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| - Awards and decorations of the Kriegsmarine consisted of a series of war badges as well as a series of naval combat clasps; these awards were considered part of a larger array of Third Reich military decorations. The following were the primary naval war badges awarded for service in various branches of the Kriegsmarine. In addition to war badges, naval personnel could also qualify for follow-on combat clasps. Such clasps were smaller in design and always awarded after receipt of a primary war badge (thus, it was not possible to gain a combat clasp without having a war badge first). The combat clasps were the: Naval badges could further be upgraded to include an award with diamonds, although this stipulation was only for the primary war badges with combat clasps issued in a single degree only. On paper, every naval war badge could receive a diamonds upgrade, but in reality because of the strain of the war and the German High Commands disregard for the navy only the U-Boat Badge, E-Boat Badge, Minesweeper Badge and Auxiliary Cruiser Badge were awarded in diamonds. The breakdown was as follows:
* U-Boat War Badge with diamonds: Approximately thirty were awarded. A "special grade" was issued to Admiral Karl Dönitz which was basically a standard U-Boat badge with diamonds; however it was hand crafted and considered much more valuable than the standard design.
* Destroyer War Badge with diamonds: A single example of this badge was manufactured but it was never awarded. Records of this decoration indicate that the award was to be highly selective and only issued to a handful of destroyer captains upon Germany's ultimate victory in the Second World War.
* Minesweeper War Badge with diamonds: Records indicate that this badge was only awarded once, although to whom is still a matter of question since exact records were lost at the end of World War II.
* E-Boat War Badge with diamonds: Only eight of these awards were ever made, all of which were presented to Schnellboot commanders who had received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
* High Seas Fleet Badge with diamonds: This award was never bestowed, although a handful were manufactured. The criteria for the award was to serve as the commander of a German heavy cruiser and battleship and also be awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. During the Second World War, no "big ship" officer of the Kriegsmarine ever qualified, made difficult no doubt by Adolf Hitler's general dislike for the German surface fleet in favor of small escort boats and submarines.
* Auxiliary Cruiser Badge with diamonds: Only two awards were ever made, to Captains Helmuth von Ruckteschell of the German Auxiliary Cruiser Michel, and to Ernst-Felix Krüder of the cruiser Pinguin.
* Blockade Runner Badge with diamonds: This award existed only on paper and was never produced or awarded nor were firm criteria ever established for the circumstances under which it could be awarded.
* Naval Artillery War Badge with diamonds: Records of the Kriegsmarine indicate that the existence of this badge with diamonds was only casually discussed and nothing was ever put down seriously about its creation. (en)
- Las medallas y condecoraciones de la Kriegsmarine consistieron en una serie de insignias de guerra, así como una serie de broches de combate naval; estas condecoraciones se consideraron parte de una gama más amplia de condecoraciones militares del Tercer Reich. Las siguientes fueron las principales insignias de guerra navales otorgadas por servicio en varias ramas de la Kriegsmarine. Además de las insignias de guerra, el personal naval también podía aspirar a los siguientes broches de combate. Dichos broches eran de diseño más pequeño y siempre se otorgaban después de recibir una insignia de guerra primaria (por lo tanto, no era posible obtener un broche de combate sin tener primero una insignia de guerra). Los broches de combate fueron los: Las insignias navales ostentaban un mayor rango si tenían el distintivo con diamantes, aunque esta estipulación era solo para las insignias de guerra con broches de combate emitidos en un solo grado. Sobre el papel, cada insignia de guerra naval podía recibir una mejora de diamantes, pero en realidad el desglose fue el siguiente:
* Insignia al Combate Submarino con Diamantes: aproximadamente 30 personas recibieron la condecoración. Se otorgó un "grado especial" al Almirante Karl Dönitz, que era básicamente una insignia estándar de U-Boat con diamantes; sin embargo, fue hecha a mano y se consideró mucho más valiosa que el diseño estándar.
* con Diamantes: sólo fue fabricada una insignia, pero nunca fue otorgada. Los registros de esta condecoración indican que el premio debía ser muy selectivo y solo se otorgaría a un puñado de capitanes de destructores tras la victoria final de Alemania en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
* con Diamantes: los registros indican que esta insignia solo fue otorgada una vez, aunque no se sabe exactamente a quién, ya que los registros exactos se perdieron al final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
* con Diamantes: solo fueron otorgadas ocho de estas condecoraciones, todas las cuales se entregaron a los comandantes de Schnellboot que habían recibido la Cruz de Caballero con Hojas de Roble.
* con Diamantes: esta condecoración nunca fue otorgada, aunque se fabricaron algunas. El criterio para esta insignia era servir como comandante de un crucero pesado y acorazado alemán y también recibir la Cruz de Caballero con Hojas de Roble. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, ningún oficial de "grandes buques" de la Kriegsmarine logró este objetivo, lo que sin duda se vio dificultado por la aversión general de Adolf Hitler por la flota de superficie alemana en favor de los pequeños barcos de escolta y submarinos.
* con Diamantes: sólo fueron otorgadas dos insignias, a los capitanes Helmuth von Ruckteschell del crucero auxiliar alemán Michel, y a Ernst-Felix Krüder del crucero Pinguin.
* con Diamantes: esta condecoración existió solo sobre el papel y nunca se produjo ni fue otorgada ni se establecieron criterios firmes sobre las circunstancias en las que podría otorgarse.
* con Diamantes: los registros de la Kriegsmarine indican que la existencia de esta insignia con diamantes solo se discutió casualmente y nunca se debatió seriamente su creación. (es)
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