Naval History Forums

Can anybody correctly identify this photo? What is this man doing, where, and why? Let me know if you need any clues but try first.

He is cutting an armour plate on a sunken ship. Could it be Tirpitz?

All I can say is that the man is a German "Gefreiter" and he is cutting a thick armor plate during the breaking up of a ship.

Uniformed naval personnel were used for breaking up a ship?

This is very interesting. The man in the picture looks to be cutting an 4" or 100mm armour plate. I believe that the steel beams in the back are deck support beams, which would mean he is cutting the belt armour and the ship has about a 25 to 35 deg list. He is wearing a standard forage cap. The uniform is that of a Matrosen-Gefreiter. The star just above his rank insignia is a trade badge of a Deck rating (Bootsmann Montrose) The only problem with the trade badge is that is was to be worn on the upper "left" arm, not the right as the picture suggests. If this is correct the picture is reversed.

I think I'm going to need a few clues, because Kriegsmarine personal should not be part of the breaking up of a ship.

I don't know if the photo is reversed but it could be possible. Here are a couple of clues:

Clue #1: The photo is post-1945.

Clue #2: The armor plate the man is cutting is German homogeneous Wh (Wotan hart) 110-120 mm thick.

Not sure myself, but I know the Gneisenau was in for repairs a few times. Could it be her being readied to be scuttled in the harbor?

I'm surprised the worker isn't wearing a welding helmut.

My guess would be he is helping cut up the armour deck slopes of Gneisenau during salvage and breaking up operations after the war.

Tirpitz had 110-120mm slope armor.

Hello everyone. The photo is indeed of the Tirpitz, and it was taken at the time she was being broken up. The man cutting the sloped armor deck is inside one of the ship's wing tanks. At first it is a bit difficult to notice that but keep in mind that because the Tirpitz capsized her hull stands downwards. Take a look at the attached drawings. The red dot marks the place.