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Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:20 am
by marcelo_malara
Hi guys. I have always believed that the sailors of the SMS slept in barracks when at port. Can anyone confirm this or if they stayed at their ships?
Regards
Re: Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 9:14 pm
by frontkampfer
Marcelo,
I too have believed the KLM crews especially for battleships, batttlecruisers & larger cruisers stayed in barracks when in a home port with rotated detachments being on board. KLM ships we're not spacious when it came to crew accommodations. I think you would need to get some original German texts to confirm it.
Re: Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 6:59 pm
by marcelo_malara
Look at this, from the recent Bismarck book.
Re: Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 10:16 pm
by hans zurbriggen
Hello Marcelo,
I do not have a confirmation for the fact that crew slept ashore during WWI.
I have another 'negative confirmation': for their new battleships, German designers paid great attention to crew acomodation on board. During Bismarck design, it was even imagined to shorten the citadel belt (145 mm KC above main belt at battery deck level between A and D turrets) covering only the central part (between B and C turrets), to allow scuttles to be installed on the battery deck in the areas of A and D turret, allowing more space for crew messes. At the end this was not necessary, due to huge dimensions of hull, but the mere idea that Germans could think to diminish their priority protection 'just' to create larger accomodation is a proof of the great attention to crew needs, in order to stay at see for long periods of time (source: M.J.Whitley).
hans
Re: Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 10:28 pm
by marcelo_malara
Hi Hans, seems to be one of those things that go on and nobody knows where it came from!
Re: Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Thu May 28, 2020 5:08 pm
by Byron Angel
The following book might be of help -
"War, Mutiny and Revolution in the German Navy: the World War One Diary of Seaman Richard Stumpf", by Richard Stumpf.
https://used.addall.com/SuperRare/submi ... store=ZVAB
I used to have this book, but do no longer. It has been re-printed a few times, is easy to find and not expensive. I'm also pretty sure that the original German language edition remains available.
FWIW.
Byron
Re: Kaiserliche Marine sailors quarters
Posted: Thu May 28, 2020 8:10 pm
by marcelo_malara
Thanks Byron, I was thinking just that, the memories of a sailor must contain some mention, will look for that book.
Regards