MK II watches are announcing a new collaboration with Project Recover this week in the Hellion-BAKU field watch, which will go on sale Friday, November 28, 2025. The watch is a tribute to the three missing divers of Underwater Demolition Team-10, who were captured during a reconnaissance mission off the coast of Gagil Tomil Island in the Yap Islands in August of 1944. Proceeds from the sale will go directly to Project Recover and help aid their continued search efforts to repatriate these divers, and hopefully bring some long awaited closure to their families. The watch itself is a somber field watch with a design that stems from the historic A-11 field watches of WWII, and the US military’s first underwater wrist watch, the “canteen.”
The reconnaissance mission in question began the evening of August 18, 1944, launched from the USS Burrfish (SS 312). A team of five UDT divers, John Ball, Emmet Carpenter, Howard Roeder, John MacMahon, and Robert Black, paddled to the shores of the island to survey the reefs structures and the beach itself for possible landing locations for future missions. During the reconnaissance, Roeder, MacMahon, and Black were split into their own group, and would not make it back to the boat at the planned rendezvous time. The three divers were captured along the beach. Their capture, and what’s left of their story, comes from Japanese personnel who served in the Yap and Palau Islands and who had seen them.
While accounts vary, consensus is that the three divers were killed on September 4th, though their remains have never been located and identified. It’s worth catching the full story right here. This is where Project Recover comes in, whose stated purpose is a “collaborative effort to enlist 21st-century science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate Americans missing in action since World War II, in order to provide recognition and closure for families and the Nation.”
MK II has teamed up with Project Recover for this watch with the intent to shed light on this story, and the individuals behind it. With that in mind, proceeds from the sale of this watch will go to support the team’s mission. It’s a harrowing story and a reminder that there are still approximately 72,000 POW/MIA Americans.
Looking at the watch, we find a rather compelling design that’s done with an eye for detail, something MK II have developed quite the knack for. The Hellion-BAKU uses a 39mm steel case with mostly brushed surfaces. The dial is simple at a glance, fully indexed to the minutes, with all hour markers represented in clear Arabic numerals. The MK II logo and dial text is printed in black to retain a low, no-nonsense profile. The enclosed caseback bears the names of the three divers, along with USN BUSHIPS, in classic military issued style. MK II is using a TMI NH38 Japanese movement here, and the case is rated to 100 meters depth resistant.
The watch can be had in one of two packages, the premium version of which includes a hat, challenge coin, poster, Haveston canvas strap, and a customized Toyo box. This is priced at $765, while the standard package, which includes a Haveston canvas strap, a mission patch, and a BAKU zine, is priced at $649. MK II / Project Recover
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