Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze

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cap'n paleo
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Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze

#1

Post by cap'n paleo » 23 Jul 2018, 01:33

Can anyone help me find the MSP numbers for the ships that were stationed on the Yangtze from the 1800s to 191_?
Also, which gunboats were still on the Yangtze in 1915-1916?

Thanks!

Randy Pence

jerryasher
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Re: Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze on the Yangtze

#2

Post by jerryasher » 28 Jul 2018, 04:56

Sorry I do not know what an MSP number is. With Germany's declaration of war Aug 1, 1914, the crews of the two remaining gunboats Otter and Vaterland, tried to reach Tsingtau. The ships were reduced to skeleton's and interned by the Chinese and anchored at Nanjing. (Nanking). The same thing happened on the Xi (West) river near Guangzhou (Canton) with the gunboat Tsingtau (that really was its name, even though it was the furthest from the Protectorate, and I think only four crewman stayed with the ship until 1917 when all three gunboats were seized and incorporated into the Chinese Navy. None of the gunboats were "active" during 1915-1916.


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danebrog
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Re: Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze on the Yangtze

#3

Post by danebrog » 30 Jul 2018, 06:46

M.S.P.number: Marine-Schiffspost-Nummer
perhaps of help:
https://www.bdph.de/forum/

cap'n paleo
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Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Re: Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze on the Yangtze

#4

Post by cap'n paleo » 23 Aug 2018, 02:58

Thank you for your help, and I apologize for my late reply. The Otter and the Vaterland help, now I just need to find the MSP (Marine Schiffspost Number) for these two. Although they were interned, I have a postcard from one of these two ships datelined Kewkiang (Kiukiang), 1 January, 1916. As a postal history collector of the naval ships on the Yangtze, this has really piqued my interest. Were interned ships allowed to keep using their MSP numbers? And since the postcard was written to another person serving in the military elsewhere, and it was canceled on German stationary, did it go through the Chinese mails (there are no non-German postal markings), the Red Cross, or what?
Again, thanks!

stulev
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Re: Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze on the Yangtze

#5

Post by stulev » 23 Aug 2018, 13:46

Here is a list of ships that were used on the Yangtze several also cruised other parts of China but mostly on the Yangtze

SMS Luchs KDMPS 3 1906 to 1914
SMS Vaterland KDMPS 10 1904 to 1914
SMS Iltis KDMPS 20 1899 to 1914
SMS Tiger KDMPS 44 1900 to 1914
SMS Jaguar KDMPS 45 1899 to 1914
SMS Vorwarts KDMPS 74 1901 to 1910
SMS Otter KDMPS 74 1910 to 1914

jerryasher
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Re: Kaiserliche Marine on the Yangtze

#6

Post by jerryasher » 02 Sep 2018, 01:56

As well as the German ships, warships of other belligerents were also interned--Britain, France, Japan as of August 23rd?, American, April 1917. Note however the concessions at Tianjin, Wuhan(Hankow) were not affected, thus the German Post Office in Shanghai was open until the spring of 1917. I have no knowledge of the handling of an individual piece of mail. Nanjing and Kewkiang, I assume is German, Kiukiang is old Wade-Giles transliteration, now Juijiang, skip the name, there was vigorous communication between Nanjing and Juijiang at all times barring floods or storms.

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