Tom Morgan Posted 22 April , 2004 Share Posted 22 April , 2004 Can any German-speaking Pals give me a translation of the meanings of these Naval ranks? They are the ranks of the crewmen of Zeppelin L31. I have a rough idea of what the ranks mean - I guess that "Segelmachersmaat" means "Sailmaker's Mate" and that "Steuermann" is "Helmsman" and so on, but I could so with some help. Maschinistenmaat Obermaschinistenmaat Bootsmannsmaat Obermatrose Funkentelegrafieobergast Steuermann Segelmachersmaat Signalmaat Obersteuermannsmaat Obermatrose Maschinist Leutnant zur See Bootsmannsmaat I'd be grateful for any translations. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Alton Posted 22 April , 2004 Share Posted 22 April , 2004 Tom, someone with better German than mine may correct this but I believe these are correct. Ober is Petty Officer, maat is mate in some branches I think, so: Maschinistenmaat – Seaman Engineering branch Obermaschinistenmaat – Petty Officer Engineering branch Bootsmannsmaat - Boatswains Mate Obermatrose - Petty Officer Seaman branch Funkentelegrafieobergast – Telegraphist (Wireless Operator) Steuermann – Helmsman (Seaman Navigation branch) Segelmachersmaat - Sailmaker's Mate Signalmaat - Signalman Obersteuermannsmaat - Petty Officer Navigation branch Maschinist – Engineer ? Leutnant zur See - Lieutenant (sub-Lieutenant RN equivalent) Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 22 April , 2004 Author Share Posted 22 April , 2004 Excellent, Dave - thanks very much. So Maat = man. That has ended quite a lot of confusion! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Alton Posted 22 April , 2004 Share Posted 22 April , 2004 Er! Sorry Tom, just done some double checking, and maat does mean 'mate' in some of the branches. So I've edited the list again. I shouldn't have posted so quickly. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 22 April , 2004 Author Share Posted 22 April , 2004 That's OK Dave - the translations were still just what I wanted but I did wonder why there were so many "mates" such as sailmaker's mate, when there was no sailmaker. I'm going back to factory days, when if you were a "Fitter's Mate" then you did what the "Fitter" told you. But of course, "mate" means something else in the Navy. Presumably sailmaker's mate was just the official name of the man's naval rank, and didn't necessarily mean that he had a more skilled boss. As far as L31 was concerned, he was THE sailmaker. If you know what I mean. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gord97138 Posted 23 April , 2004 Share Posted 23 April , 2004 Dave: Great job on the Translations-I was trying on my own-but my german is not so good! Tom: Can't wait to read your article when done! gordon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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