Kriegsmarine Daggers

The U-boat Dagger

The Kriegsmarine dagger was closely modelled on earlier weapons of the Kaiser's Navy and the Reichsmarine. Featuring a long narrow stilleto-style blade which was available either plain or more commonly etched with naval motifs, the dagger had gilded brass fittings with an anchor motif on the crosspiece and a pommel in the shape of a Wehrmacht style eagle with folded wings. The handle was generally of wood with a covering of white cellulose and featured a spiralled twist, the depths of which contained a twisted gold wire thread. Extra cost versions were available with genuine solid ivory handles.

The dagger was contained in a gilded-brass scabbard with twin band carrying rings for the suspension straps. The standard scabbard featured a decorative etched design but here again a range of extra cost options were available providing much more elaborate features, the scabbard with an overall hammered finish being the most popular alternative.

The vast majority of naval daggers carried a basic, standard etch pattern to the blade, but occasionally examples will be found with special dedications or other features on the blades which identify them as having belonged to members of the U-Boat arm. Such examples are highly sought after by collectors. Other examples may be encountered with names, coats of arms or initials, etc., engraved on the scabbard which the dedicated collector may be able to link to a specific individual.

The dagger was suspended by two separate hanging straps, made from black moire silk and with gilt spring-clip fastenings and lion head buckles. The dagger could be worn by junior NCOs without a portepee and by senior NCO ranks and officers with portepee.

The portepee was made from silver or aluminium wire (the silver version often age-toning to a gold-like hue) with a large ball pommel. The cord of the portepee was tied first around the pommel of the dagger, passing down the length of the handle to be wrapped in a complex knot pattern around the crossguard.

Although officers were also entitled to wear the sword on occasion, photographs of U-Boat officers wearing edged weapons on formal occasions such as the commissioning of a boat, will predominantly show the dagger being worn.

The Honor Dagger

A small number of particularly successful V-Boat commanders received the Honor Dagger (Ehrendolch) of the Navy. This beautifully crafted weapon displayed a number of deluxe features.

The Carl Eickhorn firm in Solingen was contracted by the Kriegsmarine to produce this special dagger as a special presentation piece to be awarded by the Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine. The scabbard was richly embossed with a decorative oakleaf design and a fouled anchor between the scabbard bands. It featured a genuine ivory handle with, instead of the normal gold wire, a wrap of intricate oakleave design. The blade was crafted from genuine damascus steel and most impressivley, set within the swastika grasped by the eagle on the pommel, were 17 tiny rose-cut diamonds.

The first such dagger awarded to a U-Boat commander went to Gunther Prien. The blade ricasso featured, in raised gilded letters, the inscription "Dem UbootsiegeTiRaeder/31 December 1939." This inscription remained, with only the date of the award changing, until Raeder's resignation and his replacement by Karl Donitz. The dagger awarded by Donitz carried the inscription "Dem Tapferen U-Bootskommandant/Donitz/Date."

It is believed that only six such daggers were made for V-Boat commanders, these being:
Gunther Prien, Otto Kretschmer, Erich Topp, Reinhard Suhren, Wolfgang Luth, Albrecht Brandi, With literally only a handful ever awarded, originals of the Ehrendolch are of the utmost rarity and command huge sums on the rare occasions that one may come onto the market.

Gordon Willaimson: "Torpedo Los! The Fascinating World of U-boat Collectibles, R. James Bender Publishing, 2006

www.bender-publishing.com