''Rhineland'' was a

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that

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 18 ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

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 ...

built in 1938 for Argo Line,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 1939, and served as VP-101 ''Schwan'', ''Sperrbrecher 31'' and ''Sperrbrecher 131''. She served post-war with the

German Mine Sweeping Administration The German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) was an organisation formed by the Allies from former crews and vessels of the Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' for the purpose of mine sweeping after the Second World War, predominantly in the North Se ...

before being declared a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

and passed to British owners. She was renamed ''Weltonwold'' in 1948 and then ''Rhineland'' in 1949. She was sold to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n owners in 1956 and renamed ''Herrisbrook''. She was renamed ''Inyoni'' in 1957 and scrapped in 1962.

Sister ships

''Schwan'' was one of a series of

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s that Argo Line had built in the late 1930s. In 1936 Howaldtswerke built ''Fasan'' ("Pheasant") and

Nordseewerke Nordseewerke Emden GmbH (sometimes abbreviated NSWE, in English: North Sea Company) was a shipbuilding company, located in the Emden Harbor of the north German city of Emden. Founded in 1903, shipbuilding ended in 2010, and the company was taken ...

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

built ''Möwe'' ("Seagull"). In 1938 Nordseewerke built ''Habicht'' ("Hawk"), Howardtswerke built ''Schwan'' ("Swan") and Lübecker Maschinenbau Gesellschaft built '' Adler'' ("Eagle").

Description

''Schwan''s registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ref ...

s were and . Like most of her sisters, ''Schwan'' was propelled by a two-cylinder

compound 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 ...

plus a Bauer-Wach exhaust

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

. The reciprocating engine had a stroke of . Its high-pressure cylinder had a bore of and its low-pressure cylinder had a bore of . The exhaust turbine was coupled to the propeller shaft via an hydraulic coupling and double reduction gearing.

Deschimag 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 in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in 1 ...

, Germany built her engines. Her combined reciprocating and turbine machinery was rated at 222

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 ...

History

, Germany, built ''Schwan'' for Argo Line, Bremen. Argo Line registered her in Bremen. Her

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

was DOUN. On 12 September 1939 she was commissioned into the

as the ''

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 ...

'' VP-101 ''Schwan'', serving with 1 ''Vorpostenbootflottille''. On 1 October 1940, she was transferred to 3 ''Sperrbrecherflottille'' and renamed ''Sperrbrecher 31''. The ship swept for British

magnetic mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

s through the

Great Belt The Great Belt ( da, Storebælt, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Be ...

ahead of the and her escorts at the beginning of her sortie into the Atlantic in May 1941 (

Operation Rheinübung Operation Rheinübung ("Exercise Rhine") was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation to block Allies of World War II, Allied shipping to the United ...

).Groos, pp. 114–115; Rohwer, p. 74 She was renamed ''Sperrbrecher 131'' on 15 July. Post-war, she served with the

. In 1947 ''Sperrbrecher 131'' was declared a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

and passed to the UK. Laid up, she was sold to Atkinson & Pritchett, Hull,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and renamed ''Weltonwold'' in December 1948, remaining laid up. Although reported as destroyed by a fire in 1949, she was repaired. She was sold to Currie Line,

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

in 1949 and renamed ''Rhineland''. In 1956, ''Rhineland'' was sold to Smiths Coasters Pty Ltd,

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa and was renamed ''Herrisbrook''. She was renamed ''Inyoni'' in 1957. Her South African call sign was ZTML. She was scrapped at Durban in August 1962.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhineland 1938 ships Ships built in Kiel Merchant ships of Germany Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Minesweepers of the Kriegsmarine Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1949 Steamships of South Africa Merchant ships of South Africa