SS ''Deutschland''Sometimes called ''Deutschland IV'' to distinguish from others of the name was a 21,046 gross registered ton (GRT) German

HAPAG The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

which was sunk in a British air attack on May 3, 1945 when it was in the process of being converted as a hospital ship. All people on board the ''Deutschland'' survived the attack, though two accompanying vessels sank with great loss of life.

Commissioning

One of a group of four ships that included the SS ''Albert Ballin'', SS ''Hamburg'', and SS ''New York'', the ''Deutschland'' was launched on 28 April 1923. She began her maiden voyage on 27 March 1924, to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and then on to New York City. The turbine-powered ship had a speed of 14.5 knots; she was later re-engined with larger-geared turbines in 1929, with service speed increased to 19 knots. This gave the ship a seven-day passage across the Atlantic. On 11 November 1933, ''Deutschland'' collided with the American

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 ...

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. ''Munargo'' suffered severe damage and was beached north of

Bedloe's Island Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was dedicated in ...

, but was refloated on 18 November 1933.

Second World War

In 1940, ''Deutschland'' became an accommodation ship for the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

Gotenhafen Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

. In 1945, on seven Baltic voyages as part of

Operation Hannibal Operation Hannibal was a German naval operation involving the evacuation by sea of German troops and civilians from the Courland Pocket, East Prussia, West Prussia and Pomerania from mid-January to May 1945 as the Red Army advanced during the ...

, she carried 70,000 refugees from the German eastern territories to the west.

Sinking

In April 1945, she began being converted into a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

. An attempt was made to paint the vessel white, but there was only sufficient paint available to paint her funnels white, and to paint a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

on one side of one of her funnels. Subsequently, on 3 May 1945, she was attacked by British RAF squadrons three times, and capsized and sank in the

Bay of Lübeck The Bay of Lübeck (, ) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein. It forms the southwestern part of the Bay of Mecklenburg. The main port is Travemünde, a bor ...

off Neustadt, but everyone aboard survived. A fourth British air attack that day sank the SS ''Cap Arcona'' and the '' Thielbek'', with great loss of life.Heinz Schön: ''Die Cap Arcona-Katastrophe. Eine Dokumentation nach Augenzeugen-Berichten''. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ." In 1949, the wreck was raised and scrapped.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deutschland (1923) Ships of the Hamburg America Line Cruise ships of Germany Maritime incidents in 1933 Hospital ships in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea Military scandals Maritime incidents in May 1945 Troop ships of Germany Steamships of Germany The Holocaust Deportation 1945 in Germany 1923 ships Ships built in Hamburg Ships sunk by British aircraft Ships sunk with no fatalities

Commissioning

Second World War

Sinking

See also

Footnotes

References