Chapter IV of our book “History1” begins with an interview conducted with Mario Arillo M.O.V.M., commander of the transport submarine for SLC and Gamma units of the Decima MAS, the Ambra. Numerous unpublished photos and documents from the family possessions of the famous commander from La Spezia augment the personal descriptions of his submarine missions in this chapter. Not many photos exist today, taken during a mission in the Second World War – and even less with a Panerai watch to be spotted on a wrist of one of the units of the Mezzi Subacquei.

In one of these photos, Giorgio Badessi (right), who was one of the six SLC pilots, is clearly wearing his Radiomir watch on the left wrist, sitting on the table together with another SLC pilot, Giorgio Reggioli (in the background), 2nd Officer Zenker (left) and commander Arillo (front) during mission N.A.1.

“Operazione N.A.1”, carried out on 12th of December 1942, was the first combined mission with SLC units and combat swimmers of the Gruppo Gamma, in which a total of 16 units were sent out from the transport submarine Ambra to attack allied ships in the Port of Algiers. A scout (“civetta”) at the water’s surface conveyed important instructions by microphone to the Ambra on the seabed. For the first time, the SLC and Gamma units started their mission from a submerged submarine, see sketch on page 324.

Read more on Chapter IV of “History1” with 165 pages, 106 photos and seven technical illustrations, here. Mission N.A.1, part of the interview with commander Arillo, is featured in this chapter on page 313-345. Do not miss to read how we were able to get these documents to be published in our book “History1” on page 374-377, with special greetings to La Spezia!

Two Vintage Panerai watches will be up for auction in The Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN at Phillips on 12 & 13 May 2018. Inbetween a total of 185 watches in this auction, Lot 212 is a Ref. 6152/1 with “Luminor Panerai” dial and rare caseback engraving of the Guardia di Finanza, followed by Lot 213, a Ref. 3646 / Type D “Kampfschwimmer” with anonymous sandwich dial.

Read more in our watch point.

Karlsruhe, 12 September 1998 – it was a saturday morning, just perfect for a little walk and some window shopping at watch dealers, as I got interested in mechanical wristwatches since a couple of years. I walked into the shop of Jewellery Kamphues who is based downtown Karlsruhe since 1905, a house with a long tradition which carried some of the watch brands I wanted to take a look on at that saturday twenty years ago. What I saw in one of the displays inside was a big brown box, loaded with six very untypical, huge but even more attractive watches from a brand I just read in a watch magazine: Officine Panerai. This saturday in September 1998 was a good chance to see these new watches in person.

After a short presentation by one of the sales persons there, I received a blue squared brochure which carried a list of authorized dealers in Germany (very short back then – see left sheet in the photo), a price list in Deutsche Mark (featuring the famous PAM 21, listed at the bottom being the only Special Edition) and also it carried some kind of a virtual timer which started the interest for this “new brand” with huge watches in me just when I left the shop…

To get a good impression about how things were going with Officine Panerai back in 1998, when I met the brand for the first time, I highly recommend reading the interview by Joe Thompson with Angelo Bonati, which was just recently published at Hodinkee here. I kept this squared brochure from 1998 in my library in all the years and I always wanted to return to Jewellery Kamphues one day. Recently it finally happened.

One of the reasons I wanted to travel to Karlsruhe was, that the manager of the shop contacted me a few months ago, asking if I would have some additional information on a Ref. 3646 / Type D with painted brass dial. I was surprised to take even notice that this watch – which we knew for quite some years – found its way to the dealer where I saw watches from Officine Panerai for the first time back in 1998!

The 3646 / Type D in question was added into our database already back in 2004 when it was on display in a little museum in Hamburg, where my co-author Ralf spotted it. He was allowed to take some photos of the watch but not from the inside (movement, inner caseback) so it remained an incomplete database entry in our records until it was consigned for auction in 2017 (read more in our watch point). Dr. Crott Auctioneers contacted us about the watch before their 95th auction and by its external details (especially the engraved initials on the caseback, as well as the original leather strap and buckle still on the watch) we were able to identify this watch being the same that Ralf discovered already 13 years ago in 2004.

So here it was: the moment to return to the place where I saw watches from Officine Panerai for the first time in 1998 – 20 years ago – and to meet with the managers of the shop which we exchanged some information during the last months about the engraved “Kampfschwimmer” watch from the Second World War.

It was nice to see this Ref. 3646 / Type D again: the unpolished flat case and bezel, the black painted brass dial, the cylindrical Rolex crown (Type 13), the blued steel hands with complete and nicely aged luminous material. “Time Travelling” at its best. To Karlsruhe. To the dealer where it all began for me with Officine Panerai…

Actually its great to know where a watch went after the few occasions when it surfaced since we took notice of it. Now it found a great place in a display at Jewellery Kamphues where it is spot on, even customers and visitors of the shop can take a look at it.

Back in 2004 the Ref. 3646 / Type D with engraved “KG” on its caseback was in a little naval museum, more or less resting in a quiet corner. Later the museum moved into another location and since then it disappeared – we lost its track. For the following 13 years we heard no safe and sound of it. To our surprise it surfaced at an auction house in 2017 and now it found a good home in Karlsruhe. It was a pleasure to feel the excitement of the new owner (by the way he was wearing a nice Luminor Marina PVD from the A series), where it is part of a collection of excellent vintage watches.

Thanks for reading. [Volker Wiegmann]

We introduced this watch, which is new to the market, a few weeks ago here, and the online catalogue of Dr. Crott Auctioneers now features the Ref. 3646 / Type D “Kampfschwimmer” with anonymous sandwich dial and Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement listed as lot 114. The 97th Auction will be held on 12 May, 2018 at the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel, Airport.

Find the complete lot description from Dr. Crott Auctioneers in English, Chinese and German language. Read more about this watch also at our watch point here.

…to see Piazza Emilio Barberi – a place which is breathing history, related to the missions of the Mezzi d’Assalto during the Second World War. Recently we put a spot onto the mission against Suda – “Attacco alla Baia di Suda” – with explosive boats here.

The memorial at the Piazza dedicated to him, shows on the left the map of the Suda bay with the route of the men around Emilio Barberi M.O.V.M. (1917 – 2002) in his home town Forte dei Marmi. He was one of the pilots of the MT boats.

Read more about the timeline of the missions during the Second World War in chapter II.I on page 106-146. The attack of the Souda Bay is featured on page 108-109.

Another Ref. 3646 / Type D “Kampfschwimmer” with anonymous dial has been added into our database: The first specimen of this number group in the year 2018. The watch with Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement comes with anonymous sandwich dial, blued steel hands and onion shaped Rolex crown (Type 11). Dr. Crott Auctioneers recently gave us a head-up on this Ref. 3646 / Type D, which has been consigned for auction by the family of the first owner, a German “Kampfschwimmer” during the Second World War. Read more about the watch in our watch point.

Vintage Panerai watches of the Reference 3646 / Type D are featured in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.IV (page 398-531).

In addition to the story published at Fellows, Revolution and wornandwound.com about the Ref. 3646 / Type C watch, which Sgt. George W. Rowson brought home from his service in the 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment, we have gathered some information about the attemp of twelve German “Kampfschwimmer” units (three teams of four) to attack both bridges across the river Waal at Nijmegen in the night of 28/29 September, 1944. The first team was sent to attack the railroad bridge, the second and third team to attack the road bridge.

The story of Sgt. Rowson’s “Radiomir Panerai” is matching with information on the capture of both, second and third team which failed to attack the road bridge of Nijmegen. These eight “Kampfschwimmer” units (of which one of them belonged the Ref. 3646 / Type C) were: Orlowski, Ohrdorf, Weber, Schmidt, Kolbruch, Dyck, Gebel and Halwelka (two KIA, six POW).

The caption of a drawing by War Artist Captain Bryan de Grineau of the British Army in Holland, to which we give our credits, published in an undated British newspaper (part of a collection of documents, provided to us by German frogmen veteran Karl-Heinz Kiefer during our research of the book “History1”) reads as the following:

“Like men from Mars! Amphibious German assault troops captured near Nijmegen, presenting a fantastic appearance in skin-tight rubber suits, extraordinary rubber flappers, rubber skull-caps, and oxygen masks. The whole denoted a daring night attemp to blow up the Nijmegen bridges, the men being detected struggeling upstream in the early morning.”

Furthermore, in this interesting story, the attack of the two Nijmegen bridges, with a focus on the attack of the road bridge (located around 500 metres before the railroad bridge) is written below:

“One of the most daring enemy acts of the war was an attempt on the night of September 28 to blow up the Nijmegen railroad and road bridges spanning the Waal. If successful it would have cut communications between the British troops each side of the river. The men selected for the task – twelve in all – were first-class swimmers who underwent three months special training at Venice. They wore rubber skull-caps, rubber skin-tight suits, and paddle-shaped rubber flaps attached to their boots, which enabled them to cut through the water downstream with remarkable speed. They were also equipped with rubber masks which enabled them to swim long distances under water, being connected with oxygen flasks. Entering the Waal 17.5 miles above Nijmegen at night, they carried three floating charges of powerful Hexanite explosive, each like a twin torpedo, and split up into three parties, one making for the railway bridge, the other two for the road bridge, each charge provided with a time fuse. They were nearly successful but the strength of the eight-knot current prevented them from fixing the charges quite successfully. They made the mistake of swimming back upcurrent. After covering 6.25 miles exhaustion forced them to rest in the shallows. British soldiers saw them and fired, killing two. The remainder surrendered. Our War Artist at Nijmegen illustrates the prisoners coming in. The first charge exploded by the road bridge, doing little damage, the second was heroically rendered harmless by a naval lieutenant who dived under the bridge.”

An interesting photo of the attacked railroad bridge (dated 30 September 1944), attacked by the first group of four German “Kampfschwimmer” units (Bretschneider, Jäger, Olle and Wolchendorf), can be found in the archives of the Imperial War Museum here. Only Bretschneider and Jäger returned to their lines, while Olle and Wolchendorf were caught after the attack and became POW.

Another small but interesting detail (in terms of the Panerai watches worn by the frogmen of the second and third team) of the well documented attack of the Nijmegen bridges, can be read in the book “The Frogmen” by Waldron & Gleeson, published 1954 and part of our library, on page 119:

“The minutes ticked by as the other eight swimmers sat huddled on the bank conversing in low tones, and glancing often at the luminous dials of their underwater watches. When the time came, they put on their oxygen sets and slipped quietly into the water.”

wornandwound.com published a Ref. 3646 / Type C  watch and its interesting history behind earlier this week. The Vintage Panerai watch with “Radiomir Panerai” dial and Rolex 618 / Type 1 movement marks the first “new entry” in our database in 2018, being another piece of the puzzle added into our records of today known Ref. 3646 / Type C watches. The “Radiomir Panerai” with deep red numbers and markers, blued hands, remaining original strap and nickel-plated brass pin buckle will be auctioned at Birmingham (UK) based Fellows on 30 January, 2018 (lot 188). Read more in their blog here. Revolution also reported about the watch in January here.

In our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s the watches of the entire reference 3646 are featured in chapter II with more than six hundred pages in the chapters II.I-II.VII. The seven different variations (including the number group 3646 / Type C – page 248-397 – to which this watch belongs) can be found in our reference quickfinder on page 14-20. Pin buckles like the remaining one which comes with this watch are featured in chapter V (page 677-691).

We hope that this watch will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

Frohe Weihnachten! Buon natale! Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! ¡Feliz Navidad! Ĝojan Kristnaskon! ’N geseënde kersfees! З Рiздвом Христовым! Gëzuar Krishtlindjen! Eguberri on! Nedeleg laouen! Весела Коледа! Chúc mừng Giáng Sinh! Glædelig jul! Häid jõule! メリークリスマス Gleðilig jól! Hyvää joulua! Καλά Χριστούγεννα! Mele kalikimaka! חג מולד שמח Selamat Hari Natal! Nollaig shona! Gleðileg jól! Bon Nadal! 메리 크리스마스 Schéin Krëschtdag! 圣诞节快乐Zalig kerstfeest! Wesołych świąt! Feliz Natal! Crăciun fericit! Счастливого Рождества! Христос се роди! Veselé Vianoce! Maligayang pasko! Veselé vánoce! God Jul! Noeliniz kutlu olsun! Noeliniz kutlu olsun! Kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket! Са святам Божага Нараджэння!

Seasons greetings from Germany!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

Recently we have been contacted by collectors about a comment on a photo which is published in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s on page 514-515. It shows a group of German “Kampfschwimmer” units in the summer of 1944. The orignal paper photo (17.5 x 23.5 cm, see photo on the left) belongs to our library and has been scanned in 2015 to be published in our book on watches of the Ref. 3646 / Type D.

The comment in question was provided to us as following (read grey underlined text):

It’s IMPOSSIBLE say the color of one strap viewing one pic in black and white, ALSO when the pic are digitalized and manipulated with color filters. The straps appear here in “clear” colors are simply because the original pic are edited with “warm filters” for get more contrasts in the final results.

So, I’m absolutely sure (because I check the image and turned to his real black&white tones, the color of this picture you see here are NOT REAL.

Its easy for a photographer see this image are turned with filters, if you see the skin of the people are unreal, and some clothes are unreal color, because are turned for make more “beautiful” the pic.

The photo, which is part of a photo album that belonged to a veteran who took the photos by himself during his service in the navy, has been published in a preview earlier here. Further photos of this veteran’s album are published on page 274, 284, 414, 474, 475 (chapter II.IV) and page 671 (chapter IV). It is interesting to see how the colors of the straps have changed over the decades, knowing that not many of these original straps survived until today.

The photo above was taken today (December 14, 2017) with a mobile phone to show that we hold the original photo in our library and did not used any filters or manipulated the photo to create a wrong impression to the reader. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]