''Sneland I'' (

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

for “snowland one”) was 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 ...

which was built by ''Nüscke & Co.'' shipyard at Stettin-Grabow (then

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 ...

) in 1922. She was the last merchant ship to be torpedoed by

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 ...

, on 7 May 1945, one day before

German surrender The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the "Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capit ...

History

The ship was built for the German shipping line Stange & Dreyer GmbH in 1922 and got the name ''

Ingeborg Ingeborg is a Germanic feminine given name, mostly used in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, derived from Old Norse ''Ingiborg, Ingibjǫrg'', combining the theonym ''Ing'' with the element ''borg'' "stronghold, protection". Ingebjørg is the No ...

''. Three years later, in 1925, it was sold to the

shipping company ''Richard Amlie & Sverre Amlie (Amlie & Amlie)'' in

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

, and renamed ''Sneland I''. On 6 May 1945 the ship was a member of Convoy EN 491, which departed Hull bound for

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

via

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

. On 7 May 1945, the convoy was attacked by and two ships were sunk, ''Sneland I'' and , which became the last merchant ships to be sunk by a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

during the Second World War. The sinking, at about 22:45 on 7 May 1945, was in the last hours of the Second World War in Europe, with the official surrender taking place at 23:01 on 8 May 1945. ''Sneland I'' sank at . Seven of the 29 crew were lost. A signal had been sent to the U-boats on 4 May 1945 ordering them to surrender but ''U-2336'' did not receive the signal.Eberhard Rössler: ''U-Boottyp XXIII.'' 2nd extended edition, Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2002, , pp. 109–112, (German).

External links

Image
of ''Sneland I''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneland I 1922 ships Ships of Nortraship Steamships of Norway World War II merchant ships of Norway Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea Maritime incidents in May 1945

History

See also

External links

References