Erik Krogh

Eagle

Frontal view

Shoulder board and eagle.

Nesredep - nice F?hnrich white tunic!

Here's a tunic you don't see too often. Angolia calls it the '"field-grey" jacket of the blue uniform' (Vol 1 page 355). the color is more of a reed green, not the typical KM grey-green.

Gordon, Martin, and Nesredep,

Thanks for your postings! Nice to see more tropical uniforms.

This photo is a favorite from my collection. I would love to own one of these caps!

The tunic with an EM tropical field cap

Shoulder board

Shoulder board and eagle

Detail of front

The purpose of this thread is to show some of our non-blue and non-fieldgrey KM uniforms.

First up is an EM tropical tunic attributed to Kapit?n zur See Wilhelm B?r. It was not unusual for officers to wear EM's tropical uniforms. B?r was a Leutnant zur See during the first World War. During The Second World War he held various positions, Flak commander for group Lorient, Stab Kom. with Admiral Adria area. He was KIA on October 12, 1944.

This tunic was purchased several years ago from a well-known dealer who said that he had purchased all of B?r's remaining tunics from the family in Germany. I believe this to be the case: the dealer still has one of B?r's named tunics currently for sale.

The tunic has blue-green backed coastal artillery boards for a Fregattenkapit?n, which tracks with B?r's history (thanks Paul C for reprinting the Hildebrand/Lohmann "Die Kriegsmarine 1939-1945 Volume III). The dealer informed me that the breast eagle is original to the tunic, but had been removed by the family and was reapplied by the dealer after he purchased the item.

Here's the full-frontal view. The cap is not B?r's.

U-1202 reverse

Tradition badge for Kapit?nleutnant Rolf Thomsen's boat U-1202. This badge is somewhat crudely made, but came out of the same collection as the U-403, U-825, and U-2538 badges in my collection.

Obverse:

U-403 reverse

Sto: Thanks for your nice words and good luck with your new acquisition!

Here is a tradition badge for U-403. Gordon's book "Torpedo los!" depicts what appears to be an enameled badge for this boat on page 83: my badge is obviously different. Nonetheless, this badge looks and feels period. Anyone have any thoughts?

This looks like a complete fabrication to me. The swastika is too ostentatious, and the engraving is sloppy - doubtful that any self-respecting U-Boat commander would accept such work. Is this one of those "100% authentic" pieces from Eastern Europe?

U-825 reverse

U-825 tradition badge. This one was repaired post-war (one of the legs came off). Obverse:

U-2538 tradition badge reverse.

Here's a tradition badge for U-2538, a Type XXI boat. Although there is no provenance on this badge, it matches the description given by Oblt. Heinrich Klapdor in Georg H?gel's book (page 177).

Dear sirs,

a collector i know, offers me this item.

It could be from the 23-U.Flottilla I think.

Made out of white medal, 7cm long and

1,5cm height(without needle).

Sorry the fotos don?t show the patina on the

front and rear very well.

I never hold one like this in my hands.

Please post your opinions.

Best regards

Sto

Hello Sto,

Your photo looks very similar to the artifact in my collection attributed to U-331, which was attached to the 23 U-Flottille from 15 Oct, 1941 - 14 Apr, 1942. I purchased this from Detlev Niemann several years back and I believe it to be a period-made cap badge mounted on a plaque.

Best Regards,

Erik

Gordon,

I anxiously await the daily installment of "fascinating stories from the Archiv". Just great artifacts with truly great stories behind them. Thanks for sharing!

Best Regards,

Erik

Kell: Vielen Dank!

Ulsterman: Were you referring to the newspaper obituary with your question about 'Klaus was "our commander" on the first page'? My loose translation of the obituary is: "In a sea battle on the English Coast also fell our elder and last son, OLtzS Klaus D?nitz. Holder of the Iron Cross Second Class and two Kriegsmarine war badges. With enthusiastic, unconditional readiness for action and with self-evident faith in the German victory he also gave, as did his brother Peter, his young life for F?hrer and fatherland."

Thanks for posting the photos, Gordon. Does anyone at the Archiv know whether Klaus was indeed training for an S-Boat command?

Interesting piece of history I picked up at our local militaria show. Pictured is the obituary for Grossadmiral D?nitz's son Klaus from the May 22, 1944 edition of the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. Of note is the inclusion of G?nther Hessler's name: Hessler (of U-107 fame) was married to Grossadmiral D?nitz's daughter Ursula.

I have read a couple of accounts of the circumstances of how Klaus happened to be on S-141. One account states that after Grossadmiral D?nitz's younger son Peter was KIA on board U-954, the older son Klaus was allowed to serve on land in a safer capacity. Klaus was studying to be a naval doctor, but apparently took a "birthday joyride" (it was his 24th birthday) on one of S-141's missions as it attacked Selsey on the English Coast.

The British Military Powerboat Trust has a slightly different account:

"A Twist in the Fortunes of War

On 12 May 1944, S-130 bore witness to one of the War?s many, tragic, little footnotes. S-130 was taking part in a patrol of some 10 S-Boote to the south of the Isle of Wight. The Royal Navy soon discovered them and destroyers were dispatched in pursuit. During the ensuing engagement, The Free French ship La Combattante succeeded in sinking S-141, onboard which was Oberleutnant zur See Klaus D?nitz, the son of Grossadmiral D?nitz, Chief of the German Naval Staff. He was training to qualify for command of an S-Boot and was among the 18 crew from S-141 who died."

Does anyone know the real story?

Here is a pair of KM Admin NCO (Oberfeldwebel) boards.