Item Description
Original Item: One-of-a-kind. A simply incredible artifact! This is a World War Two German Navy Kriegsmarine cotton shirt that that was taken from Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Hoffmann. Oblt. Hermann Hoffmann was one of the youngest U-boat commanders during WWII when he left for his patrol with U-172 from Lorient, France on 22 Nov 1943. He was only 22 years old at the time. His boat was sunk 22 days later on December 13th, 1943. Hoffmann was pulled from the sea by the men of U.S.S. Boque. The shirt is offered in excellent condition and features a fine BeVo style Kriegsmarine eagle to right chest and make mark Schaffer in neck, it is a size 38. Further information on Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Hoffmann can be found at this link:
https://uboat.net/men/commanders/504.html
The shirt has ink handwriting on it that reads:
Formerly property of Oberleutnant Zursee Hermann Hoffmann
C.O. "U"-Boats sunk by "Bogue" group
Dec - 13, 1943
Roger Miller
U.S.S. Osmond Ingram
W.F. Moran
U.S.S Clemson
Edmond Higgins Com'd'g
U.S.S. George E. Badger
GS Marshall
U.S.S. Dupont
E.W. Yancey
COMESCORT-1
On December 13th, 1943 U-172 Type IXC submarine was depth charged and sunk by Grumman TBF Avenger and Grumman F4F Wildcat aircraft based on USS Bogue and also by USS Clemson. USS Du Pont, USS George E. Badger and USS Osmond Ingram (all United States Navy) with the loss of 13 of her 59 crew. U-172 left Lorient for the last time on 22 November 1943. She was sunk on 13 December, in mid-Atlantic west of the Canary Islands by Grumman TBF Avenger and Grumman F4F Wildcat aircraft from the escort carrier USS Bogue (CVE-9), and the American destroyers George E. Badger (DD-196), Clemson (DD-186), Osmond Ingram (DD-255) and Du Pont (DD-152). The battle between U-172 and the small armada of ships and aircraft lasted for 27 hours and as many as 200 depth charges were dropped by the destroyers. Thirteen of U-172's crew were killed; 46 survived the sinking.
Also included is a research binder with pages of additional research about U-172 and Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Hoffmann as well as printed photos.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon