Uboot worn, non-magnetic, cased EK1

[Milton]

Hello folks. Here are a few shots of an EK1 that's been in my possession for many years now. It was given to a now deceased friend of mine from the original owner back in the fifties when he was a kid. The original recipient was a Uboot man, taken prisoner in the N. Atlantic and who later spent the war in a Canadian POW camp. Which boat he served on is lost to time. Post war, he dated my friends aunt, and gave this cased EK1 to him as a present (knowing he had a fascination w/ the war). The core is non-magnetic...not sure if it's brass, etc, but is most certainly non-ferrous. The cross shows consummate wear and a small amount of paint loss. It's un-marked and the case and cross are indigenous to eachother. Only non-magnetic one I've ever come across...

[Milton]

Rear view...

[Darrell]

Very nice. Looks to be an S&L

[byterock]

Just a logical quation to ask yourself

"My sub is sinking so do I take my IC case with me or the DKiG box??"

Nice cross but I would take the provance that comes with it with a little salt.

[Milton]

Hi and thanks for your input. Yes, logically, one might think that, but then when you take into consideration that the boat may well have been captured, or just disabled on the surface, and that the crew might've had time to gather up a few belongings prior to disembarking, it's not so far-fetched. After all, I've come across quite a few collectors who've bought items from WWII veterans who served in the proximity of, or within American or Canadian POW camps and who gathered up quite a lot of German insignia and badges, all of which went into captivity w/ their owners (quite a few from the N. African campaigns).
As I knew my old friend quite well, I know that this German vet was stateside just after the war, and that the history is not a fabrication, I've never had reason to doubt it. We all know that the Germans were quite proud of their iron crosses, and why leave it behind if he had a chance to take it with him??
Either way, the provenance isn't intended to add intrinsic value to the item, it's just an interesting footnote.

[Simon O.]

If he dated your friend's aunt then you might be able to get a name. If you can get a name then there's a good chance his boat can be found quite easily.

[byterock]

No problem there with your provance opinion.

In actual fact is more likely that he was a prisoner in Canada than the US as far as I know all 'Medals awards etc' were considered counter-ban in US POW camps,

While in Canadian camps the general attitude that as long as they were not seen off the camp you could wear them, a little know fact that many German POWs worked off the camp in Canada btw (no officers of course as that would of been and still is a war crime)

There were a very limited number of U-boat men in Canada's POW camps and all that I know of basically came in with the shirt of their backs and little else so my guess is the box was acquired latter.

There are very very few (if any) cases where a u-boat crew that was captured had the opportunity to gather personal effects most were lucky just to get out alive. see here http://uboat.net/articles/id/32

The only one that comes to mind is U505 but that surrendered to the US Navy and of course no Germans were allowed back in the boat

[Milton]

Interesting information! As my buddy's been dead now for over 10 years, the likelyhood of digging up the aunt (maybe literally!) in order to find the man's name is highly improbable, herself probably being long since deceased. I've always just enjoyed this piece, as he always thought highly of it, and only parted with it very unwillingly as other financial undertakings required he liquidate some possessions. Some trains of thought used to be of the opinion that these non-ferrous core EK's were made specifically for Kriegsmarine forces, to resist corrosion while in wear, but I believe that in all reality it was simply manufacturers variations before the LDO came down on them, requiring only IRON cores be used. Thanks for all of your replies!

[byterock]

Amen to that borther.

Long held and persistent myth (one I believed myself) the actual fact of the matter as I discovered from reading the forum post here that these crosses would not of resisted corrosion any better than a regular IC

[Milton]

Hi again. Yes, it's an easy hypotheis to buy into (brass versus iron...why not?). But as apparently no documentation supporting such stipulations for naval personnel wearing EK's made w/ non ferrous cores has ever been found, it would stand to reason it was just manufacturers trying to either cut costs, or go w/ a material that was more readily available, etc. Thanks again for all the information!

[byterock]

Actually we are putting the clues together as these threads develope

1) Most (if not all) Tombak core (for lack of a better word for non-zink and non-ferrous) ICs are from the early war period

2) The early war period was when the KM was very very active (on the surface) and a large number of ICs were awarded

3) So it makes some logical sense that the KM personell who got thier ICs early in the war might of got the non standard cross

4) (Not a 100% on this point) Many early war winners of the IC in the KM survied the war. This will require some research.

Just my 2cents so far.

[Milton]

Thanks for your insights!