Navy collectables

Edward Hallett looks at focussing a collection around the hunting and sinking of a German naval icon

Edward Hallett looks at focussing a collection based around the hunting and sinking of a German naval icon.

The hunt for and subsequent sinking of the Bismarck remains a story that captures the imagination of many and a collection focussed around the ships, men and navies involved in this dramatic incident would make for an interesting and thought provoking display. Items directly attached to the battle itself are rare, but not impossible to find, however items representative of the navies and the ships are more readily available and this is an overview of some of the items that can be found on the collector’s market at the moment.

Royal Navy

One area of collecting that is fairly straightforward is that of Royal Navy uniforms, with examples still being easily available and fairly affordable. There was still a very clear distinction in dress between ratings and officers at sea at the time of the Bismarck’s sinking, with officers, petty officers and chief petty officers wearing Fore and Aft rig and many sailors wearing the traditional Square Rig. Fore and Aft rig consisted of a double-breasted jacket, worn over a shirt and tie, with a peaked cap. Rank was displayed on the cuffs, with gold buttons for non-commissioned ranks and gold lace in a variety of styles for officers. This was worn with a peaked cap displaying an elaborately embroidered cap badge. Ratings wore the traditional sailor’s uniform with a large blue collar and bellbottoms. The serge suit was worn over either a white, square necked cotton shirt or in colder weather a finely knitted blue sweater. A round cap with a woven cap tally reading ‘H.M.S.’ was worn on the head. These uniforms are hard to find in large, modern sizes, but are far easier to source in smaller sizes if you are looking for examples to display. WD Militaria has an extensive selection of World War II uniform for sale including a Petty Officer’s peaked cap for £125, an officer’s greatcoat for £85, a round rating’s cap with its carry tin for £100 and collars for just £10 each. A mannequin display of representative uniform would look very impressive and to make it distinctive a collector could consider adding anti-flash gear, as worn in battle. Anti-flash equipment consisted of gloves and a hood that covered most of the face and mouth. In the event of a sudden explosion, this equipment protected the extremities from burns from superheated gas. Wartime anti-flash is quite scarce today, but does appear for sale occasionally and helps to highlight that a mannequin set is depicting a sailor in action.

Swordfish bombers played a crucial role in the sinking of the Bismarck, with

the brave pilots of the Fleet Air Army taking their wood, canvas and string up against one of the most heavily armed warships in the world. Although a single hit would be sufficient to blow an aircraft out of the sky, lesser hits by shrapnel could still cause serious injury to the aircrew. It would be many hours until the aircraft could land safely on the Ark Royal and so small emergency first aid kits were carried by each man. These consisted of a rubberised packet with simple items to treat burns and injuries. Original Royal Navy marked examples are far harder to find than their RAF equivalents, but an example is being sold by Mons Militaria clearly stamped ‘Royal Navy’ and priced at £200.

The Kriegsmarine

German naval militaria is much scarcer than Royal Navy items, but pieces do come up for sale occasionally and with patience a good collection can be built up. The Kriegsmarine wore the national eagle badge on their uniforms, like all branches of the German military. The Kriegsmarine version, however, followed traditional naval practice and was embroidered in yellow or gold on a dark blue background. These eagles are one of the easier pieces to find and Crow Valley Militaria has a

virtually unused example for sale at £60. Other insignia to look out for are patches worn on the sleeve and denoting a sailors trade and specialisation. These offer a very affordable entry into collecting the German Navy of World War II and Montgomery Militaria has a patch worn by a medical or sick bay Petty Officer for just £16.

Crewmen working on the bridge or exposed to the elements on the deck of the Bismarck would have been issued with specialist working clothes to protect them from the spray of the sea and offer some waterproofing. Although officers were encouraged to purchase their own coats, enlisted men could draw heavy leather jackets from stores for use on deck. Germanmilitaria.com has an officer’s private purchase example of one of these leather jackets, manufactured by Wagner and Harder of Helibronn for sale at $795.

The same site offers other items of Kriegsmarine clothing including an enlisted man’s herringbone twill work jacket in an unbleached tan and made of a cotton/rayon blend. The jacket is designed for workwear and as such would be laundered regularly so the buttons are secured by split rings that allow them to be removed and swapped form one jacket to another. This jacket is priced at $359.

The bridge crew of the Bismarck would

have been carefully scanning the horizon for the Royal Navy throughout the hours leading up to the climax of the battle. Binoculars were essential tools and the Germans had an enviable reputation for the quality of their optical instruments. These instruments needed careful maintenance and each would have had a case to protect them from damage when not in use. The binoculars do survive, as they were popular souvenirs for allied officers who captured men and ships, however the leather cases that carried them are far rarer. CS Militaria has a black Kriegsmarine binocular case for sale at £495 that would complete a set of Carl Zeiss 7x50 binoculars nicely and be a great addition to a Bismarck themed collection.

Collecting ephemera

Few things could take a collector more fully into the battle than the actual notes taken by one of the ships in real time as the battle unfolded. It is precisely this, however, which is being offered by Mons Militaria. The Polish destroyer Piorun was part of the Fourth Destroyer fleet escorting a convoy from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean when it was detached to help search for the Bismarck on 25 May. Piorun was the

first destroyer to sight the battleship and shadowed the Bismarck, joining in with the torpedo attack the night before she was sunk and then exchanging fire with the much larger ship for an hour, without either ship finding the other. The Piorun, therefore, had an important part to play in the battle and the ships manoeuvers and actions were recorded as they happened in pencil on sheets of Naval Message forms. This archive of 11 hand-written Polish documents is for sale at £1,500 and is perhaps one of the most historically important pieces of militaria relating to Bismarck that has been offered for sale for many years.

Slightly more frivolous is a poster being offered by Surrey Militaria. It is perhaps unsurprising that the sinking of the Bismarck would make an epic story for the silver screen and in 1960 a film starring Kenneth Moore and depicting the story of the sinking was released by 20th Century Fox. It was unusual for the period in highlighting the work of the backroom staff as well as those aboard the ships. The film was praised for its realism and was received well by the public and critics. The poster is a particularly dramatic work of art showing the Swordfish torpedo bombers on their run in towards the Bismarck and would look spectacular framed and on the wall of any collection room. The poster is a manageable 39in by 30in in size and priced at £245.

Medals

Finding medals with a Bismarck connection is difficult as British campaign medals were not named and few German sailors survived the sinking and they would spend the rest of the war as prisoners of war. The best option for collectors is to find groupings for British sailors who had served pre-war for long enough to get a Long Service and Good Conduct medal as these are named and allows the recipient to be researched. One such grouping is offered by dcmmedals. co.uk where a set of medals to an Able Seaman I Dow is being offered for sale. The Long Service and Good Conduct medal allows the set to be named to him and indicates he was on HMS Ark Royal throughout his career which means he would have been present when she took part in the battle to sink Bismarck. The medal grouping consists of five campaign medals for World War II, including the Atlantic Star, together with his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, is being sold for £165. ■

Right: A Royal Navy Commanders uniform showing the doublebreasted reefer style jacket with cold rank lace at the cuffs

Above right: Royal Navy Petty Officers wore peaked caps with an embroidered badge

Right: The Swordfish torpedo bombers carried small first aid packets to allow minor injuries to be treated in the air

Anti-flash gear covered the face and hands to prevent flash burns in the event of an explosion

The Royal Navy rating’s collar was a complicated affair with many cotton tapes and loops to secure it

Above: A ratings round cap in the wartime blue

This medal grouping belonged to a rating on the HMS Ark Royal during the Bismarck action. The Long Service and Good Conduct medal on the right is named allowing a positive identification of the set of medals

Heavy leather coats were issued to help protect Kriegsmarine deck crew from the worst of the Atlantic weather

Left: Kriegsmarine herringbone twill uniforms were issued as simple and cheap work wear that could be laundered regularly

Right: Kriegsmarine binoculars were issued in black leather cases to protect them from damage when not being used

Original documents record the movements of the Polish destroyer Piorun as she chased the Bismarck

The Kriegsmarine version of the national eagle was embroidered in yellow or gold on dark blue wool

A medical trade patch was worn on the sleeves of enlisted men’s uniforms, this is for a medical orderly

The 1960 film Sink the Bismarck featured a dynamic and colourful poster to promote it. Film posters always look impressive when framed and on the wall