, time enough for the crew to put emergency patches on the hull and to paint the side with the legend, “PORTLAND OR BUST!” PT-500 towed the PT-505 back to Portland, England on 11 June 1944, in a crossing made miserable by four partings of the towline in heavy seas

This exceptional named engraved watch which reads U.S.N.R. L.t. W.C. GODFREY has been fully cleaned, tested, and runs perfectly. It was manufactured for the US and has a black face with radium luminous numbers for night use.

At 1600 on D-day the PT's of Squadron 34 joined the Western Task Force Area screen, which included destroyers, destroyer escorts, PC's, and British steam gunboats. The PT's were stationed on the "Mason Line," extending 6½ miles to seaward from the beach near St. Marcouf, as an inner defense against infiltration by E-boats into the convoy unloading area. They were joined on June 7 and 8 by boats of Squadron 35, and on the 10th by those of Squadron 30. Until the end of the month, an average of 29 PT's remained on the line at all times. Boats rotated between the Mason Line and the Portland Base, usually patrolling for a week at a time, although some boats stayed on the line for as long as 3 weeks without relief. E-boats made so few attempts to penetrate the screen that PT's had no contact with enemy surface craft. In the midst of the greatest invasion in history, however, their duty was seldom dull.

The origins of Girard-Perregaux can be traced back to 1791 when Jean-François Bautte, whose company was later acquired by Girard-Perregaux, created his first watches in Geneva. The name Girard-Perregaux itself appeared in 1856 following the marriage of Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux. Constant Girard-Perregaux distinguished himself in the research into the field of chronometry and especially the tourbillon. The consecration came in 1889 when La Esmeralda, one of his famous Tourbillon with three gold bridges, won a gold medal at the Paris Universal exhibition. Fast forward to the late 20th century, Girard-Perregaux was one of the first manufactures to herald the return to mechanical watchmaking under the aegis of Luigi Macaluso.

The watch itself is a Girard-Perregaux Seahawk and it retains the original leather straps as well as the front crystal cover. The Sea-Hawk has a complicated and long back story, with the range of watches dating back to the 1940s as military issued timepieces and seeing constant change since. At one point the Sea-Hawk was a more formal dress watch for the everyday man to later become the premier diving watch for the Girard-Perregaux brand as a whole.

The case consists of two pieces, the inner being the crystal, dial, movement, and case back, the second being the mid-case, bezel, and lugs. The inner portion of the case shows some light corrosion which is common for the watch’s age. The outer portion of the case is in great condition and appears to have been lightly polished in the past, showing symmetrical lugs with signs of faithful regular use. The case has an unsigned crown which is believed to be the original.

The black dial with Arabic numeral dial and sub-seconds register has a charming coloration and an excellent spotted patina. The radium lume Arabic numerals have taken on a lovely ivory patina which feature some dark spots with oxidation on the hands and radium pieces missing on the hands as well. The leather watch strap is still present but unfortunately degraded by the lugs, so do use caution while handling as there is tearing present.

A wonderful time piece that comes more than ready for further research and display.

There is no warranty for this watch and returns for a non-working watch will not be honored. Please note all watches are wound and tested then recorded on video before shipment. We are not in the watch repair business - ALL SALES ARE FINAL.