''Hinrich Freese'' was a fishing trawler built in 1930 by

Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. ...

AG for the Hanseatische Hochseefisherei AG. She was requisitioned 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 1940, serving until deliberately wrecked in November 1940 whilst being chased by the British cruiser .

Description

The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth 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 ...

of 92

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 ...

, driving a single screw propeller via a low pressure turbine. The engine was built by

AG (Deschimag),

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 ...

History

''Hinrich Freese'' was built as

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

504 by Deschimag, Wesermünde for the Hanseatische Hochseefisherei AG, being completed in December 1930. Her port of registry was

Bremerhaven 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 Riv ...

. 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 ...

QVNT, and fishing registration BX 215 were allocated. With the change of Code Letters in 1934, ''Hinrich Freese'' was allocated the letter DQOZ. In 1940, ''Hinrich Freese'' was requisitioned by the

. She was converted to a

weather ship A weather ship, or ocean station vessel, was a ship stationed in the ocean for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, reportin ...

and was commissioned on 1 March as ''WBS 4 Hinrich Freese''. Her complement was nineteen, plus five meteorologists. On 20 March, she departed from

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

to operate north of Iceland. The first weather reports were sent on 30 March. These were gathered in support of the

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

, which was to break out of German waters into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. and were also involved in this operation. She returned to Wilhelmshaven in mid-April. on 24 May, ''Hinrich Freese'' sailed from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

German-occupied Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

to relieve ''Adolf Vinnen'' north of Iceland. From 18 August, she operated north of the Norwegian island of

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...

, in support of the cruisers and . ''Adolf Vinnen'' and ''Fritz Homann'' were also involved in this operation. ''Hinrich Freese'' sailed from Trondheim on 19 October for Jan Mayen. She was to operate in support of , which was to transit the

Denmark Strait The Denmark Strait () or Greenland Strait ( , 'Greenland Sound') is an oceanic strait between Greenland to its northwest and Iceland to its southeast. The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait. Geography The strait connect ...

to reach the

. On 29 October, a

Heinkel He 115 The Heinkel He 115 was a three-seat World War II ''Luftwaffe'' seaplane. It was used as a torpedo bomber and performed general seaplane duties, such as reconnaissance and minelaying. The aircraft was powered by two 960 PS (947 hp, 720&n ...

seaplane crashed on landing at Jan Mayen. Her crew were rescued by ''Hinrich Freese''. A second He 115 was wrecked in a storm that night and the mission was cancelled. ''Hinrich Freese'' returned to Trondheim with the four

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

personnel from the aircraft. ''Hinrich Freese'' sailed from Trondheim on 12 November for Jan Mayen, arriving four days later. She was carrying a total of 24 men. She was spotted by off Jamesonbukta. HMS ''Naiad'' gave chase; realising that she could not outrun the cruiser, her captain deliberately ran her ashore at high speed on the Søraustkapp, wrecking the ship with the loss of two lives. The survivors were rescued by the

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built tra ...

and . They served the rest of the war as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, although one of them was killed in a German air raid on

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 28 January 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinrich Freese 1930 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Fishing vessels of Germany World War II auxiliary ships of Germany Weather ships Maritime incidents in November 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea