SMGP-1318 Imperial German Navy Cap Tally “S.M. Torpedoboot S178”

Circa 1910. Black silk with woven silver metal thread for technical personnel. Length about 100 cm. light wear and soiling.

SMS S 178 was a Large Torpedo Boat of the 1906 official design with turbine propulsion of the Imperial German Navy. The vessel belonged to a four-unit construction series built by Schichau-Werke. S 178 was rammed by the armored cruiser Yorck on March 4, 1913 and sank. That same year, the Navy had the wreck raised and restored to service. In 1918 it received the designation T 178. The vessel was scrapped in 1922.

Cap tallies bearing the name of a torpedo boat were officially issued only to units serving on foreign stations. Additionally, some cap tallies with names of torpedo boats are known that were worn only unofficially.