WW2 German Navy Kriegsmarine Battleship Scharnhorst Cap Tally Full Length

The WW2 German Navy Kriegsmarine Battleship Scharnhorst Cap Tally is an original period textile associated with naval uniforms of the Third Reich era. This full-length black ribbon, typically measuring approximately 150 centimeters, features the gilt-wire inscription “Scharnhorst” in Fraktur script, flanked by machine-woven Kriegsmarine eagles. Cap tallies like this were worn on the sailor caps of personnel assigned to the battleship Scharnhorst, a capital ship commissioned in 1939 and engaged in significant naval operations until its sinking in 1943. These tallies served both as unit identifiers and as elements of dress regulations in the German Navy. The ribbon is constructed from artificial silk or similar synthetic fiber and intended to be tied at the back of the cap, leaving tails hanging down. Tallies bearing ship names are of interest to collectors and historians as material evidence of naval service and German military uniform practices during the Second World War.