Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good original German WWII Kriegsmarine inflatable life preserver vest, or Schwimmweste, dated December 20th, 1943 and marked with the wartime RBNr. 0/0501/0015. Constructed from rubberized material with three separate inflatable bladder sections, the vest remains largely complete and retains its manual inflation tube, securing strap, bakelite valve stoppers, and repeated wartime date markings. The original compressed-air inflation cylinder is missing, and the securing strap has lost its terminal end.

The front of the vest retains a now very-faint manufacturing stamp, with nearly none of the information being readable. However, the date 20 DEC. 1943 is stamped twice on the vest, for December 20th, 1943.

The rear is stamped with RBNr number 0/0501/0015, along with the same stamped date, 20 DEC. 1943, for December 20th, 1943.

The RBNr., or Reichsbetriebsnummer, was a wartime German factory identification system used to obscure the actual names and locations of manufacturers supplying military and industrial goods. The number identifies a specific production establishment, although surviving records are incomplete and this particular code has not been securely tied to a named company.

The vest features a semi-circular neck cut-out with a central, forward "V" slash, a full front panel, a large semi-circular neck and shoulder panel and an opened back and sides. The front panel features two, large, vertically oval, air bladders while the neck and shoulder panel has a single, large air bladder. All three of the air bladders have a small, opened port with an inserted, molded, black bakelite stopper.

Condition overall is very good for a wartime rubberized survival item, particularly given the age and vulnerability of the material. The major completeness issue is the missing inflation cylinder, together with the damaged securing strap and stuck inflation mouthpiece. The internal tubing is also very worn and broken. The manufacturing ink is heavily faded, but the repeated 20 DEC. 1943 date and the RBNr. 0/0501/0015 remain important surviving markings.

The vest should be handled conservatively. Rubberized WWII equipment can harden, crack, or separate internally with age, and neither the inflation tube nor the bladder valves should be forced or tested unless undertaken for conservation purposes.

With its distinctive three-bladder Kriegsmarine construction, repeated December 20th, 1943 date, surviving RBNr. marking, manual inflation tube, bakelite valve stoppers, and largely complete rubberized body, this is a particularly interesting example of German WWII naval survival equipment. Although the compressed-air cylinder is absent, the remaining construction and markings make it a strong study and display piece for a collection focused on the Kriegsmarine, U-boat and surface-vessel equipment, naval survival gear, or late-war German manufactured equipment.