Can any German-speaking Pals give me a translation of the meanings of these Naval ranks? They are the ranks of the crewmen of Zeppelin L31.

I have a rough idea of what the ranks mean - I guess that "Segelmachersmaat" means "Sailmaker's Mate" and that "Steuermann" is "Helmsman" and so on, but I could so with some help.

Maschinistenmaat
Obermaschinistenmaat
Bootsmannsmaat
Obermatrose
Funkentelegrafieobergast
Steuermann
Segelmachersmaat
Signalmaat
Obersteuermannsmaat
Obermatrose
Maschinist
Leutnant zur See
Bootsmannsmaat

I'd be grateful for any translations.

Tom

Tom, someone with better German than mine may correct this but I believe these are correct.

Ober is Petty Officer, maat is mate in some branches I think, so:

Maschinistenmaat – Seaman Engineering branch
Obermaschinistenmaat – Petty Officer Engineering branch
Bootsmannsmaat - Boatswains Mate
Obermatrose - Petty Officer Seaman branch
Funkentelegrafieobergast – Telegraphist (Wireless Operator)
Steuermann – Helmsman (Seaman Navigation branch)
Segelmachersmaat - Sailmaker's Mate
Signalmaat - Signalman
Obersteuermannsmaat - Petty Officer Navigation branch
Maschinist – Engineer ?
Leutnant zur See - Lieutenant (sub-Lieutenant RN equivalent)

Dave

Excellent, Dave - thanks very much. So Maat = man. That has ended quite a lot of confusion!

Tom

Er! Sorry Tom, just done some double checking, and maat does mean 'mate' in some of the branches. So I've edited the list again.

I shouldn't have posted so quickly.

Dave

That's OK Dave - the translations were still just what I wanted but I did wonder why there were so many "mates" such as sailmaker's mate, when there was no sailmaker.

I'm going back to factory days, when if you were a "Fitter's Mate" then you did what the "Fitter" told you.

But of course, "mate" means something else in the Navy. Presumably sailmaker's mate was just the official name of the man's naval rank, and didn't necessarily mean that he had a more skilled boss. As far as L31 was concerned, he was THE sailmaker.

If you know what I mean.

Tom

Dave:
Great job on the Translations-I was trying on my own-but my german
is not so good!
Tom:
Can't wait to read your article when done!
gordon