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History of the Inventor: By cabinet order of 14.3.1899 the Admiral Staff Department of the High Command of the Navy was made independent and directly subordinated to the Emperor as the Admiral Staff of the Navy. In terms of peace, the actual tasks of the admiral's staff included the operative planning of warfare at sea, the collection and processing of news about foreign navies as well as the economy and military policy of foreign states. Furthermore, the Admiral Staff worked on all tactical matters of the fleet, the training and further education of Admiral Staff officers as well as the travel plans for all naval forces abroad. During the war, military-political affairs and censorship tasks were added. To steer the entire naval warfare, the naval warfare command was set up on 28.8.1918 as a mobile part of the Admiral Staff. From 15.11.1918 the authority was subordinated to the Reichsmarineamt and was dissolved on 15.7.1919. Inventory description: By cabinet order of 14 March 1899, the Admiral Staff Department of the Navy High Command was made independent and directly subordinated to the Emperor as the Navy Admiral Staff. In terms of peace, the tasks of the admiral's staff included the operative planning of warfare at sea, mobilization, naval war games, naval war history, the collection and processing of news about foreign navies as well as the economy and military policy of foreign states. The Admiral Staff dealt with all tactical matters of the fleet, the training and further education of Admiral Staff officers and the travel plans for all naval forces abroad. During the war, military-political affairs and censorship tasks were added. On 28 August 1918, the naval warfare command was set up as a mobile part of the admiral's staff to control the entire naval warfare. From 15 November 1918 the authority was subordinated to the Reichsmarineamt and was dissolved on 15 July 1919. Content characterization: Considerable losses of files occurred during the Revolution days of 1918 and in the months thereafter. Documents on intelligence gathering, espionage and counter-espionage were extensively destroyed as early as 1919. On the other hand, files in the following subject areas have been handed down well: Organisation, cipher service, mobilization work, theatres of war in the Baltic and North Seas, foreign warfare, news about European and non-European countries and weapons-related matters. Archival records on the trade war with submarines and the related military-political questions are to be emphasized. From the 1st World War also the files of the representatives of the Admiral Staff at the Supreme Army Command and at Army Commands are to be mentioned. State of development: Invenio Scope, Explanation: Inventory without increment 350 m 6710 AE Citation method: BArch, RM 5/...

History of the inventor: In 1898, a governor subordinated to the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t was appointed for the protection work in China that was taken into possession in 1897. He was head of the entire military and civil administration as well as commander of the land forces stationed there. Description: The Kiautschou area, with its capital Tsingtau, was leased from China in 1898 for 99 years. A governor subordinated to the Reichsmarineamt was appointed for the protectorate taken into possession. He was head of the entire military and civil administration as well as commander of the land forces stationed there. The governor was always a naval officer, the military crew consisted of the III. sea battalion and the sailor artillery department Kiautschou. At the end of an ultimatum granted by Japan in August 1914, the Tsingtau fortress capitulated under its governor to the military superiority of its opponent. From 1914 to 1922 Japan occupied Kiautschou and then handed it over to China. In 1923 the German Reich waived its rights. Characterisation of content: Only fragments of files on the mobilization, siege and fall of the Tsingtau fortress have survived, mainly war diaries, reports and newspaper articles. State of development: Invenio Scope, Explanation: Existing stock without increase 2.7 m 66 AE Citation method: BArch, RM 16/...

History of the Inventor: The fleet built in the Electorate of Brandenburg and later in the Kingdom of Prussia fell into decay in the late 18th century. At the beginning of the 19th century Prussia was not a maritime power. It was not until 1811/13 that the company began to acquire vessels for coastal defence again and to develop plans that went beyond this. By letter of 14.11.1817 the other naval powers were informed about the new Prussian war flag. Responsibility for naval affairs lay with the Prussian War Ministry, in which a department for naval affairs finally existed from 1848. At the same time, there was a Technical Marine Commission to draw up proposals for further action. The Royal Prussian Navy was formed with a corresponding Most High cabinet order of 5.9.1848 and subsequently warships were partly commissioned for construction, partly bought or taken over by the fleet of the German Confederation. The Royal Prussian Admiralty was established as the highest naval authority in its own right with the Most High Cabinet Order of 14.11.1853. The head of the Admiralty was the Prussian Prime Minister. The Admiralty at that time consisted of three departments (for Command Affairs; for Technical Affairs; for General and Administrative Affairs). On 30 March 1854, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, the previous head of the Technical Navy Commission, was finally appointed "Admiral of the Prussian Coast" and Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian Navy. On 14.3.1859 the Admiralty was reorganized and divided into two departments (Naval Administration; High Command). Soon afterwards, however, a fundamental reorganization took place. The Admiralty was dissolved with the Most High Cabinet Order of 16.4.1861 and the Prussian Navy Ministry was formed in its place. This was led in personal union by the Prussian Minister of War. With the 25.6.1867 the Prussian Navy went together with the naval forces of the other German states to the North German Federation. The designations in the subsequent period are inconsistent. In research, the term North German Navy is commonly used. The ships now also carried the war flag of the North German Confederation accordingly. The Reichsverfassung of 20.4.1871 defined the navy as a Reich matter and spoke of both "Reichsmarine" and "Kaiserlicher Marine". By an appropriate instruction of Kaiser Wilhelm I. to the chief of the new upper authority for the navy from 1.2.1872 the navy was called from this day on "imperial navy". The Prussian Navy Ministry thus became the Imperial Admiralty. The head of the admiralty was to lead the administration under the responsibility of the Reich Chancellor and the supreme command according to the orders of the emperor (imperial command power). The Admiralty remained the supreme naval authority until 1889, after several reorganizations. Due to the constant enlargement and expansion of the Imperial Navy, the Admiralty was dissolved on 1.4.1889 and three top authorities were created in its place: Imperial Naval Cabinet (see RM 2), Reichsmarineamt (see RM 3), Oberkommando der Marine (see RM 4). Description: The fleet built up in the Electorate of Brandenburg and later in the Kingdom of Prussia fell into decay in the late 18th century. At the beginning of the 19th century Prussia was not a maritime power. It was not until 1811/13 that the company began to acquire vessels for coastal defence again and to develop plans that went beyond this. By letter of 14.11.1817 the other naval powers were informed about the new Prussian war flag. Responsibility for naval affairs lay with the Prussian War Ministry, in which a department for naval affairs finally existed from 1848. At the same time, there was a Technical Marine Commission to draw up proposals for further action. The Royal Prussian Navy was formed with a corresponding Most High cabinet order of 5.9.1848 and subsequently warships were partly commissioned for construction, partly bought or taken over by the fleet of the German Confederation. The Royal Prussian Admiralty was established as the highest naval authority in its own right with the Most High Cabinet Order of 14.11.1853. The head of the Admiralty was the Prussian Prime Minister. The Admiralty at that time consisted of three departments (for Command Affairs; for Technical Affairs; for General and Administrative Affairs). On 30 March 1854, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, the previous head of the Technical Navy Commission, was finally appointed "Admiral of the Prussian Coast" and Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian Navy. On 14.3.1859 the Admiralty was reorganized and divided into two departments (Naval Administration; High Command). Soon afterwards, however, a fundamental reorganization took place. The Admiralty was dissolved with the Most High Cabinet Order of 16.4.1861 and the Prussian Navy Ministry was formed in its place. This was led in personal union by the Prussian Minister of War. With the 25.6.1867 the Prussian Navy went together with the naval forces of the other German states to the North German Federation. The designations in the subsequent period are inconsistent. In research, the term North German Navy is commonly used. The ships now also carried the war flag of the North German Confederation accordingly. The Reichsverfassung of 20.4.1871 defined the navy as a Reich matter and spoke of both "Reichsmarine" and "Kaiserlicher Marine". By an appropriate instruction of Kaiser Wilhelm I. to the chief of the new upper authority for the navy from 1.2.1872 the navy was called from this day on "imperial navy". The Prussian Navy Ministry thus became the Imperial Admiralty. The head of the admiralty was to lead the administration under the responsibility of the Reich Chancellor and the supreme command according to the orders of the emperor (imperial command power). The Admiralty remained the supreme naval authority until 1889, after several reorganizations. Due to the constant enlargement and expansion of the Imperial Navy, the Admiralty was dissolved on 1.4.1889 and three top authorities were created in its place: Imperial Naval Cabinet (see RM 2), Reichsmarineamt (see RM 3), Oberkommando der Marine (see RM 4). Content characterisation: The Admiralty's registry is divided into the following subject areas: Central Affairs: Imperial and state administration, organization and service administration, Admiralty Council, Cabinet Orders, public relations, naval decree sheets, command matters, military policy matters, fleet policy, maintenance of warships, ship assignments, personnel management, mobilization matters, organization and service operation of the authorities and naval parts on land, military training, instruction, education, fleet tactics and exercises, coastal fortification, signalling, transport matters, merchant navy, foreign navies, technical matters: Purchase of finished ships, general technical matters of warship construction, repairs, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, artillery and torpedo weapons, port, agricultural and hydraulic engineering, administrative matters: Budget matters, cash and accounting, salaries and fees, catering in kind and cash, garrison construction, garrison administration, uniforms and clothing, housing and services, pensions, benefits, supplies, school matters and pastoral care. To a lesser extent, there is also evidence: Judicial affairs, medical affairs, hydrographic affairs, acquisition and development of the Jade area (Wilhelmshaven). The holdings also contain the records of the top authorities of the Prussian and North German navies. State of development: Invenio Pre-archival order: The registry, previously strictly separated according to command and administrative files, was largely mixed up in the admiralty, which was organized as a unitary authority. Scope, explanation: Stock without growth108.0 m 4020 AU approx. 900 large formats Citation method: BArch, RM 1/...

History of the Inventor: When the Imperial Admiralty was dissolved in 1889, the Imperial High Command of the Navy was created for the division of its former Military Department and command over all naval parts at sea and on land was transferred to it. The Commanding Admiral's business area included the execution of all command matters, operational Admiral staff duties, mobilization preparatory work, tactical training and military education. Inventory description: When the Imperial Admiralty was dissolved, the Imperial High Command of the Navy was created on 1 April 1889 for the division of its former military department. The commanding admiral, who was directly subordinate to the emperor, was given command of all naval parts at sea and on land. The Commanding Admiral's business area included the execution of all command matters, operational Admiral staff duties, mobilization preparations, tactical training and military education. The High Command of the Imperial Navy was dissolved by Cabinet Order of 14.03.1899. Some of the powers were then transferred to the Navy Admiral Staff. Content characterization: The inventory contains only residual files about top organization, tactics, fleet regulations, training of different ship units, signalling and maneuvers, as well as a small number of hand files. Numerous files were continued by the admiral staff of the navy and the Reichsmarineamt. State of development: Invenio Scope, Explanation: Existing stock without increase 8.2 m 176 AE Citation method: BArch, RM 4/...

History of the Inventor: The Naval Cabinet was created in 1889, modelled on the Prussian Military Cabinet, as an office for the exercise of command in maritime affairs. It became the decisive authority in personnel matters of naval officers. On 28.10.1918 subordinated to the State Secretary of the Reichsmarineamt. Inventory description: Following the model of the Prussian Military Cabinet, the Naval Cabinet was created on April 1, 1889. Designed as an office for the exercise of command in maritime affairs, it has evolved in practice into the key personnel agency for naval officers. As an immediate authority, it was directly subordinated to the emperor, i.e. it was not subject to the responsibility of parliament. The Naval Cabinet should act as the administrative authority for the "management of maritime affairs" and for the transmission of orders to the Naval Authorities and to certain persons. However, the main task became the processing of the personal data and staffing of the naval officers, naval cadets, naval infantry officers, mechanical engineers, witness officers, fireworks officers and torpedo officers. On 28 October 1918 the authority was subordinated to the State Secretary of the Reichsmarineamt and in December 1918 it was converted into the Personalamt im Reichsmarineamt. Characterisation of the contents: The files of the naval cabinet have been relatively completely preserved. This does not rule out gaps in individual cases. For example, there are no detailed file plans or other registration aids or a business distribution plan valid at the time. As adjutant general, the chief of the naval cabinet was in the emperor's personal service. The files of his authority therefore document to a considerable extent the personal affairs of Wilhelm II and other domestic and foreign princes. They contain, among other things, hand-drawn fleet tables, drawings and ship constructions of the emperor, lecture manuscripts, texts of imperial sermons and ship services, correspondence, gift lists and newspaper cuttings with personal marginal notes to all questions of the time as well as documents about construction and maintenance of the imperial yachts, all sea and land journeys of the emperor and personal affairs of the imperial family. The largest part of the stock concerns the personnel affairs of the officers. Although the personnel files were destroyed as intended after the deaths of those affected, the existing extracts from the qualification reports in conjunction with documents on visits, farewells, personnel budgets and staffing allow an almost complete reconstruction of personnel policy in the Navy as well as the military career of individual active officers. Documents on the general organisation of the navy and military political affairs, including correspondence with the military cabinet and other military and civil authorities, as well as military reporting on general political and economic affairs are another focus of the collection. Order awards, social affairs, administration and administration of justice are also documented. State of development: Online-Findbuch Scope, Explanation: Stock without increase78,5 lfm 2573 AE Citation method: BArch, RM 2/...

Inventory Description: The Naval Airship Department was established by Allerhöchste Kabinettsordre on 3 May 1913 from the "Aviation Personnel of the Imperial Navy" next to the Naval Airship Department as an independent department with the temporary location Johannisthal. (1) The commanders of the departments were given "judicial, disciplinary and leave powers". In all training and technical matters, both departments were under the control of the State Secretary of the Reichsmarineamt, in all others of the inspection of coastal artillery and mines, as well as the head of the "North Sea Naval Station". (1) The State Secretary of the Reich Naval Office, Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, established 1 June as the day of formation by order of 8 May 1913. (2) As early as April 1912, members of the navy, including Corvette Captain Friedrich Metzing, were commanded for training at Deutsche Luftschifffahrts-AG. The airship command was subordinated on 15 July 1912 under the designation "Luftschiff-Detachement" with the Johannisthal site near Berlin Metzing as commander. (3) After the death of the commander of the naval airship department Friedrich Metzing in the accident of "L 1" on 9 September 1913, Corvette Captain Peter Strasser became his successor. Responsibility for the airship sector in the navy lay with the BX "Luftschiff- und Fliegerwesen" department of the shipyard department of the Reichsmarineamt formed on 12 October 1912. On 1 April 1913 an organisational change followed: Department BX was restructured to become the "Aviation Section" (Section BX with Divisions BXa and BXb). (4) At the beginning of the First World War, the command structure of the Naval Airship Division changed. By the Most High Cabinet Order of 29 August 1914, the office "Commander of the Aviation Departments" was created as the highest central command post of the entire naval aviation. (5) The Naval Airship Department and the Naval Aircraft Department were subordinated to this. The cabinet order assigned the following tasks to the new commander: Provision and training of personnel, management of schooling outside departments, test drives and maintenance of aircraft operational capability. The Most High Cabinet Order of May 1, 1916 assigned the naval airship division Cuxhaven (Nordholz) as a new location and divided the division into airship troops. (6) On November 23, 1916, the Naval Aviation Departments were divided into the Airship and Aircraft divisions by the Most High Cabinet Order. (7) The post of Commander of the Naval Aviation Divisions was transformed into Commander of the Naval Aviation Division and the Commander of the Naval Airship Division was elevated to "Chief of Naval Airships". The newly appointed Naval Airship Leader was in charge of the Naval Airship Division and the Naval Airships. The newly created position was subordinate to the command of the high seas armed forces in "matters of use and training of the North Sea front airships, to the State Secretary of the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t , in technical and experimental matters and in matters of the school and experimental airships, and in all other matters to the naval station command of the North Sea". (7) For the airships deployed in the Baltic Sea, a new "Airship Ladder East" was formed as division commander. (7) The latter acted independently or according to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Sea, but remained subordinate to the Commander of the Naval Airships. (8) The post of Airship Manager East was vacated in November 1917 due to staff shortages and the cessation of airship operations in the Baltic Sea. (9) This structure remained in place until the end of the war. After Strasser's death in the "L 70" on 5 August 1918, the post of commander of the naval airships was not reoccupied. (10) Due to the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles to abandon military aviation in Germany, the Naval Airship Department was dissolved in Nordholz on 10 December 1920. (11) During the First World War, naval airships were used for reconnaissance in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, securing and supporting mine search units, sighting and reporting of enemy naval forces and mine barriers, reports on merchant shipping and for offensive voyages, in particular on Great Britain. Commander of the Naval Aviation Departments 29 August 1914 - 23 November 1916 Rear Admiral Otto Philipp Leader of the Naval Airships 23 November 1916 - 5 August 1918 Frigate Captain Peter Strasser from 5 August 1918 August 1918 unmanned (representative: Hans-Paul Werther) Airship Leader East 23 November 1916 - November 1917 Corvette Captain Hans Wendt Naval Airship Troops Status: May 1916 (12) I. Nordholz II. Fuhlsbüttel III. Ahlhorn IV. Hage V. Tondern VI. Seerappen VII. Seddin VIII. Düren IX. Wainoden Status: November 1918 (13) I. Nordholz III. Ahlhorn IV. Wittmundhaven V. Tondern VI. Seerappen VII. Seddin-Jeseritz XI. Wainoden Characterisation of the contents: The collection covers the period 1914 to 1938, with a focus on the deployment of the naval airship department in the First World War from 1914 to 1918. The records also include other provenances based on circulars and forwarded communications from other or superior agencies such as the Navy Admiral Staff, the Commander of the Reconnaissance Ships of the Baltic Sea or the Commanding General of the Air Force, etc. The collection is also available in German. The operations of the naval airships are reflected in the tradition. The focus is on the operational and enterprise files for the reconnaissance voyages in the North Sea and Baltic Sea as well as the attack voyages, especially in Great Britain. War diaries and orders are available on a large scale for this purpose. The war diaries were created for individual airships or naval airship troops. Further few file complexes are found to the organization and to the personnel of the naval airship department. The structure of the documents mainly consists of war diaries, orders (daily and departmental orders) and so-called driving reports of the numerous reconnaissance and attack drives. The trip reports contain information on the trip task, names of crew members, weather conditions, technical data and square maps with the marked route. In addition, there are radio messages (some encrypted), spark telegraphy bearings, weather and barometer maps and telegrams. The collection also includes photographs, press articles, technical drawings, sketches and a large number of maps. The overdelivery is not complete. Only the war records have survived. Documents from the pre-war and post-war periods may have been destroyed in the air archives in 1945. State of development: Online-Findbuch Vorarchivische Ordnung: Bestandsgeschichte After the end of the First World War, the documents of the disbanded naval services, including the Naval Airship Department, were collected in the War History Department of the Admiral Staff of the Navy (established on 15 February 1916) for the purpose of setting up a new naval archive. From 1919 the name of the naval archive was changed to "Head of the Institute for Naval History and Chairman of the Naval Archive". A second renaming took place on 22 January 1936 in "Kriegswissenschaftliche Abteilung der Marine". However, this did not belong to the Reichsarchiv, but was subject until 31 March 1934 to the Inspectorate of Naval Education, then to the Chief of Naval Management, and later as a subordinate authority to the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. During the First World War some war diaries (RM 116/185-199) were already forwarded to the admiral's staff of the Navy for information and were thus integrated into his written material, but are handed down in this inventory. During the Second World War, naval records were moved to Tambach Castle near Coburg on 22 November 1943. (14 ) After the end of the war, the archives were confiscated by US troops and taken to London. There the files were filmed on a large scale, combined into bundles, provided with consecutive F-numbers ("Faszikel", "File" or "Fach") and partly with a seven-digit number with the prefixed letters "PG" ("pinched from the Germans"). The archives were then handed over to the British Admiralty. In the 1960s, the marine files were returned to the Federal Republic of Germany as part of the process of returning files and were transferred to the Document Centre of the Military History Research Office in Freiburg i.Br. With the transfer of the Document Centre in 1968, which is based on the 1968 interministerial agreement between the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the documents were transferred to the Federal Archives and Military Archives moved from Koblenz to Freiburg. In 1977 an access with a photo album to the naval airships (access number 2005/77) took place, which was transferred under RM 116/200 into the inventory. An LL signature (LL 410) refers to a storage in the air archive. A note in English on the file cover indicates a seizure by British and/or US troops. During the file repatriations, the photo album was also handed over to the Document Centre at the Military History Research Office, where it received an I L signature (I L (B) 11). (15 ) The tradition is not complete. A large part of the documents may have been transferred to the Luftarchiv at that time and destroyed in 1945. In 1936, the Luftwaffe set up its own archive under the name "Kriegswissenschaftliche Abteilung der Luftwaffe" (War Science Department of the Air Force) and collected the entire archives of the Air Forces of the Army and the Navy Air Forces. (16) It may have included parts of the naval airship department files, which would justify the small size of the file delivery. Archivische Bearbeitung A rough list of files was available on the holdings, which contained only imprecise file titles and durations as well as old signatures. An evaluation of the documents was not carried out due to the loss of written records and the resulting gaps in the records before 1945. The existing rules of procedure were retained. The documents had already been formed; most of them were in Prussian thread stitching, a small part in archive folders. The file structure is uneven; thus, in part, uniformly formed and coherent files were found for a task or an assignment. On the other hand, there were also documents with heterogeneous contents, such as aerial reconnaissance and attack drives. The inventory of the stock was carried out with the archive management system of the Federal Archives BASYS-S-2. The files were recorded and classified on the basis of the specified overdelivery due to a lack of organisational documents. The old signatures F and PG numbers as well as the file numbers were recorded. The terms "Detachement" and "Trupp", for the units subordinated to the Naval Airship Department, were not used uniformly in the files despite the same meaning. The collection contains numerous photographs and maps, the content of which is linked to the files and have therefore been left in their context. Only the oversized maps which were not sewn in due to damaged files were removed for conservation reasons and are now stored together in a map folder in the inventory under RM 116/201. The files are in a poor state of conservation. The damage ranges from dissolved thread stitching, mechanical damage as a result of use, to paper decay and ink corrosion. The collection needs to be restored soon. The stock is not completely foliated. Scope, explanation: Holdings without increase 7.4 linear metres 198 AU Citation method: BArch, RM 116/...

History of the Inventor: The staff of the station command of the naval station of the North Sea was formed in 1870/71. From 1873 to 1904, the station chief was also the fortress commander of Wilhelmshaven. The Station Command was first subordinated to the Admiralty, then to the High Command of the Navy, and from 1899 as Immediatbehörde directly subordinated to the Emperor. After the First World War, the station command was subordinated to the Reichsmarineamt, the head of the Admiralty and the head of the naval command and was transferred to the Reichsmarine. The commandant's office of the fortifications of the Weser estuary in Geestemünde, the commandant's office of the fortifications of the Elbe estuary in Cuxhaven and the commandant's office of the fortifications of Helgoland were directly under the command of the naval station of the North Sea. Processing note: The RM 33 holdings were divided and the files from the period after 1920 were transferred to the new RM 133 holdings. The file RM 3/10883 was transferred to the inventory under the signature RM 33/3189. The file RM 33/309 was renumbered RM 31/4598. Inventory description: In the inventory RM 33 the archives of the naval station of the North Sea are listed as territorial command and basic authority of the Imperial Navy for personnel replacement, personnel control, basic training, material supply of the fleet, coastal defence and surveillance of the coastal waters in the area of the North Sea. The stock is intended for splitting. The documents of the naval station of the North Sea of the Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine will form the new stock RM 133. RM 33 will then only contain the documents of the naval station of the North Sea of the Imperial Navy. Content characterisation: The inventory mainly contains documents on the material provision and readiness for war of ships and auxiliary ships, on Admiralstabsreisen, on closure plans for the estuaries of the North Sea coast including mines and on the reinforcement of the fortifications Wilhelmshaven, Helgoland, Weser and Elbe estuaries. The files of the defensive unit of the station command are of particular importance. State of development: Findbuch Scope, Explanation: Stock without increase 20 lfm 472 AE Citation method: BArch, RM 33/...

History of the Inventor: The Reichsmarineamt (Reichsmarineamt) was created as the successor authority to the Imperial Admiralty with effect from April 1, 1889, in the form of a cabinet order (in addition to the Navy Cabinet and the Navy High Command). As the supreme Reich authority, the Reichsmarineamt was responsible for the organisation, administration, technology, armament and fortification of the navy. At the same time, it exercised Reich competence vis-à-vis the merchant navy and in the fields of maritime transport, nautical science and fisheries protection. The RMA was in charge of the Imperial Shipyards, the Shipbuilding Inspection Commission, the Naval Depot Inspectorate, Coastal District Offices, Station Headquarters, Naval Military Sacrets, the Naval Observatory, the Naval Commissioner of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and the Kiautschou Government. The RMA was divided into the following organizational units: Central Department, General Navy Department, Shipyard Department/Submarine Office, Construction Department, Administrative Department, Weapons Department, Nautical Department, Kiautschou Protectorate Central Department, Medical Department, Justice Department, News Office. On 15 July 1919 the powers of the Reichsmarineamt were transferred to the Admiralty by decree of the Reich President. Characterisation of content: With the exception of the Arms Department, the Medical Department, the Legal Department and the Central Bureau of the Navy, all other organisational units in this inventory have files. Of particular importance from the Central Department are the State Secretary's files on the development of the Navy and the preparatory work for the Fleet Acts. An important part of the former hand files is also in the estate of State Secretary Tirpitz. The files handed down from the central department contain documents on protocol questions, launching, awarding of orders and central organisational matters as well as Reichstag material and a complete series of the "Allerhöchsten Kabinettsordres" for the navy from 1889 to 1918. The activities of the General Maritime Department on matters of organisation and service operation of ships and naval parts, personnel and replacement matters, questions of training in weapons service, uniforms, organisation of education, administration of justice, supply matters, military questions of ship construction and maritime law are well documented. The files of the Construction Department provide a source of considerable importance for the history of the navy and technology. This includes construction files for all heavy and medium-sized combat ships completed by 1914, as well as approx. 10,000 construction plans and other technical drawings for ships and boats. In addition, scientific research results on strength issues, material development, drag tests and general building regulations have also been handed down. The files of the budget department fully document the development of the naval budget, in particular the financing of the fleet building programmes. Here you will also find budget and administrative files on the establishment of the German protectorate Kiautschou as well as on pension and retirement matters of officers, teams and civil servants. Also well preserved are the files of the administrative department, which mainly document catering, clothing and accommodation matters of the navy. Of particular note are the files on numerous foundations for which the Reichsmarineamt was in charge. In connection with the responsibility for food and clothing, extensive series of files on the care of the German population during the war were produced. The traditional files of the news agency contain documents on the economic situation in Germany, the development of shipping, maritime traffic and fleet interests, censorship measures, the collection and distribution of war news and foreign propaganda. An extensive collection of newspaper clippings is also included. Also worth mentioning are the correspondence series on association matters, especially the German Fleet Association. The Nautical Department has files on sea mark and coastal signal matters, cutlery excerpts, travel reports and expeditions. From the shipyard department responsible for the equipment and maintenance of ships, shipyards and vehicles, only a small remainder of files on submarine matters, occasionally also torpedo matters, has been preserved. The departments and departments of the shipyard department responsible for the processing of the submarine system were made independent in 1917 to the submarine office. The documents produced during the short period of its existence reflect the measures taken to promote submarine construction, in particular the material provision during the final phase of the First World War. Worth mentioning here is still material about the planned technical evaluation of war diaries of the submarines. Scope, explanation: Holdings without growth593 lfm24181 AE, approx. 10000 ship drawings/plans (RM 3/12,000-22,600) Citation method: BArch, RM 3/...