Can you help track down a missing part from Hitler’s motor boat?

The owner of the motor boat, which once belonged to Adolf Hitler, is searching for the vessel's binnacle compass. It was put up for auction last year.

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The Grillet motor boat was one of three vessels attached to the “royal yacht”, Aviso Grille, which belonged to Adolf Hitler.

Built in the Lűrssen yard in Bremen in 1934, the 36-foot Grillet was used to take passengers from ship to shore.

This was because Hitler’s yacht was too big to get into most harbours.

See a video of Grillet and Aviso Grille below

Grillet ended up in Hartlepool after the Second World War.

The British Navy captured Aviso Grille in 1945 and took the yacht and its launch back to the coal port.

Grillet’s owner, Rod Cadman, is now restoring the motor boat and is appealing for help to search for a crucial missing part.

Its binnacle compass was put up for auction in Taunton in 2015, which Cadman missed.

He is now trying to track down the seller.

“By chance I came across an auction catalogue listing of the binnacle from a boat called Grillet so I new immediately this was the original binnacle from my boat,” explained Cadman to the Hartlepool Mail.

“The problem was the auction had passed by,” he continued.

“After contacting the auction house I discovered that the item had not sold but had come via a third party. With some badgering and emails I eventually found who had owned the item a Mr David Dixon of Hartlepool but neither party still had contact details,” said Cadman.

The Grillet, which is made of marine oak, remained in Hartlepool for many years after the Second World War.

The vessel was used as a rescue boat by the Hartlepool Sailing Club before being sold on.

It was used as a pleasure boat on the River Ouse in York at one stage, and then operated out of Gozo, Malta.

Cadman said finding the original binnacle “would just be amazing”, as he is trying to restore Grillet to its 1930s condition.

He added that the vessel is “a superb example of a 1930s yacht’s pinnace, and apart from her history is a major historical boat in that regard alone.”

Cadman can be contacted at caders@hotmail.co.uk.