John R

Yes we did, it is still there. John

I agree Norm. If JapanX would explain his point, it would help a bit I think. John

I also think that the badges being discussed were made in Japan for the German crewmen. They could have been made either by a jeweler or in a shipyard. The Japanese shipyards could make anything in my opinion--heck, if they could make a gigantic battleship, they could make a badge. I have lived in Korea and Japan and I warned my American friends never to ask for something, even as a joke. Your hosts will get it for you since you put them on the spot. I believe that if the Captain of a German ship, or the naval attache, asked if the badge could be copied, the Japanese would have moved mountains to fulfill the request, even if they did not particularly want to. Since there would have been language difficulties, I do not think, unless a shipyard official spoke German or a common non-Japanese language, the German crew could wander down to a shop and get it done trading some German items for the finished badges. With the help of Japanese officials, no problem getting it done. I have worked in several shipyards in my life--they are amazing places and it is incredible what a machinist can do in them. So I think the badge could have been made by a jeweler or in a shipyard shop without much effort--just the directive to get it done from the Japanese hosts. Since the design looks Asian to me, I do not think it was made in one of the German ships' machine shop, even though those sailors were also quite ingenious to keep their vessels moving so far away from Germany. At the same time, the AC badge looks a bit crude (do not get me wrong, I really like the badge and wish I had one) also pointing me to the shipyard machinists over a skilled jeweler, but who knows? I am just advancing another idea. Why the "sterling" stamp exists, I do not know nor do I think it is that important since the badge itself has provenance with the mark. It exists for some reason that made perfect sense then and little sense now. I think the medal is another story created in Singapore by the Japanese Navy as some sort of commemorative gift--in no way was it an official Japanese award although I am somewhat surprised they did not give one of their campaign medals to these German crews. Asians like to give and receive gifts as part of a cultural sense of politeness. That is what I think the Singapore medal is and not much different than if the Germans had received a ceramic sake cup I think. John

This is where I saw the rank in question. I do not own this example, it belongs to another collector I know. As you can see, it is dated 1937. John

Thanks Gordon.

From the site of Weitze.

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I have been asked to post this here for opinions on this hollowback U-boat. John

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Craig asked me to post these images for him. He would like it mentioned that he had to go "low-res" due to file restrictions. The photos are not Craig's, but he can take additional ones after the 1st. John