Steve Nick
Well-known member
I don’t seem to be able to find a lot of reference material re. the Kaiserliche Marine.
This cap belonged to a Herr Buschman who was a member of the Werft Division and appears to have served on board S.M.S. Koenig Wilhelm (note that the cap tally spells the ship's name in the alternative way with an "E" after the "O" to replace the umlaut).
The enlisted ranks of the Imperial Navy were composed of the "Matrosen Division", (above deck crew) such as sailors and gunners whose cap tallies were embroidered in yellow metallic thread and below-deck crew the "Werft Division" such as technicians, mechanics, craftsmen and stokers who wore white metallic thread on their cap tallies from 1884 onwards.
There were two Werft Divisions, the I. in Kiel and the II. in Wilhelmshaven. They were the depot organizations for the noncommissioned personnel (Warrant Officers, NCOs and Ratings) primarily of the technical branches of the Navy including, machinists, stokers, tradesmen, medical personnel, writers and paymaster aspirants. They provided initial recruit training for conscripts and volunteers and provided the land-based organization for administrative purposes for the above-mentioned personnel.
The interior of the cap has a hand inked/painted II W which I think means 2nd Werft Division Wilhelmshaven. This seems odd in that by 1904 the ship was based in Kiel which was designated Werft Division I. Unless when the ship was moved to Murwick in 1909 she was considered to be part of the Wilhelmshaven organization? Can’t be sure what time period the cap dates to. It’s also possible that the tally isn’t original to the cap. It’s pretty easy to change them.
I’m not an expert on the Imperial Navy and I invite anyone better schooled in this area to enlighten me on anything I’ve misunderstood.
Here is a short history of S.M.S. König Wilhelm.
S.M.S. König Wilhelm (King William) was an armored frigate the German Imperial Navy. The ship was laid down in 1865 at the Thames Ironworks shipyard in London, under the name Fatih for the Ottoman Empire. She was purchased by Prussia in February 1867, and commissioned into the Prussian Navy in February 1869. She was armed with a main battery of sixteen 24 cm (9.4 in) and five 21 cm (8.3 in) guns; several smaller guns and torpedo tubes were added later in her career.
The ship was for a time the largest and most powerful warship in the German navy. König Wilhelm was converted into an armored cruiser in 1895–1896. By early 1904, however, she had been superseded by newer vessels and was removed from active duty. Starting in May 1904, she became a harbor ship as well as a barracks ship and then a training vessel for naval cadets, based in Kiel, starting in October 1907.
In 1909, König Wilhelm was moved to the Naval Academy at Murwick where she continued these duties. König Wilhelm served through The Great War. On 4 January 1921, the ship was stricken from the Naval register and broken up for scrap.
This cap belonged to a Herr Buschman who was a member of the Werft Division and appears to have served on board S.M.S. Koenig Wilhelm (note that the cap tally spells the ship's name in the alternative way with an "E" after the "O" to replace the umlaut).
The enlisted ranks of the Imperial Navy were composed of the "Matrosen Division", (above deck crew) such as sailors and gunners whose cap tallies were embroidered in yellow metallic thread and below-deck crew the "Werft Division" such as technicians, mechanics, craftsmen and stokers who wore white metallic thread on their cap tallies from 1884 onwards.
There were two Werft Divisions, the I. in Kiel and the II. in Wilhelmshaven. They were the depot organizations for the noncommissioned personnel (Warrant Officers, NCOs and Ratings) primarily of the technical branches of the Navy including, machinists, stokers, tradesmen, medical personnel, writers and paymaster aspirants. They provided initial recruit training for conscripts and volunteers and provided the land-based organization for administrative purposes for the above-mentioned personnel.
The interior of the cap has a hand inked/painted II W which I think means 2nd Werft Division Wilhelmshaven. This seems odd in that by 1904 the ship was based in Kiel which was designated Werft Division I. Unless when the ship was moved to Murwick in 1909 she was considered to be part of the Wilhelmshaven organization? Can’t be sure what time period the cap dates to. It’s also possible that the tally isn’t original to the cap. It’s pretty easy to change them.
I’m not an expert on the Imperial Navy and I invite anyone better schooled in this area to enlighten me on anything I’ve misunderstood.
Here is a short history of S.M.S. König Wilhelm.
S.M.S. König Wilhelm (King William) was an armored frigate the German Imperial Navy. The ship was laid down in 1865 at the Thames Ironworks shipyard in London, under the name Fatih for the Ottoman Empire. She was purchased by Prussia in February 1867, and commissioned into the Prussian Navy in February 1869. She was armed with a main battery of sixteen 24 cm (9.4 in) and five 21 cm (8.3 in) guns; several smaller guns and torpedo tubes were added later in her career.
The ship was for a time the largest and most powerful warship in the German navy. König Wilhelm was converted into an armored cruiser in 1895–1896. By early 1904, however, she had been superseded by newer vessels and was removed from active duty. Starting in May 1904, she became a harbor ship as well as a barracks ship and then a training vessel for naval cadets, based in Kiel, starting in October 1907.
In 1909, König Wilhelm was moved to the Naval Academy at Murwick where she continued these duties. König Wilhelm served through The Great War. On 4 January 1921, the ship was stricken from the Naval register and broken up for scrap.
