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Imperial German Navy
Other Ranks Uniforms
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Figure 1
Matrose
S-90 Torpedo Boat
Tsingtao c1914 |
Figure 2
Naval Auxiliary
German New Guinea
Jaluit c1910 |
Figure 3
Ober-Matrose
East Asian Fleet
Taku 1900 |
Figure 4
Artillerie-Maat
Kiaochow Naval Artillery
Tsingtao 1914 |
Figure 5
Matrose
Kiaochow Naval Artillery
Tsingtao c1910 |
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Other Ranks Uniforms in
the Imperial German Navy
The uniforms of other ranks in
the Imperial German Navy were similar to those worn by most
European navies of the period. Blue uniforms were worn in
the Winter, while white uniforms were worn in the summer,
although photographs show that items of white and blue
uniforms were sometimes worn together. These standard
uniforms were worn at home in Germany and at sea, although
the focus of this page (and the
Naval Officers Page) is their use overseas and in China.
For variations on these uniforms worn in other theatres see
the pages on Naval
Landing Parties in the Tropics, the
Navy
in the Ottoman Empire and the
Navy on the
Western Front.
Headdress
Headdress consisted of a peakless naval cap either in white
or dark blue (see below). It had a small
imperial cockade above a black cap tally, the tails of which
were worn loose down the back. On the tally was
the name of the ship or unit to which the sailor was
attached (eg "S.M.S. JAGUAR", "GOUVERNEMENT KIAUTSCHOU" or "MATROSENARTILLERIE
KIAUTSCHOU") in metallic thread. Deck crew (the "Matrosen
Division"), such as
sailors and gunners wore yellow metallic thread, while
below-deck crew (the "Werft Division") such as
technicians, mechanics, craftsmen and stokers
wore white metallic thread from 1884 onwards. These
distinctions between Matrosen and Werft also appeared on
yellow or white metal buttons for jackets and thread on
embroidered insignia for all ranks.
Uniforms
There were three different types of naval shirt (the blue
woollen
shirt, the white shirt and the working shirt) and two types of
jacket (the blue double breasted jacket and the blue dress
jacket). These are photographed and described below.
Trousers for other ranks were either dark blue wool or
lightweight white and were usually worn loose over short
black leather jackboots.
NCO rank insignia was usually
worn in the form of chevrons on the left sleeve (in blue on
white uniforms and yellow (or white) metallic thread on blue uniforms),
while specialist insignia was usually worn in the form of
oval badges on the upper left sleeve bearing symbols of
their trade (again in blue on white uniforms and yellow
or white metallic thread on blue uniforms). This is of
course a vast simplification
of the topic of German naval insignia.
Blue Woollen Shirt |
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The dark blue
woollen shirt ("Wollenes
Hemd"- see above) had plain gathered cuffs and a removable naval collar ("Exerzierkragen"
or often familiarly called a "Kieler Kragen" after the
port of Kiel) in a lighter shade of blue with three white
stripes around the edge. Under this collar was worn a black
neckerchief with a white tie. This was the uniform
most commonly worn by sailors of the Imperial German navy on
active service aboard ship or onshore during the Winter
months.
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Figure 1 is based on a
photograph of a Sailor ("Matrose") of the Torpedo boat S-90 taken
in Tsingtao sometime before the First World War. During the
First World War the S-90 broke out of Tsingtao, attacked and
sank the Japanese cruiser Takachiho, evaded the
rest of the Japanese fleet and made for neutral
China, where the crew were interned at Nanking. This
sailor wears the blue woollen naval shirt and matching blue trousers worn loose over his boots.
He wears a
blue naval cap with "TORPEDOBOOT S-90" in gold or
white lettering around the
tally. Torpedo boat crews were distinguished by having red
piping around the naval cap. In a similar way U-boat crews
wore pink piping around their caps (see above)
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White Shirt |
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The
white cotton shirt ("Weißes
Hemd"- see above)
had blue cuffs with two white
stripes around the pointed upper edge and a single white
stripe along the lower edge. The naval collar of this shirt
was in a darker shade of blue with three white stripes
around its edges and was sewn into the shirt. Under
this collar was worn a black neckerchief with a white tie.
This was the uniform most commonly worn by sailors of the
Imperial German navy on active service aboard ship or
onshore during the Summer months or in tropical climates.
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Figure 2 is based on a
photograph of a Naval Auxiliary taken in Jaluit, German New Guinea.
The colonies
maintained their own naval crews separate from the Imperial navy.
These were used to crew the colonies' own shipping (mostly unarmed, though they
were sometimes fitted with guns or used to transport troops in times of war) and
also for tasks such as rowing small boats out to larger vessels that could not
dock at the islands (it is this second task that this figure is employed in).
See Naval Auxiliaries
in the Colonies Page.
These local auxiliary sailors sometimes wore no uniform
at all, simply having their civilian attire (often
loincloths in Africa and the Pacific), locally
improvised naval uniforms or sometimes wore standard
Imperial naval uniforms (as seen here). This oarsman
wears the standard white cotton summer
shirt, matching trousers and a white
naval cap. In the original photograph upon which this
illustration is based the writing on the cap tally
cannot be made out clearly. It could be the name of a
ship to which this oarsman was attached or possibly "Gouvernment Neu
Guinea", judging from similar tallies seen in
Tsingtao. Unlike regular naval personnel this sailor
wears no shoes and has a darker coloured vest worn under
his white naval shirt. |
Working Shirt |
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Another type of white shirt was the working shirt ("Arbeitsbluse"-
see above).
It again was made of lightweight cotton with plain cuffs and
a single right breast pocket with no pocket flap.
It had a simplified sewn in naval collar in pale blue, again
with three white stripes around the edge. Under this collar
was usually worn a black neckerchief with a white tie. This
uniform was worn in hot weather for manual work.
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Figure 3 is based on a
photograph of a Matrose from the Landing Party that
stormed the Taku Forts during the Boxer Rebellion in
1900. This photo was supposedly taken just after the capture
of the forts and therefore probably shows the sailors as
they appeared in action. He wears the white naval working shirt and matching
white trousers worn loose over his boots.
Many of the other sailors in the original photograph upon
which this illustrations is based are wearing leather ankle
gaiters (see Naval
Landing Parties in the Tropics). He wears a
naval straw hat (also see Naval
Landing Parties in the Tropics) edged in black silk with a black cap tally
around the hatband bearing the name of his ship (sailors
from the SMS Hertha, SMS Hansa and SMS Gefion
all took part in the storming of the Taku Forts).
Most sailors did not wear belts or carry personal equipment
when going about their duties onboard or ashore. When such
items were worn as seen on this illustration, a black leather belt was held by a brass
belt buckle (see above) with a white metal centre bearing an imperial
crown and the motto "GOTT MIT UNS".
Personal equipment for sailors consisted of 1871 pattern
ammunition pouches, bread bag (see above), water bottle, bayonet and a
naval backpack, known as a "Seesack" (see
Naval
Equipment Details Page). |
Double Breasted Jacket |
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In colder weather, other
ranks wore a woollen dark blue, double breasted jacket ("Überzieher" often referred
to as a "Collani" in naval slang, after the Berlin tailors Berger
& Collani who made many naval uniforms- see above). It had five
brass (or white metal for below-deck crew)
buttons down either side, with a crowned anchor on each. The
collar patches were blue (piped in red for torpedo boat crews).
NCO rank was displayed in thin yellow or white metallic bars across
the top edge of the collar patch.
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Figure 4 is based on a
photograph of a Gunner of the Kiaochow Naval Artillery Batteries taken
just after the fall of Tsingtao in November 1914.
He wears the double breasted jacket and matching blue trousers
tucked into black jackboots.
Note the rank bar on his collar patch and the specialist
insignia in yellow metallic thread (see above) showing
him probably to have been an Artilleristen-Maat or an
Ober-Artilleristen Maat. Underneath his jacket he would
most likely be wearing a blue woollen naval shirt and
collar. He wears a
blue naval cap probably with "MATROSENARTILLERIE KIAUTSCHOU" in gold lettering around the
tally. Some cap tallies from the Kiaochow Batteries also had
the battery number on either side of the title, for example
"5. MATROSENARTILLERIE KIAUTSCHOU 5.". Note the
cap tallies hanging from the back of the cap.
He carries his kit and
possessions in a naval rucksack ("Seesack")
on his back (see above), these were sometimes decorated with unit insignia. As a prisoner of war he has been stripped of weapons and
ammunition and wears only his black leather naval belt with other ranks belt
buckle. During the siege many of the land based naval units would have been armed with the Mauser 98 rifle and
would have carried 1909 ammunition pouches on their belts (see
Personal Equipment Page). |
Dress Jacket
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see above)
was made of dark blue wool and had eight brass (or white metal)
buttons down either side, although it was actually loosely held
by a small chain between two additional buttons (see above). The
cuffs likewise had eight buttons. NCO rank was displayed by a
single chevron on the upper left arm for junior NCOs (see above
left) and lace on the cuffs for senior NCOs (see above right).
In the mid 19th Century the dress jacket had been standard wear for
Prussian (and later German) sailors, but the early twentieth
century
it was worn only on parade or for special occasions.
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Figure 5 is based on a
photograph of a Gunner of the Kiaochow Naval Batteries taken in Tsingtao
sometime before the First World War. He wears the dress
jacket and white shirt with its dark blue naval collar. With
these he wears blue woollen trousers worn loose over his boots
and a blue naval cap (as with the previous figure it reads "MATROSENARTILLERIE KIAUTSCHOU"
or a variation with his battery number, for example "5. MATROSENARTILLERIE KIAUTSCHOU 5.".
Note the cap tallies again hanging from the back of the cap. |
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Recommended Reading
"Die Mützenbänder der Deutschen Marine 1815 - 1918" by
Bernd Wedeking and
Markus Bodeux
"Unsere Marineuniformen" by J Zienert
Thanks to Johannes Sundermann for
his help on this page and as always to Damien Doppler for his photographs.
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