unidentified German warship on film

[felix.schuermann]

Dear all

For our web portal “EFG1914” on films from and related to World War I, my colleagues and me are working on the identification of various war footage recently digitised from our film archive. We would appreciate any suggestions you might have, e. g. on where and when these images were shot and what they are showing. Obviously, these films are compilations. We do not know who has compiled the footage from what sources, for what reason, and at what point of time – the film roles have been digitised as found in the archive. Please find below information on the individual film roles and links to the material. You can also respond to me directly: schuermann@deutsches-filminstitut.de. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Many thanks

Felix Schürmann

Film role 1: http://filmportal.de/video/unidentifizierter-franzoesischer-film

This compilation shows French soldiers during WWI in various situations: Marching on parades, standing in trenches and dugouts, working on fortifications, and meeting for briefings.

Film role 2: http://filmportal.de/video/unidentifizierte-filmaufnahmen-aus-dem-ersten-weltkrieg

This compilation shows images from war damage in a village that is apparently deserted – according to a sign on a house it is Mons in Belgium. Moreover, one can see an aircraft landing on a field, zoo animals, a military parade, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I sitting in a carriage, the German field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg on a walk, several warships and a German U-boat, an alert exercise at a hangar, and impacts of gas grenades.

Film role 3: http://filmportal.de/video/unidentifizierte-filmaufnahmen-aus-der-zeit-um-1910

This compilation contains footage that was probably shot before the outbreak of the war, at least partly. One intertitle says “Potsdam 1910”, but it is not clear how it is related to the actual footage. The images show, among other things, cavalrymen, emperor Wilhelm II when visiting a port city, a parade of people wearing folkloristic costumes, a military parade, Piazza San Marco in Venice, a fashion show, and racing cars.

Film role 4: http://www.filmportal.de/video/unidentifizierte-deutsche-filmaufnahmen-aus-dem-ersten-weltkrieg

A film role, apparently compiled in retrospect, with footage shot at various theatres and stages of the war.

Among other things there is artillery in action, advancing infantry, the set-up of a machine gun, a cavalry attack, officers with maps, destroyed buildings and fleeing civilians, Russian prisoners of war, and lots of marching soldiers.

Film role 5: http://www.filmportal.de/video/unidentifizierte-wochenschau-aufnahmen-aus-dem-ersten-weltkrieg

A fragment of "Eiko week", one of the first newsreels produced in Germany. It shows soldiers, possibly Russian POWs, discharging their guns, infantry in the field, a unit crossing a bridge, and artillery in action on the Eastern Front.

[egbert]

film role one: there is a marker at 02:45 minutes. it should be easy to identify this particular place by triangulation.

For further identification, I strongly suggest to place the question in the largest French Great War forum:

http://www.pages14-18.com/

and I am sure there will be answers!

P.S. Great job! We are following some of the recently digitized footage in the video section here

[Guest]

Good luck with your search. Great footage. Also must say, only your second post and you have already added excellent ' Tags'

I noticed in the first video, at 2.40-ish the French officers are wearing their medals in action. Was that normal?

Mike

[felix.schuermann]

@egbert: Thanks for the hint to the marker. This indicates that the soldiers are marching between Reims and Rethel, maybe on their way to the front at the Marne. I will see about the French Great War forum, but since I don't read French I will wait for further reactions here first.

@Mike: Maybe the officers wore their medals because they knew they were filmed.

[egbert]

Felix, im französischen Forum gibt es am Ende ein Subforum für internationale Gäste wo Du in englischer oder deutscher Sprache posten kannst

[felix.schuermann]

Another question: This footage from Vienna, digitised from our colleagues in Prague, shows soldiers at a cadet school presenting gymnastics to an audience:

Cvičení v kadetní kole

I wonder when this film has been shot. Maybe someone who is familiar with Austrian uniforms has a clue?

@egbert: Danke für den Hinweis!

[Guest]

Excellent footage. I'm sure someone will ID the dignitaries?

The pole vaulting looks a bit dangerous?

Mike

[felix.schuermann]

regarding film role 2:

There is a large German warship at 00:05:20 with an emblem at its bow. I attach an enlarged still frame of that ship here, maybe someone is able to identify the emblem.

[apwright]

Braunschweig-class. Hessen maybe?
Looks to me to be the same ship from above at 05:13...

Adrian

[MikB]

The forward superstructure doesn't look right, though other things do. I wonder if the film is inter-war, because there's a low-wing float monoplane in one clip that looks a good deal later than WW1 - the ships may have had some reconstruction?

Regards,

MikB

[Dolphin]

The forward superstructure doesn't look right, though other things do. I wonder if the film is inter-war, because there's a low-wing float monoplane in one clip that looks a good deal later than WW1 - the ships may have had some reconstruction?

Regards,

MikB

It's rather hard to tell, but the low wing monoplane on floats could easily be a Hansa-Brandenburg W.29, a very useful aeroplane used by the German Navy in 1918.

Gareth

[MikB]

It's rather hard to tell, but the low wing monoplane on floats could easily be a Hansa-Brandenburg W.29, a very useful aeroplane used by the German Navy in 1918.

Gareth

The ship the plane is overflying looks like a dreadnought with superfiring forward turrets, and Germany had none of these left after Scapa and Versailles, so I was thinking you're probably right.

But I'm struggling to identify this ship, too. Both the after mast and the gap between this and the after funnel are too large for the two-funnelled Kaisers or Koenigs, and I was wondering about an Austrian Viribus Unitis - except the turrets appear to be twin, not triple, and they don't appear to have the foretop platform visible in the shot.

Anybody got any ideas?

Regards,

MikB

[Simon Mills]

It's a shame that the crest isn't a little clearer in the film but I've had a quick look in Manfred Groner's German Warships: 1815-1945 and I'm inclined to agree with Adrian, in that it is the SMS Hessen. Of all the profiles in the book, it is definitely the closest...

S.

[MikB]

On 23/01/2014 at 20:22, Simon Mills said:

It's a shame that the crest isn't a little clearer in the film but I've had a quick look in Manfred Groner's German Warships: 1815-1945 and I'm inclined to agree with Adrian, in that it is the SMS Hessen. Of all the profiles in the book, it is definitely the closest...

S.

I didn't mean the 3-funnelled pre-dreadnought in the original pic (I too think maybe Hessen is closest) - I was on about the 2-funnelled job in the later clip with the seaplane.

Regards,

MikB

[egbert]

Could be Hessen. If the depicted silhouette resembles the "Wappen von Hessen"?........

[egbert]

Reviewing the film sequence at 05:20 minute I say it is SMS Hessen

[felix.schuermann]

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions! I got an e-mail from a user who also supposes this to be the SMS Hessen. Seems that this is the most probable answer.

@MikB: It's definitively possible that post-war footage was used for this compilation.