Kriegsmarine Term - Kommandantur

[ErichB]

Gentlemen :

noticed a few pre-war KM cap Talleys with the Kommandantur prefix for different port locations.

question : what does the term Kommandantur mean in this reference ~ garrison of artillery, Flak, mines, or ....... am I way off ?

thank you

Erich ~

[Gordon Williamson]

I'm no expert on these but to me Kommandantur would just represent the office of the local military (naval in this case) commander. I do see it as having any specific connection with a branch of service like naval artillery etc.

[J Temple-West]

Kommandantur (Kdtr) covers both Administrative HQ and Garrison HQ. Each would have had its own number.

An example would be Kommandantur 515 being the Administrative HQ for Jersey CI 1940-45.

[ErichB]

Gordon / J. Temple-West

many thanks, I see I was not as far off as I thought. Much appreciated for your kindly, concise comments

Erich ~

[Gordon Williamson]

I discussed this with Bern Wedeking one of the two top experts on cap ribbons. Bernd confirmed that this band has nothing to do with the Marine Artillery but was worn by JNCOs and enlisted ranks, who served in the military administration in a certain districts (Kiel, Wilhelmshaven, Hamburg, Bremen etc.), for which no other cap ribbon was produced. Examples he gave were, Port Authority, Naval Laundry, some Signals Personnel, Drivers, Paymaster personnel, etc.

I suspect this error arose from the Angolia/Schlicht 3 volume set on the Kriegsmarine which does state they were used by the Marine Artillery but this is incorrect.