Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a fantastic piece of kit! When I (Paddy) was in the Marine Corps, one of the basis of our foundations is the pride in our proper military appearance, our uniforms playing a huge role in that. You couldn’t always take your uniforms to a tailor to have repairs done, so you had to learn how to “survive” sewing items yourself. These kits, which were usually modified to adjust to the user’s needs, are always packed full of buttons, threads and other items specific to fit your uniform needs, in this case it was for a Sailor in the Imperial German Navy, the Kaiserliche Marine.

The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the navy. The key leader was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who greatly expanded the size and quality of the navy, while adopting the sea power theories of American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. The result was a naval arms race with Britain, as the German navy grew to become one of the greatest maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy.

The German surface navy proved ineffective during the First World War; its only major engagement, the Battle of Jutland, was a draw, but it kept the surface fleet largely in port for the rest of the war. The submarine fleet was greatly expanded and threatened the British supply system during the U-boat campaign. As part of the Armistice, the Imperial Navy's main ships were ordered to be turned over to the Allies but they were instead scuttled by their own crews. All ships of the Imperial Navy bore the title SMS, for Seiner Majestät Schiff (His Majesty's Ship).

The kit is in wonderful condition and still retains three spools of thread, various other types of string and a whole slew of Kaiserliche Marine marked buttons. This is a kit that would be ideal for the Imperial German Navy collector, especially one with uniforms that need help with their outward appearance!

Comes more than ready for further research and display.