For the link to purchase your own SBWC Edition SBS, hit the link here or at the bottom of the page
The average bystander might look at the CWC SBS, think it’s just another blacked out Diver tool watch and keep walking; but to the watch enthusiast or collector, the SBS is much, much more.
The Special Boat Service history alone is incredible, but along with Cabot Watch Company’s legacy, it is truly a match made in tool watch heaven. To review this watch and its now partnered logo, I’d like to start at the beginning for both heavyweights mentioned above.
Cabot Watch Company
Ray Mellor, the founder of Cabot Watch Company, served in the Merchant Royal Navy on the famous Queen Elizabeth ship that would transport troops from New York to Scotland during the Battle of the Atlantic, a very dangerous time in the 1940s. The Atlantic is a formidable force and to know there were wolf packs of German U-Boats looking for easy targets must have been a terrifying ordeal. In the 1950s, Ray applied to a position in the horological journal, which happened to be a position for another well-known watch company: Hamilton. He was instrumental in developing the MoD (Ministry of Defense) side of Hamilton and winning contracts with the UK Government.
During the ‘quartz crisis’ in the 1970s, Hamilton, an original American company out of Pennsylvania in the United States, decided to close the UK operation. Hamilton themselves were a massive supplier of timepieces to the American military. Ray found himself out of a job. This is where the CWC name gets its start, affectionately named after John Cabot, an explorer who sailed from Bristol to North America.
During the ‘70s and ‘80s, Cabot Watch Company, spearheaded by Ray, was able to utilize his experience and understanding of the military watch demand and establish CWC as the front-runner in supplying time pieces to the UK MoD along with many others. Not only the RAF, CWC’s watches were issued to the Navy and Commonwealth pilots.
1980 specifically was an instrumental time for CWC; they were the first company to issue the MoD a G10 Quartz watch, which most likely guaranteed their survival throughout the tail end of the quartz crisis.
The next and most well known success was the contract in which they replaced the issued Rolex Mil-Sub with the CWC 1980 Royal Navy Diver Automatic. As you can imagine, these were some big shoes CWC was filling, out of which they continued to grow.
The list of accomplishments continues, but the last one I would like to mention transitions us well into the history of the SBS.
In 1987-88, a watch was created by the request of the world famous Royal Marines, based in Poole. This was the birth of the black Special Boat Service issued quartz 300 meter diver. Cabot Watch Company was awarded the contract and continues to this day in 2024 to supply these tough, no nonsense dive watches to the SBS and HM Forces.
Forefathers of the Special Boat Service
“Operation Frankton”
Let me take you back to 1942, where the men of the RMBPD were facing almost impossible odds and the enemy was not only Germany but the weather and environment they operated in.
The Bay of Biscay Port in Bordeaux was a major destination for resupply ships carrying goods to the German war effort. Now, you could imagine such a valuable resource to the German war machine would be protected and very difficult to get to. This is where the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment comes in. A mission was formulated to attack this supply route by Kayak. Yes, by Kayak in some of the world's most dangerous waters. These Mark II Kayaks were a semi-rigid two man kayak with sides made of canvas and a flat bottom around 15 feet long. Being compact was crucial, considering they would be stowed in a submarine along with twelve men to make a portion of their journey undetected.
7 December 1942
Imagine you’re in the coldest, worst possible conditions at sea – at night, in the rain, far from home, surfacing in a diesel- and battery-powered submarine. To top it all off, you're in extremely hostile waters. Not only do German boats occupy the waters around you, but the sea below you as well.
The Royal Navy Submarine HMS Tuna sailed from Holy Loch Scotland with six kayaks and twelve raiders. Their kayaks were stored in the torpedo tubes for the journey. Upon reaching their destination, Gironde, the men began the task of offloading their gear. One of the kayaks was damaged during this process, leaving the raiders with five kayaks to accomplish their mission. The submarine was 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the estuary.
The raiders moved out into the night at 2000hrs, loaded with eight limpet mines, three sets of paddles, a compass, a depth sounding reel, repair bag, torch, camouflage net, waterproof watch, fishing line, two hand grenades, rations and water for six days, a spanner to activate the mines and a magnet to hold the kayaks to the side of cargo ships. The raiders were also armed with 1911 Colt semi-automatic pistols and a Sykes-Fairbairn fighting knife.
During this mission, the men faced incredible odds. Losing two thirds of their fighting force before reaching the target, they would paddle for an hour and rest five minutes, then continue on. Crossing the initial 10 miles of rough seas with five-foot waves together was hell. On 8/9 December, the two remaining kayaks paddled another 22 miles. On the third night, they traveled another 15 miles and on the fourth night, another 9 miles. Reaching Bordeaux on the night of the 11th, they patrolled down the calm river under the cover of darkness. One crew placed eight limpet mines on four vessels on the west side of the dock. They evaded detection even when members of the German navy shone lights down into the waters searching for potential infiltrators. The other kayak also placed eight limpet mines on the east side of the river on ships docked at Bassens.
The raiders then scuttled their kayaks and began their escape and evasion, in two teams of two, en route to the border of Spain. Hasler and Sparks were the only two survivors, traveling another staggering 100 miles to a French town called Ruffec. Overall, the men had covered roughly 60 miles at sea and a staggering 100 miles on foot in occupied territory. Tragically, eight men were lost in this operation, to the elements or capture and execution.
The reason behind telling this story of the RMBPD is simple: they were the forefathers of the modern Special Boat Service.
Special Boat Service
“By Strength and Guile”
The SBS is a Special Forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. As stated above, the SBS can trace its origins back to the second world war when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940.
After the second world war, the Royal Navy had decided to form a separate special forces unit that underwent a few changes in name over the years: Special Boat Company in 1951, re-designated as Special Boat Squadron in 1974, up until 1987 when the unit was finally named Special Boat Service, after assuming the new maritime role of counter terrorism. Most operations carried out by the SBS are highly secretive and rarely addressed by the British Government or the MoD. The SBS is described as a sister unit to the British Army's 22 Special Air Service (or SAS for short). On 18 November 2003, the SBS was given their own cap badge with the Motto “By Strength and Guile''.
Throughout modern history, the SBS has fought all over the world under a cloak of secrecy. The SBS is considered a top-tier special forces unit and respected around the world, along with the SAS, as being the grandfathers of Special Forces.
CWC and SBWC Partnership
Now, considering these brief history lessons on CWC and the SBS, you can understand that the CWC SBS is a powerhouse of a watch made to withstand serious parameters set by the MoD, and trusted by some of the most elite Special Forces in the world.
I personally have seen these watches overseas in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on the wrist of some SBS Operators who were in passing on operations during my deployment to Panjwai District in 2010.
When I was released from the service, I was looking for a watch to commemorate my time in the service and the CWC SBS was at the top of the list. This watch means more to me than a Dive watch that simply keeps me punctual – it has a riveting history and connection to real world operations. CWC doesn't just talk the talk, it walks the walk, dives and jumps. The watch is a perfect example of how a model can stay consistent over 30 plus years with very little changes needed. It's robust and accurate with a stealthy look. The fixed bars give you a sense of reliability in adverse conditions and the dive time bezel is very accurate and easy to get a hold of even while wearing gloves. The case dimensions are spot on and it wears smaller than described. The lume is brilliant and not overdone to keep with the stealthy appearance. The screw-down crown maintains the 300m water-resistance, giving you that undeniable comfort when swimming or diving. Overall, the CWC SBS is a game-changer in any collection and it's hard to compete with. It will forever have a place in my collection.
The Sketchy Boyz Watch Club Connection/Partnership. As most of you are well aware, we are a group of like-minded individuals who have a passion for watches and service. That being said, we use our tools in our everyday life. In considering companies to work with, and to have our very own special project that would represent our club and what we are about, CWC was clearly an easy choice. As stated earlier, their history speaks volumes and they align with what we stand for. They are a very capable, reliable and a history-rich watch company that creates amazing timepieces that are meant to be used in the field.
The CWC SBS - SBWC Edition
The CWC SBS - SBWC Edition is a product born out of respect and passion. With our logo laser etched to reveal a brassy gold appearance on the matte black dial, along with the very tactical look of the watch, it is truly something to lay your eyes on. Each piece has the option of a custom engraving on the back – mine being a former call sign I held while working with some of the best snipers in the world. The overall package is something I and the founding members of the SBWC are immensely proud of and will never forget.
In closing, I'd like to add that there are sacrifices made by our armed forces around the world daily and there were men lost in the above mentioned mission. They died answering a call few men would have. Please remain respectful of their sacrifice and honor them by keeping their sacrifice from being forgotten.
I hope you have enjoyed the article.
As always,
Stay Sketchy
- Derek