''Germania'' was a German fishing trawler that 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 the Second World War 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 403 ''Germania'' and V 410 ''Germania''. She sank in the

Gironde Estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Gar ...

in August 1944.

Description

''Germania'' was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , . The ship was powered by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by

Howaldtswerke Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...

AG, Kiel, Germany and was rated at 79

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. It could propel the ship at .

History

''Germania'' was built as yard number 753 by Howaldtswerke AG, Kiel, Germany. She was launched on 11 July 1934 and completed on 4 August. She was built for N. Ebling Hochseefischerei, Bremerhaven, Germany. 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 ...

DOPX 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 ...

BX 248. On 17 September 1939, she was requisitioned by the

and commissioned with 4 ''Vorpostenflotille'' as the ''

'' V 403 ''Germania''. On 16 October 1939, she was redesignated V 410 ''Germania''. On 12 August 1942, she was attacked by

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

aircraft of

235 __NOTOC__ Year 235 ( CCXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Quintianus (or, less frequently, year 988 '' ...

and 248 Squadrons, Royal Air Force and set afire. ''Germania'' sank in the

with the loss of three of her crew.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germania 1934 ships Ships built in Kiel Fishing vessels of Germany Steamships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Maritime incidents in August 1944 Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay Ships sunk by British aircraft Ships sunk by Canadian aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean