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GERMAN POST OFFICES ABROAD
CHINA
NAVY POST

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NAVY SHIP MAIL
KAIS.DEUTSCHE | MARINE | SCHIFFSPOST

In addition to civilan mail that was carried on ships of the East Asia Main Line, the German Navy also operated its own postal network providing mail services to soldiers and sailors operating in the empire's far flung colonies. The following lists allow tracing of individual mail items to specific ships provided the cancel number and date are visible. In addition to this list more information can be found under the Boxer Rebellion lists.


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KAIS.DEUTSCHE | MARINE| SCHIFFSPOST | No X

No. 1
SMS Kaiser
(Large Cruiser)
Aug 1895 to Jun 1899
No. 2
Pisa
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jun to Oct 1902
No. 2
Rhein
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jun 1904 to Sep 1904
No. 2
Silvia
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jun to Sep 1905
No. 3
SMS Luchs
(Gunboat)
Sep 1900 to 4th Jun 1914
No. (!) 3
SMS Luchs
(Gunboat)
from 5th Jun 1914
No. 4
Silvia
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Mar to Jun 1904
No. 4
Frankfurt
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jan to Apr 1905
No. 4
Neckar
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Feb to May 1906
No. 4
Rhein
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Apr to Nov 1908
No. 4
Patricia
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Feb to May 1906
No. 4
Königin Luise
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jan to 7th Apr 1913
No. 4
Königin Luise
(Chartered Civil Ship)
15th Apr to Jul 1913
No. 4
Patricia
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jan to 11th Apr 1914
No. 4
Patricia
(Chartered Civil Ship)
23rd Apr to Jun 1914
No. 5
SMS Prinzess Wilhelm
(Small Cruiser)
Oct 1895 to May 1899
No. 5
Dresden
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Mar to Jun 1900
No. 5
Main
(Chartered Civil Ship)
May to Aug 1904
No. 5
SMS Nürnberg
(Small Cruiser)
May 1910 to Nov 1913
No. 6
SMS Arcona I
(Small Cruiser)
Oct 1895 to Feb 1899
No. 7
SMS Möwe I
(Survey Ship)
Oct 1905
No. 8
SMS Cormoran
(Small Cruiser)
6th Aug 1897 to Jan 1899
No. 10
SMS Vaterland
(River Gunboat)
Mar 1905 to Jul 1914
No. 11
SMS Seeadler
(Small Cruiser)
Aug 1900 to Jun 1905
No. 15
SMS Kaiserin Augusta
(Large Cruiser)
Apr 1898 to Dec 1901
No. 15
York
(Civil Steamer)
May to Jun 1908
No. 16
SMS Scharnhorst
(Large Cruiser)
Sep 1909 to May 1914
No. 17
SMS Schwalbe
(Small Cruiser)
Sep 1900 to Aug 1902
No. 17
SMS Arcona II
(Small Cruiser)
Nov 1907 to Feb 1909
No. 18
Preuβen
(Civil Steamer)
Dec 1897 to Mar 1898
No. 20
SMS Iltis
(Gunboat)
May 1899 to Jun 1914
No. 21
SMS Leipzig
(Small Cruiser)
Mar 1907 to May 1914
No. 22
SMS Gneisenau
(Large Cruiser)
Mar 1911 to May 1914
No. 23
SMS Worth
(Battleship)
30th Jul 1900 to 9th Aug 1901
No. 24
Darmstadt
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Dec 1897 to Jan 1898
No. 24
Darmstadt
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Mar to May 1899
No. 26
Weimar
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jun 1899
No. 27
Darmstadt
(Chartered Civil Ship)
May to Aug 1898
No. 27
Main
(Chartered Civil Ship)
May to Aug 1902
No. 27
Goeben
(Civil Steamer)
Jul to Nov 1912
No. 28
SMS Emden
(Small Cruiser)
Nov 1910 to Apr 1914
No. 29
Silvia
(Leased Civil Steamer)
Aug to Nov 1903
No. 31
SMS Brandenburg
(Battleship)
Nov 1900-1901 Boxer Rebellion
No. 32
Prinzess Alice
(Civil Steamer)
Oct to Dec 1913
No. 32
York
(Civil Steamer)
Dec 1913 to Jan 1914
No. 34
SMS Kurfürst Friedrich-Wilhelm
(Battleship)
30th Jul 1900 to 9th Aug 1901
No. 35
SMS Weiβenburg
(Battleship)
1900-1901 Boxer Rebellion
No. 36
SMS Geier
(Small Cruiser)
Sep 1901 to Sep 1904
No. 38
SMS Gefion
(Small Cruiser)
Apr 1898 to 29th Jul 1900
No. 38
SMS Thetis
(Small Cruiser)
Apr 1902 to Aug 1905
No. 38
SMS Niobe
(Small Cruiser)
Nov 1906 to Jan 1909
No. 39
SMS Hertha
(Large Cruiser)
Jun 1899 to Oct 1904
No. 40
SMS Deutschland
(Large Cruiser)
May 1898 to Nov 1899
No. 42
SMS Hela
(Small Cruiser)
1900-1901 Boxer Rebellion
No. 42
Geben
(Civil Steamer)
Oct to Nov 1908
No. 43
SMS Fürst Bismarck
(Large Cruiser)
Sep 1901 to Nov 1908
No. 44
SMS Tiger
(Gunboat)
Sep 1901 to May 1914
No. 45
SMS Jaguar
(Gunboat)
Nov 1899 to Jul 1914
No. 46
SMS Hansa
(Large Cruiser)
Oct 1899 to Jul 1906
No. 49
Darmstadt
(Civil Steamer)
Nov 1902 to Jan 1903
No. 49
Main
(Chartered Civil Ship)
May to Aug 1903
No. 51
SMS Bussard
(Small Cruiser)
13th Sep 1900 to Feb 1904
No. 51
Neckar
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Feb 1911
No. 59
SMS Sperber
(Small Cruiser)
Feb 1904 to May 1905
No. 61
Scharnhorst
(Civil Steamer)
Apr to Jun 1913
No. 61
Goeben
(Civil Steamer)
Jun to Jul 1913
No. 63
Planet
(Survey Ship)
Mar 1907 to Feb 1912
No. 67
Rhein
(Leased Civil Steamer)
May to Aug 1905
No. 69
Prinz Ludwig
(Civil Steamer)
Feb to Mar 1910
No. 69
Kleist
(Civil Steamer)
Mar to May 1910
No. 74
SMS Vorwarts
(River Gunboat)
Apr 1902 to Mar 1910
No. 74
SMS Otter
(River Gunboat)
Apr 1910 to Jul 1914
No. 75
Kiautschou
(Civil Steamer)
May to 15th Sep 1902
No. 75
SMS S90
(Torpedo Boat)
Sep 1902 to Jul 1914
No. 76
Patricia
(Civil Ship)
Apr 1910 to Jul 1912
No. 78
SMS Tsingtau
(River Gunboat)
May 1904 to Jul 1914
No. 80
Oldenburg
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Apr to Jul 1909
No. 81
Willehad
(Chartered Civil Ship)
Jul to Sep 1907


Some ships had very limited and in some cases no postal facilities onboard. These ships either transported their mail to other ships or off-loaded it to land based postal offices. These cases can only be recognised by the senders endorsement.

SMS Vorwarts
(River Gunboat)
19th Mar 1905 to Mar 1902
SMS S90
(Torpedo Boat)
30th Jul 1901 to Aug 1902
SMS S91
(River Gunboat)
1st Sep 1901 to 22nd Dec 1902
SMS S92
(River Gunboat)
Sep 1901
SMS Taku
(Torpedo Boat)
1st Sep 1902 to Jan 1913
SMS Shamien
(River Gunboat)
Oct 1900 to Feb 1904
Lauting
(Tender)
1906 to 1914
Titania
(Supply Ship)
1908 to 1914


NAVY SHIP MAIL
KAIS.DEUTSCHE | MARINE | SCHIFFSPOST | YOKOHAMA

Navy Hospital ship - Aug 1897 to Jan 1912. This cancel was also used during the Boxer Rebellion.


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KAIS.DEUTSCHE | MARINE| SCHIFFSPOST | No X


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This page was last updated
21-Jul-2020 01:17