''Carl Röver'' was a German fishing trawler which was requistioned by the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for use as a ''

vorpostenboot ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...

'', serving as V 209 ''Carl Röver'' and V 203 ''Carl Röver''. Severely damaged in the war, she was repaired post-war and re-engined. She served as the fishing trawler ''Essen'' and was later converted to a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

. She served as ''Hans Peter'', ''Handsome'', ''Handsome I'', ''Walid'' and ''Samir'' under the flags of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, the United Kingdom, Panama and the Lebanon. She was lost in 1985.

Description

The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was powered by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

, which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was made by Deschimag Seebeckwerft,

Wesermünde Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Rive ...

. It was rated at 112

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

. The engine powered a single screw propeller driven via a geared low pressure turbine. It could propel the ship at . She was assessed at , .

History

The ship was built as

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

505 by Deschimag Seekbeckwerft, Wesermünde. She was launched in July 1933 and completed on 24 August. She was built for the Nordsee Deutsche Hochseefischerei Bremen-Cuxhaven AG. The ship was named for

Carl Röver Carl Georg Röver (February 12, 1889May 15, 1942) was a German Nazi Party official. His main posts were as ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Weser-Ems and '' Reichsstatthalter'' of both Oldenburg and Bremen. Early years Röver was born in Lemwerder and sa ...

, a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' and party official. ''Carl Röver'' was one of the first two fishing trawlers built by Bremenhaven-based shipbuilder Seebeckwerft after

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

's rise to power, along with '' R. Walther Darré''. The

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

DNPM were allocated, as was the

fishing boat registration Port letter and number (PLN) is a code identifying fishing vessels and other boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passe ...

ON 148. This was changed to PG 489 on 17 October 1934. ''Carl Röver'' took part in the '' Festungkriegsübung Swinemünde'' naval exercises on 10 June 1937. She was requisitioned by the

on 28 September 1939 for use as a ''

Vorpostenboot ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...

''. She was allocated to 2 ''Vorpostenflottille'' as V 209 ''Carl Röver''. On 20 October, she was redesignated V 203 ''Carl Rover''. On 28 July 1942, ''Carl Röver'' and V 292 ''Hermann Bösch'' involved in a battle with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s , , and two

motor gun boat The motor gun boat (MGB) was a small, high-speed British military vessel of the Second World War, which was armed with a mix of guns, in contrast to the physically similar motor torpedo boat (MTB), whose main offensive weapon were torpedoes. ...

s in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

off La Hague, Manche, France. V 202 ''Hermann Bösch'' was sunk. ''Carl Röver'' was severely damaged. She was taken in to

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

, Manche, France with her forecastle burnt out. Following repairs, she returned to service on 6 July 1943. On 13 July 1944, she was severely damaged in an engagement with and in which V 213 ''Claus Bolten'' and the minesweeper were sunk. HMS ''Eskimo'' was severely damaged by gunfire from ''Carl Röver''. Due to damage received, ''Carl Röver'' was withdrawn from service in September 1944. ''Carl Röver'' was repaired in November 1945. She returned to merchant service in December as the fishing boat ''Essen'', registration BX343, under the ownership of the Nordsee Deutsche Hochseefischerei AG,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. In December 1955, ''Essen'' was sold to Gunter Trulsen, Bremerhaven. He sold her to Peter Witthein, Heiligenstedten in March 1956. Witthein had her converted to a

and renamed ''Hans Peter''. The work was done by Hugo Peters,

Wewelsfleth Wewelsfleth is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

. Her steam engine and boilers were removed, with the latter sold to the Poseidon Line for use in their steamships.

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

continued to list her as a fishing trawler. She was now assessed at , . Her port of registry was Itzehoe,

. She was now fitted with a

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

single action

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

which had six cylinders of diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Maschinenbau Kiel,

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, West Germany. ''Hans Peter'' was chartered to the Poseidon Line and was mainly used for trade with Norway. ''Hans Peter'' suffered an engine failure in 1970 and was condemned. She was sold to M. K. Walsh,

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, United Kingdom, who had her repaired and renamed ''Handsome''. She was sold the next year to A. King & Sons Navigation Ltd., Panama and was renamed ''Handsome I''. She was sold to Chameleon Shipping Co. S.A., Panama in 1972. In 1979, ''Handsome I'' was sold to A. R. Hegazi Bureau d'Assistance Maritime Agence,

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon and was renamed ''Walid''. She was sold to Z. H. Abiyad, Beirut the next year and was renamed ''Samir''. She was lost or scrapped in 1985.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carl Röver 1933 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Fishing vessels of Germany Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Maritime incidents in July 1942 Maritime incidents in July 1944 Fishing vessels of West Germany Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Panama Merchant ships of Lebanon Maritime incidents in 1985