WW1 Imperial German Navy Ratings Cap - SMS Schlesien

A really nice example of the Kaiserlich Marine ratings cap. A fine dark blue wool body with no moth damage at all. The the tally band 'SMS Schlesien' with wear to the silver bullion and missing one tail on the reverse but fitted well to the cap. A small Imperial cockade fitted to the front of the cap also. A nice condition brown leather sweatband and a clear maker's label on the inside lining. The tally band in silver bullion indicating an administrative position onboard the ships company.Overall a very nice example.SMS Schlesiena was one of five Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) between 1904 and 1906. Named after the German province of Silesia, Schlesien was laid down at the Schichau-Werke shipyard in Danzig on 19 November 1904, launched on 28 May 1906, and commissioned on 5 May 1908. She was armed with a battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The ships of her class were already outdated by the time they entered service, as they were inferior in size, armor, firepower, and speed to the revolutionary new British battleship HMS Dreadnought.After commissioning, Schlesien was assigned to I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet, later being transferred to II Battle Squadron. She was primarily occupied with training cruises and fleet maneuvers in her early career. She served with the fleet throughout the first two years of World War I, seeing action at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where she was briefly actively engaged in combat. After Jutland, the Imperial Navy relegated Schlesien to guard duties before withdrawing her altogether in 1917, when she became a training ship. The Treaty of Versailles permitted the German navy to keep eight obsolete battleships including the Schlesien and again saw servcie during WW2.