German Naval Ports WWII
 

Hello,

I have a question about WWII Navy luger pistol markings, the answer to which might help me in some other research I am doing. I know there are the pistols with "O." and "N." My question is are there other letters used other than the "O' and "N" to designate station ports in WWII? Another question is how many homeland naval ports did Germany have in WWII? I would appreciate any comments anyone can offer. My research involves color markings on WWII German Navy messhall porcelain.

Thank you for your help,
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What are you looking for exactly on the messhall porcelain? I have a plate but it is only marked with the E/M, 1939 and the manufacturers name.

If you have some interesting pieces I for one would like to see some pics.

SteveM

Gents,

The O and N were not port designations. They are FLEET designations, N= Nordsee, home ported at Williamshaven and O=Ostsee, home ported in Kiel. As for other German ports during W.W. II, essentially all European ports north of Spain, excluding the UK, neutral countries and the USSR, were German occupied ports. The kriegsmarine did not use any formal code system to indicate these ports or equipment assigned.

Tom A

Tom,

Thank you for your comments. Let me try and rewrite my question. On the German mainland during WWII what cities would have had Naval stations? For instance: Wilhelmshaven, Kiel, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, etc. According to your comments there were only the two fleet designations of N and O, is that correct?

Thank You,

TT,

That is correct. Naval stations were certainly plentiful; when you consider the Naval Coast Artillery, there were literally hundreds along the Festung or Western Wall. As far as stations supporting sea going vessels, you may correctly assume one for every significant harbor in occupied Europe.

Tom A

A passing note on Wilhelmshaven. This seaport was immportant in both WWI and WWII. IN WWI it was home to many of the High Seas Fleet and a significant Submarine and Torpedo boat base. IN WWII it was a much bombed submarine base with impressive bunkers. Near the end of the war the Free Polish army invaded Wilhelmshaven and almost all of the records in port and the City Hall were destroyed. I think I still have some relatives there although my Grandfather left for Cincinnati circa 1930.

Mein Lieber Kamrad Heinz!

Your ompa was no one's fool!

Tom A.

A good question about possible naval markings.

Tom is exactly correct about the Nordsee and Ostsee markings being fleet markings. There were some other naval markings that were applied to weapons (I have no idea if this was done to crockery though) of various types. There were Werft markings for ports such as W.W. for Werft Wilhelmshaven or W.K. for Werft Kiel. Some weapons might be marked to divisions as well, such as II.T.D. for the Zweite Torpedo Division or bataillons, such as I.S.B. to designate the Erstes Seebataillon. So, other naval markings will be found on German weapons and equipment. I think it would depend upon the specific time period and what was marked.

I have no idea if mess equipment was marked in this manner. I would think it would be very difficult to unit mark crockery with anything other than a stencil. The only markings I have seen on crockery have been generic naval acceptance markings that are fired into the glaze.

Good Evening Everyone,

I would like to approach my question in a little different manner. In my collecting of WWII Kriegsmarine Mess Hall porcelain I have come across the following trim colors:

1. Plain White (No Trim Colors)
2. Three Green Stripes (Center Stripe Heavier)
3. Three Red Stripes (Center Stripe Heavier)
4. Black Heavy Center Stripe, Gold Stripe Each Side Of Black)

My question is does anyone know what these color codes could be related to? Could it be rank, ship types, Naval Stations, etc.

The following image should demonstrate the trim colors on the porcelain. I am sure the color codes relate to something but I have not been able to find out. Your help and comments would be appreciated.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/navycolors.jpg

I know this subject is not directly related to Lugers and it may need to be moved to the Off Topic Section.

Thanks,

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An interesting observation. I had not noticed the colors on KM porcelain before. I don't know the answer to your question but I do have some Polizei mess crockery. The plates are uniformly plain without decorative stripes such as you detail. The markings can be green or black and the eagles are typically green or blue that I have seen.

Perhaps this is of some help.