Kriegsmarine Cruiser Karlsruhe Cap Tally
$150.00
The machine woven cap tally shows age toning of the lettering. It is approximately 47 inches in length. Very good used condition.
The Karlsruhe was laid down in July 1926 at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel, launched in August 1927, and commissioned into the Reichsmarine in November 1929. Karlsruhe served as a training cruiser for naval cadets throughout the 1930s. During the Spanish Civil War, she joined the non-intervention patrols off the Spanish coast. She was in the process of being modernized at the outbreak of World War II in September of 1939, and was therefore not ready for action until November 1939. In April 1940 Karlsruhe participated in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway. She landed troops at Kristiansand, but while returning to Germany on 9 April, she was struck by a torpedo from the Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant and severely damaged. Unable to return to port, Karlsruhe was scuttled by an escorting German torpedo boat.