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ORIGINAL- WW1 GERMAN BATTLESHIP SMS THURINGEN SAILOR'S BATTLE of JUTLAND ARCHIVE

$ 712.8

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: Germany
  • All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
  • Region of Origin: Germany
  • Modified Item: No
  • Original/Reproduction: Original
  • Theme: Militaria
  • Conflict: WW I (1914-18)
  • Condition: Used

    Description

    ORIGINAL- WW1 GERMAN BATTLESHIP * SMS THUERINGEN SAILOR'S BATTLE of JUTLAND ARCHIVE c1916
    ORIGINAL - WW1 GERMAN BATTLESHIP * SMS THUERINGEN SAILOR'S BATTLE of JUTLAND ARCHIVE INCLUDING APPROXIMATELY 100 PAGES c.1916
    Remarkably Rare Presentation archive portfolio embossed on the leather cover with the coat of arms of the German state: Thuringia and :
    ,, S.M.S. Thuringen ''
    (WW1
    Helgoland class of dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy
    )
    31.May- 1.June 1916.
    (Date of the The Battle of Jutland)
    Dimensions: W 8 1/2" x H 13" x D 1"
    Approximately 84 Pages (heavy tag paper) + original period documents + heavy satin faced end pages  + cover. (Approx. 100 + pages)
    Condition is very fine throughout with the cover leather cover rubbed and showing some wear and unwinding of some of the spiral leather edge piping. On the reverse upper left corner missing and the obverse corners showing some wear. Cover is being held in place by design with a single leather lace
    through the inside text block that has broken.
    The first page is a large foldout (linen lined) of a front cover of a Wilhelmshavener Tageblatt
    newspaper
    dated June 2, 1916 highlighting the Battle of Jutland bound into the book.
    The second section contains 8 pages (4 with copy) of the original official battle report on bond paper including hand drawn ink diagrams showing the battle movements of the SMS Thueringen against the British battleship HMS Black Prince of May 31 and June 1, 1916 marked “Geheim” (“Secret), 5pp., dated 2 June 1916 and addressed to the Imperial Command of the 1. Squadron (most likely written by Admiral Reinhard Scheer).  At the end of the report is requested to award captain lieutenant Adolf Franz the Iron Cross First Class for commanding the artillery.
    The next 70+ pages are of carefully mounted newspaper clippings with text and illustrations, maps of the British and German newspapers describing many aspects of the Battle of Jutland.
    Then the following original period documents and telegrams are bound in the the portfolio:
    8pp. booklet 'S.M.S. Thueringen in Battle at Skagerrak' by Hermann Katsch, assistant doctor on board of the Thueringen and a 2 pp. poem by Katsch.
    A radio telegram dated June 1. 1917 [typo, meant 1916] From [SMS] Friedrich der Grosse ( 'To Fleet In proud gratitude for the safe conduct of the units and ships and for the devoted skill of the crews, I express my warmest appreciation to the fleet by commemorating the comrades who gave their blood and life for our fatherland and our emperor. Hochseechef' [Admiral Reinhard Scheer]
    Second radio gram dated June 1 'To I.O. [First Officer Roedenbeck] I express my appreciation to the commander [Captain at Sea Hans Kuesel] and crews for their excellent navigation, especially during the night, and their ability to fight. The crews must be informed of this. Hochseechef'
    [Admiral Reinhard Scheer]
    Next page, a copy page of congratulatory wishes from German nobility. Followed by a copy of a news report from Henning von Holtzendorff, Head of the Imperial Admiralty Staff.
    Next a
    typed document signed by Corvette Captain Roedenbeck to Imperial Lieutenant at Sea Ferdinand Schmidt, dated 20. July 1916, informing Schmidt that he was awarded the 'Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order Knight's Cross Second Class with Swords. The sash is included, the decoration will follow.'  At the bottom of the same page
    a
    typed telegram from the officers of the S.M.S. Thueringen to Corvette Capitain Roedenbeck congratulating him for receiving the Iron Cross First Class (possibly initialed in pencil by
    Admiral Reinhard Scheer)
    At the end a bound in 12pp color magazine dated June 18, 1916 Kladderadatsch. (good)
    It is possible that this archive belonged to the First Officer and Corvette Captain of the S.M.S. Thueringen, Georg Roedenbeck.
    *
    S.M.S. Thuringen (Sometimes spelled
    Thueringen)
    was a Schlachtschiff (Battleship) that was launched in 1909, then commissioned after sea trials during 1911. She was one of the Heligoland Class’s four ships. The other three vessels were the class leader, S.M.S. Heligoland, the S.M.S. Oldenburg, and S.M.S. Ostfriesland. SMS Thueringen was the third vessel of the Helgoland class of dreadnought battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Thueringen's keel was laid in November 1908 at the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen. She was launched on 27 November 1909 and commissioned into the fleet on 1 July 1911. The ship was equipped with twelve 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in six twin turrets, and had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Thueringen was assigned to I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career, including World War I. Along with her three sister ships, Helgoland, Ostfriesland, and Oldenburg, Thueringen participated in all of the major fleet operations of World War I in the North Sea against the British Grand Fleet. This included the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916, the largest naval battle of the war. Thueringen was involved in the heavy night fighting at Jutland, including the destruction of the armored cruiser HMS Black Prince. The ship also saw action against the Imperial Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea, where she participated in the unsuccessful first incursion into the Gulf of Riga in August 1915. After the German collapse in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow during the peace negotiations. The four Helgoland-class ships were allowed to remain in Germany and were therefore spared the destruction of the fleet in Scapa Flow. Thueringen and her sisters were eventually ceded to the victorious Allied powers as war reparations; Thueringen was transferred to France in April 1920 and used as a target ship for the French Navy. She was sunk off Gavres and broken up in situ in 1923–1933, though some sections of the ship remain.
    Side note
    : The sailors' of the S.M.S. Thuringen took part in a revolt near wars end. It started in the Schillig Roads off Wilhelmshaven, where the German fleet had anchored in expectation of battle. During the night of 29–30 October 1918, some crews refused to obey orders. Sailors on board three ships of the Third Navy Squadron refused to weigh anchor. Part of the crew of
    SMS
    Thüringen
    and
    SMS
    Helgoland
    , two battleships of the I Battle Squadron, committed outright mutiny and sabotage. However, when some torpedo boats directed their guns onto these ships a day later, the mutineers gave up and were led away without any resistance. Nonetheless, the Naval Command had to drop its plans for a naval engagement with British naval forces since it was felt that the loyalty of the crews could not be relied upon any more. Many of these sailors that took part in the revolt sowed the seeds of the local militia called the Freikorps, later to become the Nazi party.
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