Ranks of the Imperial Navy
The following list of the ranks of the Imperial Navy (excluding marine infantry ) shows the status around 1914 .
In order to be able to distinguish the ranks on the uniform, there were various badges and features. Officers were distinguished by shoulder pieces (possibly with stars) and, in certain careers, by wefts on the sleeves. Deck officers through armpit flaps on outer clothing. NCOs and men by badges on the left upper arm. In addition, there were other features in all personnel categories, for example certain hats, a portepee, braids and more. The color of the braids (metal web) and buttons was based on the organizational assignment: silver for the shipyard divisions, clothing offices and the machine and fire department personnel of the torpedo departments, gold for all other NCOs. In addition, the shoulder flaps of the deck officers provided information about the career to which the person concerned belonged by means of additional badges and the rank badges of the NCOs by various designs.
Officials of the Imperial Navy are not included in this overview.
Detailed clothing regulations for members of the Imperial Navy are listed under the article Uniforms of the Imperial Navy .
Ranks
Crews (sailors)
- Sailor (also signal guest, survey guest)
- Annual volunteer : At the top, an open angle made of double woolen cord in the imperial colors black-silver (instead of white) -red
- Senior seaman (also Obersignalgast, Obervermessungsgast): Above open angle made of border, in yellow (to blue uniform) or blue (white uniform)
Annual volunteer
Senior Seaman
Notes: One-year-old volunteer was not a rank, but a designation of the candidate for a reserve officer career . Sailors and senior sailors were named in various careers, with a preceding career title, guest (plural: guests) (e.g. painter guest , signal top guest ).
NCOs without portepee (mate)
- Maat : Blue standing anchor (white uniform) with applied career badge. The emblem was made of metal (gold or silver) on the blue sailor shirt and jacket. Cuffs of the jacket edged with metal braid
- Obermaat : like Maat, with an additional imperial crown with flying badges above the anchor
Mate
Chief mate
Notes: The mates and chief mates were managed according to their careers, for example as boatswain's mate , carpenter's mate or chief fireworks mate .
NCOs with Portepee (Sergeant)
- Vice sergeant or vice sergeant : standing, clear anchor (metal) under the imperial crown with flying ribbons. Under the emblem an open angle made of metal braid. A white shirt with a high corner collar ("father murderer") and a bow tie goes with the standard sailor jacket (saddle braids like mate). Cap of the deck officers. Long blue pants and loafers. Officer's saber with portepee.
- Sergeant or sergeant : like vice sergeant or vice-sergeant, plus a second braid under the career badge; Circumferential band of metal braid ("piston ring") over the cuffs
Vice Sergeant, Sergeant
Notes: Sergeant was a rank of the shipyard divisions (marine services on land), Wachtmeister was a rank of the seafaring service, who particularly supervised the departments below deck.
Portepee NCOs with more than 25 years of service (from 1913 with 15 years of service) put on the uniform of deck officers with the badges of Portepee NCOs. Since 1914 , all Portepee NCOs, regardless of seniority, wore deck officers uniform with the badges of Portepee NCOs.
Deck officers
- Deck officer (boatswain, helmsman, etc.): Service suit similar to that of the officers, but flatter hat and crew overcoat (exception: vice deck officers!). Instead of the shoulder pieces for all types of suits, blue armpit flaps with the career badge (for example unclear anchor for boat people, gear wheel for machinists) made of metal. Three horizontally arranged anchor buttons on the cuffs. Visor cap similar to the officer's headgear, with a lower lid and no oak leaf wreath, over the national cockade (black, white, red) the imperial crown with flying crown ribbons. Collars for machinists / top machinists and torpedo mechanics / torpedo top mechanics made of black velvet.
- Upper deck officer ( top boatman, head helmsman, etc.): like deck officer, but the imperial crown with flying ribbons over the career badge on the armpit flaps
- Deck officer lieutenant : see officers
Deck officer
Upper deck officer
Deck officers as
deputy officers
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Note: machinists and chief machinists deck officers as deputy officers marked gold braids on both sides of the tapered armpit flaps.
Officer Candidates
Candidate naval officers (career officers)
- Sea Cadet (until April 17, 1899 cadet ): Sergeant's jacket, but without their braids and sleeve badges, three horizontally arranged yellow anchor buttons on the cuffs (as with deck officers). Marine dagger, until 1890 fascine knife, without portepee. Cap similar to the naval officer model, but flatter. Cap band from 1888 made of black mohair, previously made of blue ground cloth with an upper edge made of narrow gold braid. From 1908 the naval officer’s hat, but like before cockade without oak leaf embroidery and imperial crown.
- Ensign to the sea (until April 17, 1899 sea cadet ): like sea cadet, but on both collar ends (since the end of 1885 on both shoulders) a narrow clasp of black and red silver cord. Marine dagger, until 1890 fascine knife, with portepee. Permission to wear the officer's tailcoat (with string badge). Cap ribbon made of wide gold braid until 1888, from 1888 of black mohair. The cockade has been surrounded by oak leaf embroidery since 1888, above it an imperial crown. From 1908 naval officers cap. After passing the officer's examination officer's saber is allowed as an alternative to the naval dagger ( around then saber ensign ).
As aspiring naval officers for an active career (professional officer), the naval cadets ranked between mate and chief mate. Ensigns to the sea were ranked between the chief mate and vice sergeant, but after passing the officer examination immediately behind the sergeants (around then saber ensign or until 1899 saber cadet , corresponding to the sword ensign of the army).
Midshipman
Ensign z. lake
Reserve officer candidate
- Vice Deck Officer (until 1893 : Vice-Naval Cadet ): Until 1893 from promotion from bosun's mate to Vice-Naval Cadet, the bosun's mate continued to wear uniform, but with a jacket a white shirt with a stand-up collar and a black tie (instead of the drill or "sailor's collar") Cord clasp and cap of midshipmen and ensigns as well as officer's saber with portepee. From 1884 sleeve braids in button color on the short jacket (like boatswain's mate). Since 1893 uniform of the deck officers with epaulets of the officers' deputies, from 1914 shoulder badges of the deck officers. From 1895 officer's hat and officer's paletot.
As officer candidates for the reserve career , vice deck officers ranked between the deck officers and the sergeants. Shortly before the outbreak of World War I, three reserve officer careers were initially open to them: the nautical service ( vice helmsman ), the naval artillery ( vice fireworker ) and the engineering career (vice machinist). In 1915 the seaplane career was added ( vice flying master ). Since the sea pilots did not have their own officer corps, they were transported onward via the nautical service (lieutenant in the sea as a rule) or via the artillery career (as a lieutenant in the naval artillery). After passing the officer's examination, vice deck officers were also appointed after 1893 . for some time still referred to as Vice-Saber Cadets .
Engineering candidate
Up until around 1905/06, the engineers of the Imperial Navy were made up exclusively of long-serving sergeants from the machinist career. The lowest engineering degree (corresponding to that of the lieutenant in the sea) was therefore usually only achieved after 15 years of total service or later. The "reorganization of the machine personnel" in 1900 separated the engineering career from that of the machinist and tried to achieve the "upper classes" through the academization of training, whose sons were admitted to the marine engineering school in Wilhelmshaven after obtaining the upper secondary qualification (" one-year certificate ") should. The monthly allowance of 40 marks to be paid by the families up to the end of their training and the costs of “self-dressing” represented a considerable barrier for poorer sections of the population. The promotion to active marine engineer took place after nine years. For comparison: The training to become a lieutenant at sea only lasted three years.
With the "reorganization of the machine personnel", the ranks of the prospective engineers were also restructured:
| Ranks of aspiring marine engineers (since 1903) | General naval ranks |
|---|---|
| Engineer candidate | sailor |
| Senior engineer candidate | Senior Seaman |
| Engineer Applicant | Mate |
| Engineer Senior Applicant | Chief mate |
| Engineer aspirant | Deck officer |
| Engineer candidate | Upper deck officer |
Advancement was possible up to the rank of naval chief engineer (frigate captain), from 1916 also up to naval chief engineer (captain at sea). Despite various improvements, it was not until 1920, after the fall of the German Empire, that the naval engineers achieved full equality with the naval officer corps. Until then, naval engineers were never referred to as "engineer officers", in contrast to the doctors (as medical officers) and the fireworks, weapons and torpedo officers who were added from the NCO.
Officers
- Lieutenant Deck Officer (Deck Officer Engineer; introduced January 1916): Naval officer or naval engineer cap. Silver, black and red interwoven armpit pieces with the deck officer career badge. Small gilded imperial crown with ribbons on the sides of the collar.
- Leutnant zur See (until December 31, 1898 Unterleutnant zur See ): narrow metal braid running around the cuffs; fringed epaulettes or shoulder pieces made of four black and red silver flat cords sewn together (as in the army) (without star of rank)
- Oberleutnant zur See (until December 31, 1898: Lieutenant zur See): medium-wide sleeve braid; Epaulettes with thin fringes, shoulder pieces like lieutenant (1 star)
- Lieutenant Commander : two medium-wide arm braids; Epaulettes with thin fringes, shoulder pieces like lieutenant (2 stars)
- Corvette Captain : three medium-wide arm braids; Epaulettes with thick fringes or braided shoulder pieces made of black and red silver cord (without star)
- Frigate captain (until November 22, 1898: Corvette captain with the rank of lieutenant colonel ): four medium-wide arm braids; Epaulettes with thick fringes, shoulder boards like Corvette Captain (1 star)
- Captain of the Sea : four medium-wide arm braids; Epaulettes with dense fringes, shoulder boards like Korvettenkapitän (2 stars)
Note: The special corps wore colored velvet collars as well as colored velvet underlays under the sleeve stripes: marine doctors (dark blue), engineers (black), torpeder, fireworks and gear officers (black, brown since 1902, light gray since 1911). After the abolition of the witness officer career in 1900, their uniform was only worn by farewell since 1906. Deck officer lieutenants or deck officer engineers were officers without a license and emerged from the deck officers. The torpeder, fireworks and equipment officers, who were made up of earned NCOs, could only advance to the position of torpeder, fireworks and equipment captain lieutenant. Fireworks and witness captain lieutenants (but not torpedo captain lieutenants ) could receive the character of a fireworks or witness captain (corvette captain) when they said goodbye .
| Naval officers | Marine engineers | Medical officers |
|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant zS | Marine engineer | Marine intern |
| First Lieutenant zS | Marine Chief Engineer | Senior Marine Assistant Doctor |
| Lieutenant captain | Navy staff engineer | Navy medical officer |
| Corvette Captain | Naval Chief Staff Engineer | Navy Chief Medical Officer |
| Frigate captain | Marine Chief Engineer | Marine Senior Physician General |
| Captain z. S. | Navy Chief Engineer | Marine doctor general |
Note: At the head of the medical officer corps was the General Staff Doctor of the Navy , with undetermined admiral rank .
Admirals
- Rear Admiral (until December 31, 1898: Contreadmiral ), possibly also General Staff Doctor of the Navy : a wide sleeve braid, above a medium-wide sleeve braid; Epaulettes with thick fringes or braided shoulder pieces made of two gold cords and a centrally bordered black and red silver cord (without star)
- Vice-Admiral , possibly also General Staff Doctor of the Navy (if not assimilated to Rear Admiral): one wide arm braid, two medium-wide braids; Epaulettes with thick fringes, shoulder piece like rear admiral (1 star)
- Admiral : one broad sleeve braid, three medium-wide braids; Epaulettes with thick fringes, shoulder piece like rear admiral (2 stars)
- Grand Admiral : one wide arm braid, four medium-wide braids; Epaulettes with thick fringes, shoulder piece like rear admiral (crossed command staffs)
literature
- Gerhard Beckmann: The Imperial Navy. German Society for Heereskunde eV, Potsdam 2001
- Max WL Foss: Marine customer: A presentation of what is worth knowing in the field of maritime affairs, Paderborn 1901
- Georg Neudeck, Heinrich Schröder: Das kleine Buch von der Marine: A handbook of everything worth knowing about the German fleet, new improved and greatly increased edition, Kiel and Leipzig 1902
- Upper deck officer (chief boatman, chief helmsman)
- Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011
- Karl Schlawe: The German Navy in its current uniform. Moritz Ruhl Verlag, Leipzig 1913
- Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite: Structure of Rank and Origin of German Generals and Admirals 1933–1945, Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982
Web links
- Ranks and badges of the Imperial Navy ( Memento from April 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Georg Neudeck, Heinrich Schröder: Das kleine Buch von der Navy: A handbook of everything worth knowing about the German fleet, new improved and greatly increased edition, Kiel and Leipzig 1902, p. 98
- ^ Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011, p. 308ff.
- ^ Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011, p. 482
- ^ Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011, p. 583f.
- ^ Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011, p. 484f.
- ↑ cf. Georg Neudeck, Heinrich Schröder: Das kleine Buch von der Marine: A handbook of everything worth knowing about the German fleet, new improved and greatly increased edition, Kiel and Leipzig 1902, p. 55f.
- ↑ Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite: Structure of Rank and Origin of German Generals and Admirals 1933–1945, Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982, p. 96
- ^ Georg Neudeck, Heinrich Schröder: Das kleine Buch von der Marine: A handbook of everything worth knowing about the German fleet, new improved and greatly increased edition, Kiel and Leipzig 1902, p. 55
- ↑ cf. Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite: Structure of Rank and Origin of German Generals and Admirals 1933–1945, Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982, p. 96
- ^ Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011, p. 1004
- ↑ Tsingtau and Japan 1914-1920: Historical-biographical project. Ranks of officers in the Navy
- ↑ Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite: Structure of Rank and Origin of German Generals and Admirals 1933–1945, Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982, p. 95ff.
- ^ Rolf Noeske & Claus P. Stefanski: The German Marines 1818-1918. Organization, uniforms, armament and equipment Vienna 2011, p. 587ff.
- ↑ Georg Neudeck, Heinrich Schröder: Das kleine Buch von der Marine: A handbook of everything worth knowing about the German fleet, new improved and greatly increased edition, Kiel and Leipzig 1902, p. 92
- ↑ Max WL Foss: Marine-Kunde: A representation of what is worth knowing in the field of maritime affairs, Paderborn 1901, p. 546
- ↑ Tsingtau and Japan 1914-1920: Historical-biographical project. Ranks of officers in the Navy