''Weser'' was a German fishing trawler that was requisitioned 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 ...

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

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 sunk in November 1939 but was raised, repaired and returned to service. She was returned to her owners in 1941 and served until 1962, when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , . 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 built 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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was rated at 132

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 ...

. It drove a single screw propeller via a low pressure turbine, double reduction gearing and a hydraulic coupling. It could propel the ship at .

History

''Weser'' was built as

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

616 by Deschimag Seebeckwerft, Wesermünde for the Hanseatische Hochseefischerei AG, Bremerhaven, Germany. She was launched in September 1938 and completed on 14 October. 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 ...

BX 267 was allocated, as were 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 ...

DOUP. On 27 September 1939, ''Weser'' was requistioned by the

for use as a ''

''. She was allocated to 3 ''Vorpostenflotille'' as V 301 ''Weser''. On 25 November, she struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

and sank in the Great Belt off Langeland, Denmark with the loss of seventeen lives. She was raised in December 1939, repaired and returned to service. In December 1941, she was returned to the Hanseatische Hochseefischerei AG, with the registration PG 556. Her registration was changed to BX 348 in December 1948. She was scrapped by Eisen & Metall, Bremerhaven,

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 ...

in July 1962.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weser 1938 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 November 1939 Fishing vessels of West Germany