Established on April 30, 1941, by order of the Supreme Commander of the Navy for the crews of battleships and cruisers that were engaged in the war. The establishment was justified as follows: “In the battle against England, battleships and cruisers, with their long-range and bold operations, inflicted significant losses of ship tonnage on the enemy and thus further constricted the blockade of England.” The new decoration could be awarded for merit and effective leadership in one or more naval campaigns, totaling at least 12 weeks, participation in particularly successful actions, loss of one’s own ship due to enemy action, and injuries. The awarding of this probably unique sign of the high seas fleet with diamonds was shrouded in secrecy for a long time. Like in other cases, it was supposed to be awarded after receiving the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves. Only one admiral came into consideration for this, but he never received the decoration. On the other hand, an unequivocal original is found in a certain British post-war collection. It wasn’t until 1992 that a specimen of this decoration appeared at an auction of the estate of Admiral Otto Schniewind (1887-1964) in Hamburg, who had “only” the Knight’s Cross, and it was last sold for over 40,000 German Marks.
The badge was initially made of tombak at the beginning of the war, and later from zinc alloy from the middle to the end of the war. Approximately 2400 pieces were awarded.
High seas fleet badge manufactured by schwerin berlin, made of tombac, the first model by this manufacturer, produced in the early war period.
High seas fleet badge manufactured by schwerin berlin, made of tombac, is certainly the most popular decoration of this kind among collectors. Schwerin is known for its exceptional quality and well-crafted design.
General-admiral KUMMETZ OSKAR
Timeless-History
