Graf Spee threads

[Norm F]

Way to go Justin C. I never get tired of that Matrose display, complete with Spanish cross. Great helmet you have there too.
Best regards,
---Norm

[BenVK]

Some fantastic items here guys. KM is not my area but I got offered a cap some years ago that was supposedly from a crew memner of the Graf Spee. However, after some considerable research the name in the hat did not match with any known member of the crew and when I asked the seller to explain, he went very quiet.

[JustinG]

Great shots Justin C. Some stellar ones.
Hey, I think I may have seen that photo album before some where?

Some terrific items. Nicely laid out.

Regards,
JustinG

[Trance_Eyes]

Hey, I think I may have seen that photo album before some where?

Yes Justin, you know that album but at least you know it went to a good home!

Cheers for the kind words, it takes ALOT of time and research getting these things together so its great to be able to finally display them all in a grouping!

There will be more to come in the future as our photgraphic session was a learning curve and we didn't achieve the results we really wanted to too but from little things big things grow and next time we'll have a better idea of how to achieve what we really are looking for!

[Tom Piotro]

Graf Spree crew members photo

Got a call last night for a navy grouping from the USS Indianapolis , needless to say I wasted no time in going to check it out.
The short version is the vet served aboard the Indianapolis way before it faithful history. Family was going to throw his stuff out till they seen my ad.


What was in the grouping was less then exciting, but after looking through a photo album I found this photo of the Graf Spree crew members.


Date looks to be Jan, 26 ,1940 so this was after the scuttling of the the Graf Spree, back list the 3 German sailors.
Admiral Graf Spree can be read on cap tally .
I haven't seen much of personal photos from Graf Spree , very odd to find one in a US sailors photo album.


Just thought I would share an unusual photo find, any information on crew members listed would be interesting.


Tom

[Tom Piotro]

back side

backside

[Maurice]

Interesting find Tom! Could you perhaps write down the names, I can not read them very well.

Kind regards,

Maurice

[John R.]

The USS Helena (CL-50), after sea trials in December 1939, commenced a shakedown cruise starting on 27 December which took Helena to South America. In January 1940, she arrived in Buenos Aires and on 29 January Montevideo, Uruguay, where her sailors boarded the wreck of the Graf Spee.

The photo was taken in Buenos Aires.

John

[John R.]

I am not able to find the names on the crew list. Perhaps I do not have the correct spelling? Might want to repost the photo on the photo forum and ask for help with the names.

I come up with:

Left to Right: Hennish, Gustave and Wisner but probably have it wrong. Lets figure out the names first. These look like first names to me.

John

[Marine HJ]

names

Hi John,

intersting photo and a hard nut to crack with the names. Well let's sketch the situ when they met: it was most probably brief with very broken English/German on both sides, wrong pronounciantion and spelling anyway, etc. At the end we cannot be sure whether they are First or Family names. Here what I can read: l-r Hannich (or Honnich), Gustave [and] Nimer (or Winer or Wiener).

Sorry for not being of more help but I felt to contribute my thoughts on this.

Rgds

Daniel

[John R.]

Hi John,

intersting photo and a hard nut to crack with the names. Well let's sketch the situ when they met: it was most probably brief with very broken English/German on both sides, wrong pronounciantion and spelling anyway, etc. At the end we cannot be sure whether they are First or Family names. Here what I can read: l-r Hannich (or Honnich), Gustave [and] Nimer (or Winer or Wiener).

Sorry for not being of more help but I felt to contribute my thoughts on this.

Rgds

Daniel

None of those names correspond to last names of GS crewmen in either Argentina or Uruguay. First name checks will be difficult but I will give it a shot.

Thanks Dani.

John

[Tom Piotro]

sleeve close up

The interpretation of the names so far is better then I had figured out.
The shoulder rating shown appears to be a signalman ,that is just above the chevron.


The higher up black rating patch , looks to be either square like the flag or a slight angle shape like the carpenters compass or hydrographers badge.


Tried for a close up of sleeve with insignia but didn't turn out that great. Maybe someone can enlarge enough to make out patches.
Tom

[John R.]

OK, that is something to go on.

The ship in the background is Helena of course.

[John R.]

And a search of the Helena website reveals many photos of their days in Argentina with the Graf Spee sailors. An officer from Helena photographed the Graf Spee wreck for Naval Intelligence and those photos are on the internet.

Apparently, the Graf Spee sailors were quite the hit with the Helena men.

[John R.]

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