Original Item: Only One Available. This an incredible 21″ x 21″ section of a WWII German Kriegsmarine Navy Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) Rank Command Flag, officially termed the Großadmiralflagge in German. The flag section looks to be of wool construction, and the torn edges lead us to believe that it was cut away from its mountings, or possibly acquired at a factory before it was finished. Easily the most impressive of all the German command flats, the design features an Admiral’s cross pattée with two crossed Großadmiral batons and the Wehrmacht eagle in yellow stacked on top of it. The shading used in the eagle and batons is really quite striking, utilizing 4 different colors to get the effect. We have never had one of these before!
These flags were not really standard equipment on the larger capital ships, as the rank was only held by two people during the War, Erich Raeder and later Karl Dönitz when they were the the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. We presume that both men would have their flags brought with them so they could be raised as needed. This rank, equivalent of the U.S. Navy’s Five Star “Fleet Admiral”, was the highest of all “flag officers”, which was any Navy officer of high enough rank to fly a flag from the location of their command. Most capital ships would need to keep a full set on board for ranks of Konteradmiral (Counter Admiral) up to Generaladmiral, to match the rank.
Condition of the section is very good, showing little to no wear from service, just from storage. The colors have run just a bit over the decades, but are still vibrant, and the design clear.
Most impressive and ready to display!