Need Some Help Identifying Men w/ Uniforms on kriegsmarine Warship? Thanks!

[DanDan]

Can anyone give me any help with these photos (b/w film)... type of ship? (Pocket battleship?)... note uniforms of three men and what is the instrument the one fellow looks thru? Is this a training exercise or a battle at sea? ... the guns are bursting away! What size guns? What type of ship? Thanks for any help!

[A.H. Thomassen]

The ship is the Gneisenau, and the footage is most probably from her sorties together with her sistership Scharnhorst while raiding British merchant shipping.

You can read more about her here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_...ship_Gneisenau


Mfg. AH

[Kondor]

The sailors are looking through range finders. The first one is for the larger 11 inch main guns and the other is probably for the secondary 4.9 guns. What the others are doing....skylarking?

[DanDan]

Wow!

WOW! You people are geniuses! Thanks for the help in identifying this film... what you have suggested looks to be an exact match... Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do with it? ...might it have sound on it? Preservation ideas?, etc. Thanks.

DP

[Norm F]

WOW! You people are geniuses! Thanks for the help in identifying this film... what you have suggested looks to be an exact match... Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do with it? ...might it have sound on it? Preservation ideas?, etc. Thanks.

DP

Hi Dan,

Pretty cool! You can see the soundtrack along the right margin of the film. You'll have to find a specialized AV place to play this and transfer it onto video, I think. Several years back my brother had our old family movies converted to video at a place in California. There must still be such places around...

Best regards,
---Norm

[DanDan]

Yes!

Great idea... as long as they don't charge me an arm and a leg to do it. When I sell this film I want to make something on it eventually! lol

[DanDan]

You nailed it!

******A.H. Thomassen************ Good eye! Thanks for the I.D.

I found a post on YouTube that has some almost identical footage, angles etc. confirming this indeed to be the Gneisenau & Scharnhorst. Now I'm left wondering if what I have here is a copy of something that would have been mass produced in the day... or an original "home video" sort? Is this a valuable film to a collector, etc. ?

If you start watching at the 6:30 marker you will see striking similar footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy0WuZhMDi0

[A.H. Thomassen]

Hello DanDan.

Anything collectable is worth something; and it seems that there are quite a few photos from different ordeals concerning the "big ones", but actual films are bound to be rare.

But in the end I guess it all boils down to what the interested buyer is willing to lay on the table so I have no idea on its potential value as I'm more of a KM photo-guy myself

Just one tip - make sure that you seek some professional assistance with this film. Nuthin' is more destructive than letting the neighbourhoods "handy man" having a go at it


Best regards AH

[DanDan]

I found it with sound!

Thanks, but no need for me to let anyone tamper with it afterall... I found the exact footage with the German voice-over announcemts! My film is seen here on this complete video between about 3:30 to 5:30... notice the exact footage... mine is a "chunk" from this news reel report from the sea! Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbgLy...eature=related

[A.H. Thomassen]

Good detective work there DanDan, and one interesting film all together


Regarding value you have one of a kind - or two or three, but anyway you've gotten yourself a treasure there!


Mfg. AH

[Kondor]

DanDan,

I found a bunch of these Wochenschau films while in Germany many moons ago. Blackhawk Films bought them all up and of course copied them and sold them first on VHS, then on DVD. Now that so many are out there on youtube, I don't know that the demand would be that great, after all, you would have to have an old projector to run it on.

[DanDan]

DanDan,
Now that so many are out there on youtube, I don't know that the demand would be that great, after all, you would have to have an old projector to run it on.

I'm sure there are still those who, regardless of how many 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation copies they can view on Youtube, would love having one of the original 1st generation propaganda Kriegsmarine films of the era... And, who needs an old projector to run it on when you can play it at the click of a finger on Youtube? I think my films presence on Youtube makes it even sweeter! ...couple clicks of my finger and I can show it off from anywhere I want.

DP