History

The headgear, uniforms, and insignia worn by members of the Kriegsmarine were based upon the designs utilized by the Kaiserliche Marine and the Reichsmarine. The official regulations governing the uniforms of the Reichsmarine were issued on April 5, 1921, and they were embraced, with a few alterations, as the Kriegsmarine uniforms in 1935.

From 1933-1945, the uniforms worn by personnel in the German Navy were produced and disseminated by the Navy Clothing Depot and private manufacturers.

The Kriegsmarine utilized general categories of footwear, including riding boots, lace-up shoes, canvas shoes, and riding boots. The make and style of Kriegsmarine footwear tended to mirror the design of the Heer footwear, with slight alterations.

From 1937 onward, the lace-up shoes were worn during the basic training of all armed forces troops, but they could also be worn by Officer ranks with the long trousers. These shoes were not used within active service and campaigns until 1941, when materials started to become scare and the production of tall marching boots was deemed wasteful.

The manufacturing style and materials of these shoes are almost identical to those of the marching boots. Wherein the exterior brown leather has been blackened, there is soft brown leather on the interior, and the rear seam and the heel have been reinforced with additional leather. Although the lace-up shoes do differ from the marching boots in their size and use of approximately 1000mm of lace to close the shoes. The laces may be made from leather or webbing.

The interior of the shoe was manufactured with three layers of leather for the sole, and also features pulling straps on either side of the shoe; the straps could be tucked away when the shoes were in use.

When these shoes were worn by Kriegsmarine land units they would have hobnails added to the exterior bottom of the boot for extra traction and durability.

The lace-up shoes are also known as Schnürschuhe or Ankle Boots.

The Wehrmacht footwear continued to be worn by personnel after the end of the Second World War, thus Kriegsmarine footwear examples are rare and usually show signs of wear.