The ''Usaramo'' was the first German passenger ship built after

World War 1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and named after a location in the central highlands of German East Africa (now

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

). She had a crew of 107, could carry 264 passengers and was powered by steam turbine. Her building number was 389 and her home port was Hamburg. Her sister ships were the ''

Ussukuma The ''Ussukuma'' was a German passenger ship named after a location in the central highlands of German East Africa (now Tanzania). On 6 December 1939, only a few months into the Second World War, she was Scuttling, scuttled off the coast of Arge ...

'' of the ''

Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie (''German East Africa Line'') was a shipping line, established in 1890 as an alternative to the existing shipping services to East Africa, including German East Africa (1891–1919), then dominated by United Kingdom ...

'' and the '' Wangoni'' of the

Woermann-Linie The Woermann-Linie was a German shipping company that operated from 1885 to 1942. History It was founded on 15 June 1885 by Adolph Woermann and developed as one of the leading shipping companies between Europe and Africa. From 1899 the company ...

. She was launched in 1920 at the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

shipyard of Blohm + Voss and entered service with the

the following year. On 6 August 1936, 18 days after the start of the

Spanish civil war The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, the ''Usaramo'' arrived at Cadiz on a secret mission, with a load of 16 aircraft, including a single Ju 87 A-0 (the V4 prototype) with allocated serial number 29-1 that was assigned to the VJ/88, the experimental Staffel of the

Condor Legion The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...

's fighter wing; along with 30

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

guns, ammunition and supplies that were hurriedly carried by train to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. In 1938, Austrian author Franziska Tausig acquired two tickets for the ''Usaramo'', a ship that was supposed to be scrapped in Japan, which transported Jews to Shanghai on the way. In October 1940, she was requisitioned by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' and apparently used as an

accommodation ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

. On 10 December 1940 the ship was bombed and sunk at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, was refloated but sunk again on 25 August 1944 during an airstrike in the Gironde estuary. The ship was lifted and scrapped after the end of the war.Claus Rothe, p. 47

Bibliography

* Arnold Kludas: ''Die Schiffe der deutschen Afrika-Linien 1880 bis 1945''. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, 1975, * Claus Rothe: ''Deutsche Ozean-Passagierschiffe 1919 bis 1985''. Steiger Verlag, 1987,

External links

*
TS Usaramo Deutsche Ostafrika-Linie

Sixtant WAR II IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC Usaramo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usaramo 1920 ships Ships built in Hamburg World War II auxiliary ships of Germany Passenger ships of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1936 in Spain Spanish Civil War