Erik Krogh

Name tag inside cap.

Frontal view of the Erel cap.

Name tag inside the reefer jacket.

Tag inside reefer jacket.

Uniform of Konteradmiral Ernst Kratzenberg. I have 3 pieces: reefer jacket, trousers, and Erel cap. Admiral Kratzenberg won the DKiS in the last days of the War. He commanded the Kreuzer K?ln during Narvik (Operation Weser?bung), was the chief of the U-Boat building program, and Chief-of-Staff of the commanding Admiral U-Boats. Kratzenberg undertook U-Boat training in 1918 and was watchofficer on U-60 in 1919. The uniform is made from the finest quality thick officer-grade wool. The decorations did not belong to Admiral Kratzenberg. I tried to add decorations he would have received to the existing medal loops. Aside from the DKiS, I cannot find s definitive list of his medals. Here are the tunic and cap.

Richard, Glad that you liked the book! I wanted to give a heads-up to U-Boat collectors who might be interested. I was not aware that this had been published until my friend brought me a copy back from Germany. All The Best, Erik

Here is a picture of the reunion taken from the book "Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-Boat War in the Atlantic". The reunion took place on September 9, 1982.

Also included in this new acquisition is a signed U-505 exhibit souvenir book. The participants have signed on the back cover of the book. In addition to the U-505 crew members mentioned above, several U.S. Navy Task Force 22.3 members have signed including Lt. Commander (later Rear Admiral) George W. Casslemann, CO of the Pillsbury, and Ensign Fred Middaugh of the USS Guadalcanal boarding party. Also signing are some U-Boat veterans not associated with U-505, including Oberleutnant Ernst Schmidt of U-133, U-345, U-821, and U-1231.

Although not part of the original grouping above, I just picked up these two interesting items from the 1982 U-505 crew/Task Group 22.3 reunion in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry U-505 exhibit. First is a tile made especially for the reunion, with many crew member's signatures including Hans G?beler, Otto Dietz, Heinz Kohlmann, Werner H?nemann, and Albert Weinhold. Unfortunately, some of the signatures are so smudged that it is difficult to determine the name of the signer.

Page 2 of the letter.

A letter containing the personal impressions of Radarman Wenger regarding the sinking of the Destroyer Escort USS Frederick C. Davis by U-546.

Thanks for the clarification on the dealer, Gordon. I did not process correctly.

Good eyes and fast reflexes, Gordon! What a deal, and from Detlev,no less. Congrats on acquiring a beautiful badge!! Best Regards, Erik

Nesredep, Thank you for your comment. The original guest book is indeed quite rare. I would mortgage my house for a real one (if the wife didn't stop me first). However, the reprint is available for less than the cost of a house... Best Regards, Erik

Beautiful badge, Darrell! Don't forget to put your sunglasses on before taking it out into the bright sunlight!! Best Regards, Erik

U-826 reverse.

Tradition badge for U-826. No provenance on this one, but I took a chance...

Reverse of U-237

Tradition badge for U-237. I just picked this up yesterday at our LA County twice-yearly militaria show. The seller is a well-known KM collector who said he originally purchased the badge still sewn on to a cap, but the cap was so moth-eaten that he had to throw it away. Fortunately, the badge survived...

U-515.

The U-170 page, with my tradition badge.

My friend Matt brought this book back from the Stuttgart show. It is a reprint of the 4th U-Flottille guest book, once owned by Kai Winkler. I love this book - it has fabulous hand-drawn artwork and inscriptions from some of the War's most famous boats. Since this was a training flotilla, a large number of boats passed through. Some of the best-known include: Tr?ger des Eichenlaubs zum Ritterkreuz Henke (U 515) und Guggenberger (U 513), die Ritterkreuztr?ger Lemp (U 30), M?ller-St?ckheim (U 67), v. Schr?ter (U 123), Folkers (U 125), Achilles (U 161), L?th (U 181), Maus (U 185), Bargsten (U 521) und Hechler (U 870). This list is taken from VD Medien's website, who sells the book. Here is the cover.

Herr Prien, Wonderful album! Thank you for sharing it. Best Regards, Erik

Here you go, Martin! Best, Erik

Martin, Thanks very much for posting the attributed Atlantis crew badge! Although possessing different details than mine (as well as the one pictured on page 11 of your book), one would expect that handmade items would vary. Although I'll never know for sure whether my badge was made by an Atlantis crewmember, I still feel comfortable with it in my collection. Best Regards, Erik