12.1917 SMS MARS to Mrkopalj, Croatia.

 22.12.1917 K.u.K Marinefeldpost, postcard mailed from SMS MARS to Mrkopalj in Gorski Kotar, Croatia. Text in Croatian is a short Christmas greeting. Present are Marinfeldpostamt Pola cancel and Censor cancel from Sms Mars.

SMS Mars was a battleship launched in 1878 under the name SMS Tegetthoff. The ship served as a local defence ship from 1906 at Pula/Pola harbour. In 1912 the ship was renamed SMS Mars as a new battleship received the name Tegetthoff. From 1917, the ship became a training ship for midshipmen and was turned into a hulk the next year.

1917 KuK Marinefeldpost, SMS Saida to SMS Chamäleon

 01.08.1917 K.u.K  Marineldpost card mailed from SMS Saida to SMS Chamäleon. Text is written in Croatian; personal mail between two KuK ships in Croatian is extremely rare. The date is noted in the text, and there is no visible postal cancel on the card.

SMS Saida was a scout cruiser with a crew of 340 officers and men. She was commissioned on 01.08.1914 and had a displacement of 3,500 tons.

SMS Chamäleon was a minelayer ship; its complement was 154 men with a displacement of 1,000 tons; the ship was commissioned on 01.12.1914.

12.1916 card from SM.Boot 100M to Parenzo - Poreč

 06.12.1916 feldpost card mailed from S.M.BOOT 100M to Parenzo - Poreč in Istria, Croatia. The card has a  ship cancel in red and a cancel in black from SMS Monarch, which acted as a collecting point for Marine Feldpost in the Bay of Kotor (Cattaro).

SM Boot 100M was a torpedo boat commissioned by the KuK Navy on 15.03.1916 with a crew of 3 officers and 38 men. The ship survived the war and was awarded to Greece. It served in the Hellenic Navy under the name Kydoniai from 1920 to 1941. It was sunk by the Luftwaffe on 26.04.1941 during the German invasion of Greece.

4.1917 K.u.K Marinefeldpost from S.M.B 14

 4.1917 K.u.K Marinefeldpost mailed from S.M.B 14 in Dubrovnik to Jelsa on island Hvar, Croatia. Photograph of a Dubrovnik was used as a card, mailed from civilian post office Gruž/Gravosa nowdays main sea port of Dubrovnik. Ships cancel: K.u.K Kriegsmarine  S.M.B 14 is in red (S.M.B - Seiner Majestät Boot- His majesty boat). Date in postal cancel is barely visible but text in Croatian has an Easter greeting.  Easter in 1917 was on Sunday 08.04.1917. As SMB 14 was towing an damaged seaplane to Kumbor in Boka Kotorska from 01-03.04.1917 this card is probably from that period.

02.1918 - K.u.K Marinefeldpost mail from SMS Prinz Eugen

 21.02.1918 official registered K.u.K Marinefeldpost mail sent from SMS Prinz Eugen to k.u.k Machinenschule in Pola. Ships cancel and Marinefelpost Pola cancels are easily visible, under Registration label are purple cancels Rekommandiert/Portofreie Dienstache meaning Registered/Free of charge official mail.

There were 2 versions of K.u.k Marinefeldpost Pola - Registered labels, this is a first version with thin letter R that looks similar to Austrian civilian post labels, the latter version has a thick R letter.

This is an Gegen-Verpflegszettel (Counter-Ration Slip/Form) it is a document used to manage or account for food rations (Verpflegung) when soldiers were separated from their main unit, receiving food from another unit.

10.1918 K.u.K Marinefeldpost - S.M.D.K CETINA to Pakrac, Slavonia

 25.10.1918 K.u.K Marinefeldpost. Ordinary postcard mailed from S.M.K.D CETINA to Pakrac in Slavonia, Croatia. Very late date 25.10.18 on Marinefeldpostamt Pola cancel. Croatia on 29.10.1918 declared separation from Austro-Hungary and joined short lived State of SHS.

This is the first time I have seen abbreviation S.M.K.D i suppose it means Seiner Majestät Kriegs Dampfer, or  His Majesty's War Steamer.

CETINA was commercial steamer that entered service in 1908 . On 14 February 1916   the ship was requisitioned by the K.u.k navy.  It served as an Armed escort vessel within Boka Kotorska (Bocche di Cattaro). The ship was transferred to Šibenik on 26 September 1917, and  subsequently transferred to the submarine search flotilla in February 1918. It's tonnage was 228t.

4.1915 - SMS K.u.K Maria Theresia to Bakar Croatia.

 24.04.1915 postcard mailed from SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia to Bakar in Croatian littoral. Only ships official cancel(Boardstempel) is present while text in Croatian is usual greetings. SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was armoured cruiser completed in 1895. In WW1 she was used as a harbor guard ship in Šibenik. In January 1917 ship was disarmed and used as a barracks ship for German U-boat crews in naval base Pula(Pola).

1.1917 K.u.K Seeflugstation Sebenico to Knin, Croatia.

 01.01.1917 K.u.K Marinefeldpost, photocard mailed from K.u.K Seeflugstation Sebenico( Šibenik) to Knin in  Croatia. Red cancel reads K.u.K Küstenflugstation Sebenico. Card was mailed via civilian post office Šibenik, but in top right corner is hand written KuK Marinefeldpost and card was mailed free of charge.

12.1917 U-boot station Hercegnovi to U-boat 31 in Rijeka. SUBMARINE MAIL!

 05.12.1917 picture posted as feldpost card from U-boat station in Hercegnovi in Bay of Kotor to U-boat 31 in Fiume(Rijeka). Text is in Croatian, sender notes his address as "c. i k. Podmornička stanica , Ercegnovi , Dalmacija" or k.u. k. submarine station Hercegnovi, Dalmatia. Red cancel reads k.u.k Ubootstationskommando Golf v. Cattaro - Zensuriert. Card was rerouted from U-boot 31 in Fiume to S.M.S Alpha in Pola ,  a ship of  torpedo training school. U-boot 31 sunk by crew error on 29.10.1917 in port of Rijeka(Fiume), ship was raised from the sea the next day but  repairs lasted until 1.1918. This card was mailed during this period of repairs while the receiver was transferred to SMS Alpha. Arrival cancel Fiume 09.12.1917, also present is purple cancel in hungarian "hadlszolgarat portomentes" meaning "military service, free of charge", this was probably added in Rijeka as Hungarians controlled the city then. Photo is possibly from inside of an submarine, but i can't verify this.

K.u.K navy entered the War with 6 submarines, during the conflict another 21 submarines were added to the fleet, giving a total of 27 units, of which 8 were lost. Average crew was 15-20 men hence mail to and from U-boots is very rare.

THIS IS THE FIRST FELDPOST FROM AN K.u.K U-BOAT WRITTEN IN CROATIAN I HAVE SEEN!!

I know that Croatian sailors served on the KuK submarines as Georg von Trapp writes in his memoires ' To the last salute' that he had Croatian speaking sailors on his Uboot-14. This is a great book, you can find english copies online.

6.1916 K.u.K Marinefeldpost from Durz to Bakar in Croatian Littoral

 

16.06.1916 K.u.K Marinefeldpost card, mailed from Durz(alb.Durres, cro.Drač) in Albania to Bakar in Hrvatsko primorje(Croatian Littoral). Albanian postcard was used, it was mailed from civilian cargo ship S.S Rakoczy via S.M.S Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf - ships cancel was applied, then card was transferred to local post office Zelenika in bay of Kotor where postal cancel 20.VI.16  was applied. Text is in Croatian , just a short greetings message. 

S.S Rakoczy was Passenger Cargo Ship built in Tyne Iron Shipyard in England. Ship was completed in 11/1892 for Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Co Adria Ltd, Fiume(Rijeka).  Ship was running supplies for KuK army in Durz when postcard was mailed.

S.M.S Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf was old battleship that served as local defence ship in bay of Kotor since 1906 and spent the war stationed there.

9.1915 - K.u.K Seeflugstation Puntisella to Zagreb

 06.09.1915 K.u.K Marinefeldpost , postcard mailed from KuK Seeflugstation Puntisella (Naval aviation station Puntisella) to Zagreb, Croatia. Text is in Croatian. Puntisella or nowdays Puntižela is small place on the outskirts of Pula(Pola), KuK navy operated there one of their Seaplane stations on the Adriatic. Marinefeldpostamt Pola cancel is in black , red cancel reads K.u.K Seeflugstation Puntisella.  

K.u.K Marinefeldpost 11.1917 -S.M.S Prinz Eugen to Rajevoselo , Slavonia

07.11.1917 letter to Rajevoselo in Slavonia from SMS Prinz Eugen. Mailed via Marinefeldpostamt Pola, cancel in the upper right corner. In the middle is purple censor cancel from SMS Prinz Eugen. This is a variant of cancel used during early to mid 1917 , this variant was used only in November 1917 (according to Kohl/Kalis:"Die Feldpost der k. u. k. Kriegsmarine im 1. Weltkrieg 1914/18) For earlier  variant see: https://feldpost-croatia.blogspot.com/2023/04/61917-kuk-marinefeldpost-sms-prinz.html

1915 and 1918- K.u.K Feldpost from fortress of st.Nikola in Šibenik to Fiume (Rijeka)

 

26.11.1915 and 15.1.1918 two feldpost cards from fortress of st.Nicolas(Sv.Nikola) in front of Šibenik to Fiume(Rijeka) in Croatia. Sender and recipient have same Croatian surname Franković(Frankovich) but text is in Italian. Two different fortress purple cancels read K.u.K Kommando des Seeforts S.Nicolo, also 2 different Šibenik cancels are present. Fortress was build in 1540.-1547 to guard sea approach to Šibenik. Last army to actively used the fort until 1918  was Austro-Hungarian. When completed fortress housed 32 guns but has never seen active fighting.  Below are some photos of the fort from the summer of 2023 and 2024.  

2024. view of the roof of the fortress

2024. gun emplacement

2023 back view

2024 view from fortres over channel of Sv.Ante to Jadrija lighthouse on the other side of the channel

2023 side view

2023 back view

2023 land view of fortress and land approach to it by crossing shallow sea.

2024 inside of fortress

New Acta Philatelica Nova 2023 and an interesting K.u.K navy card.

 

New 'Acta Philatelica Nova 2023' came out last week , my article about Feldpost of K.u.K. Croatian division - 42.domobranska "Vražja" divizija (42.Landwher Infanterie division -'Devils division') was published in Acta. Inside are some very interesting philatelic aricles, and  Acta is bilingual magazine written in Croatian and English. You can order it directly  from publisher Marka Nova philatelic shop, email:  berislav.pervan@gmail.com

Below follows a beautiful KUK navy card from before WW1.

11.12.1894 card posted from Lagos (today Nigeria) to Hector Račić a cadet on S.M.S Laudon in Pola. Transit cancel Liverpool UK 12.01.1895 , arrival cancel Pola 15.01.1895

At the back is a pencil note that this card was mailed by a crew member of  SMS Donau during its voyage  1894/5, when ship visited  Tangier, Tenerife, St. Louis in Sengal, Dakar, Freetown, Siera Leon, Lagos, Duala and Bahia. It is impossible to verify this from the card, but is also likely.

SMS Laudon was renamed SMS Schwarzenberg in 1900 and served as a  Navy school training hulk in Sebenico during WW1.

SMS Donau become a Navy school training hulk in Sebenico in 1905, and served in this capacity during WW1.

3.1917 - K.u.K Marinefeldpost, SMS Dinara to Šibenik in Dalmatia, Croatia

 15.03.1917 photo of SMS 'Dinara' mailed as a postcard to Šibenik(Sebenico) in Dalmatia by a crew member. Text is in Croatian. Marinefeldpost Pola cancel in black is present but is not clear, also present is ships board cancel SMS Dinara in red colour. SMS Dinara was a destroyer built in 1909 with a a crew of 65 men.

10.1917 KuK Seefliegerkorps to Sušak, Croatia

 30.10.1917 K.u.K Marinefeldpost card to Sušak, Hrvatsko primorje(Croatian Littoral). Sušak is today a part of city of  Rijeka(itl.Fiume). Photograph of sender was  mailed as a postcard, text is in Croatian. He is a member of KuK Seeflieger korps or  KuK Naval aviation. Mailed via Marinefeldpostamt Pola, see cancel, also present is red censor cancel: Briefzensur/ des k.u.k Seeflieger korps Pola.  Text below photo is "Ratnoj Mornarici" listopadu 1917. - (War)Navy (ger.Kriegsmarine) October 1917.

3.1915 K.u.K Marinefeldpost, SMS Helgoland to Samobor

 

01.03.1915 K.u.K Marinefeldpost card from SMS Helgoland to Samobor, Croatia. Photograph was used as a card, text is in Croatian. Sender notes that photo isn't good because light was low in "verstatte"(local usage of german:werkstatt, in english-workshop). Ships postal cancel Helgoland and ships censors cancel Zensuriert present. This censor cancel was used only in 2-3.1915. Helgoland was a cruiser with crew of 340 men.

K.u.K Marine 1914/15 SMS Sebenico to Fiume, Croatia

 

K.uK Marinefeldpost - undated cover mailed from SMS Sebenico to Fiume(Rijeka) Croatia. SMS Sebenico was a Zara class torpedo-criuser commissioned in 1882 with crew of 13 officers and 135 sailors. The ship served as a training ship with the naval artillery school from 1903 to May 1915. From the beginning of WW I  it was used as  a guardship in Šibenik port and later in Novigrad. In 1918 it was assigned to the torpedo school and served there until the end of World War I. This cover with note Feldpost is from WW I era, probably from 1914 or early 1915 before Marinefeldpost in Pola was estsbilshed. Naval mail from before WW I wasn't marked as feldpost and the postage was always paid.

8.1918 K.u.K Kriegsmarine, Donauflottille to Split

10.08.1918 postcard from K.u.K Kriegsmarine,  Donauflottille (Danube river fleet) to Spalato(Split) in Dalmatia,  Croatia. Text is in Italian language, but both sender and recipient have Croatian surnames. Mailed via Fp.299-b which served Donauflottille command and later KuK units in Romania.

Card was mailed from hospital ship Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand, ships fate was very interesting. It was build in 1853 and scrapped in 2019 . About Donauflottile you can read in many book and this year an  excellent book by Zvonimir Freivogel was published in Croatian.

3.1918 K.u.K Marinefeldpost Pola to Sanvincenti Istria.

 23.03.1918 K.u.K Marinefeldpost from Pola to Sanvincenti in Istria (today Svetvinčenat,Istra,Croatia). Rare cancel: Zensurstelle Gericht des kuk Hafenadmiral und Kriegshafenkommandos in Pola. Text is in Italian