Where would I find German naval records?

[Mark Crame]

Just a quick one as I'm about to head out but...

I need to access German naval records for a Zeppelin or two and a Cruiser squadron, all relating to the bombardment off Lowestoft, 244/5th April 2016...British side is covered and it just occurred to me, as one question needs verification, that German records might shed light on this. Does anybody know how and where I might find the info I require please? Specifically I'd need records for SMS Derfflinger, Moltke, Von der Tann and Lutzow and/or their squadron.

many thanks and apologies for brevity (at this time)

[SiegeGunner]

V E Tarrant's 'Jutland, the German perspective' (Cassell), has a short section on the Lowestoft raid that contains a quote from the report of the captain of Von der Tann (Zenker), attributed to von Waldeyer-Hartz's biography of Admiral von Hipper. Tarrant's bibliography also cites various other German sources, but unfortunately there is no indication which of them is/are the source of the rest of his narrative re Lowestoft.

The quote reads: "Mist over the sea and the smoke from the ships ahead made it difficult for us to make out our targets as we steered for Lowestoft. But after we turned [to the north], the Empire Hotel offered us an ample landmark for effective bombardment. At 5.11 we opened fire with our heavy and medium calibres on the harbour works and swing bridges. After a few 'shorts' the shooting was good. From the after-bridge a fire in the town, and from another vantage point a great explosion at the entry [to the harbour] were reported'. (Additions in square brackets by Tarrant.)

Mick

[Gibbo]

The bibliography of Paul Halpern's 'A Naval History of World War I' includes the Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv in Freiburg im Breisgau.

[Michael Lowrey]

Mark,

I'd start by looking at the German official history of the action — Der Krieg zur See: Nordsee, not sure offhand which volume it’s in. (It's a seven volume series, I only have the seventh volume.) Beyond that, German warships of World War I kept two forms of records, a war diary (Kriegstagebuch, KTB) and a log. KTBs are generally considered more useful than logs. Virtually all KTBs survive — the originals are indeed at the Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv in Freiburg im Breisgau. Microfilm copies were made by the Americans after the end of World War II with copies held at a couple of National Archives and Record Administration locations in the U.S. You can buy copies of the NARA microfilm rolls but it's expensive — (about $130 a roll last time I checked). Logs, if they survive, would also be at the Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv in Freiburg. These weren't microfilmed by the Americans. And I say "if they survived" as, in a U-boat context, only perhaps 20 percent still exist. Not sure about surface ships.

Best wishes,

Michael

[Mark Crame]

Great stuff, thanks chaps! I have the quote above and a few more but the Bundesarchiv sounds like what I need. That said it's a lot of money for what would be effectively two days worth of KTB's for 4 or 5 ships.

Incidentally, there were two aiming points- the Empire Hotel, opposite one of the two offices I work at, and St John's Church which my other office was built on the ground of after demolition; my road was bracketed on three sides...and missed!

[James A Pratt III]

On Zeppelins you might try the book "The Zeppelin in Combat" I believe it has an account of their use during this operation. Also the German naval Airship records survived so the logbooks should be around somewhere in Germany.

[Mark Crame]

That's brilliant, thanks James!

[Jach]

Hi Mark,

I am strongly convinced that the files you are looking for are already part of the archive of our working group.
Maybe you can send me an email, to tell me more about your project and an the files you are looking for .

Mit freundlichem Gruß

Kai