~ 1948 Gold Plated Benrus Watch Presented to RAF Officer Johnny Johnson – Dambusters Raid 1943 ~
A gold plate Benrus wristwatch presented to Squadron Leader George Leonard ‘Johnny’ Johnson, famous for his role in Operation Chastise (better known as the Damnbusters Raid) of 1943.
The watch is engraved to the back of the case “To J. Johnson All The Best From E Squadron 1948”.
The watch has a rectangular dial and gold plated case with gold plated stretch bracelet. It features a 17 Jewel manual wind movement.
The watch unfortunately does not come with any official paperwork linking it to Johnny, the only provenance we have is that it was acquired very close to where Johnny was known to live in later life.
~ Johnny Johnson & Operation Chastise ~
Squadron Leader George Leonard Johnson, MBE, DFM (25 November 1921 − 7 December 2022), better known as Johnny Johnson, was a British Royal Air Force officer who was the last surviving original member of No. 617 Squadron RAF and of Operation Chastise, the “Dambusters” raid of 1943.
Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid,was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special “bouncing bombs” developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 enslaved labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed.
For his part in the raid, Johnson received the Distinguished Flying Medal. Along with other members of the squadron, he received his medal in an investiture at Buckingham Palace.
~ Dimensions ~
The dial measures 18mm x 23mm
The watch measures 20mm across the bezel .
The bracelet has an inner circumference of 16cm (6 ½ inches)
It weighs 41g
~ Condition ~
The dial has some wear and discolouration and the case/bracelet has a little surface wear but overall the watch is in good condition.
It is in good working order.
MW
