Lot 696

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Description:

U-249 CAPTURED PENNANTS - THE FIRST U-BOAT TO SURRENDER AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II
Very rare pair of pennants taken by a British sailor from the surrendered German U-249. The first German submarine to surrender, U-249 was taken by the Royal Navy off Weymouth, Dorset on May 9, 1945 and escorted to Portland where the crew was removed and jailed. Both pennants were apparently meant to represent the vessel, and were more carefully constructed than the painted or hand-sewn "victory" pennants made following the sinking of enemy vessels. One pennant, 25" x 17", shows a top, down image of a two-engine bomber sewn to an orange field. This was actually one of the vessel's adopted emblems, versus an airplane "victory" pennant which also would have been on a red field. The second pennant, 34" x 22", displays a red seahorse sewn to one side, with the vessel name "U-249" in red letters sewn to the reverse. The seahorse as an emblem is not listed as one adopted by U-249, but interestingly, among the captain's belongings captured with these flags is a 2 1/4" brass cap emblem in the shape of a seahorse, leading us to believe that that emblem had actually been adopted, or had been proposed to become the U-boat's mascot. The pennants are accompanied by copies of documents and photos (the originals accompanying the captain's naval dagger) which were all seized by a British sailor at the time of the ship's surrender. Royal Navy AB Kenneth Rilett was detailed by Capt. N. J. Weir, the the officer overseeing the surrender, to assist in escorting the arrested U-249 crewmen to an internment camp. He then apparently returned to the submarine for salvage duty...and souvenir hunting. At some point in time, Rilett was able to relieve Capt. Kock of his sea chest containing his naval dagger, these pennants, and several other items. Copies of Rilett's orders to attend the vessel's prisoners, his note concerning the dagger, and an Admiralty envelope addressed to Rilett sent by an Admiralty salvage officer in Bath, near Portland, date unknown are included. Interestingly, on March 24, 1945, the vessel was attacked by RAF Mosquitos, with several crew wounded and one fighter shot down. Kock rescued the downed RAF pilot, Lt. Williams, and left him in Bergen where he was apparently executed. Kock would also meet an unhappy end, dying in 1965 at the age of 54 from alcoholism. Provenance: R.N. Seaman Kenneth Rilett; The War Museum. A printed color certificate of provenance and historical report with 20 photos of the sub's history, service and surrender will accompany this lot.

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March 18, 2016 10:30 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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