Original Item. Only One Available. The basic principle of Surface Vessel recognition as with aircraft is familiarity with the total form of the object observed. The true character of a ship is not determined by a single feature or features but by the familiarity we may have with the total mass of the hull and superstructure, when viewed from great distances.

As in aircraft recognition, the salient recognition characteristics are shown in their simplest form by silhouettes. If this silhouette is further simplified into its basic masses, we obtain a silhouette where the minor details have disappeared, leaving only the real recognition features. It should be noted, however, that in one important respect ship silhouettes differ from those of aircraft. With planes, all three views are of nearly equal importance for correct identification, but in ship recognition, the use of the beam, or side view silhouette, is by far the most important. If the beam silhouette is thoroughly known, the ship can be recognized from either the surface or the air. This can be proven by examining any group of aerial views of ships.

This is a great example of a WWII Navy Identification model, used to train soldiers and sailors in enemy ship identification. This example is of the German Battleship Tirpitz, the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Germany's Kriegsmarine (navy) prior to and during the Second World War. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Like her sister ship, Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimetre (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2000 tonnes heavier than Bismarck, making her the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy.

The ship comes in its original shipping box, the first time we have seen one like this. The box with lid measures 22 x 4 x 5¼”. A great example, ready for further research and display.