''Theresia L M Russ'' was a cargo ship that was built in 1927 by Neptun AG,

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

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 ...

for Ernst Russ. She was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for two years during 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 opposi ...

. In 1944, she was sunk by bombing at

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 ...

German occupied Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. The ship was raised and repaired in 1945. She was seized by the Allies at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and passed to the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

(MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Concrete''. In 1946, she was passed to the

Dutch Government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekk ...

and renamed ''Velsen''. She was sold into merchant service in 1947 and renamed ''Cronenburgh''. In 1955, she was sold to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and renamed ''Astor'' under

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

nian management. She served until scrapped in 1970.

Description

The ship was built in 1927 by

Neptun AG Neptun Werft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Rostock. Since 1997 it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Meyer Werft in Papenburg. History The company was founded as the "Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik von ...

, Rostock, as yard number 413. The ship was long, with a beam of a depth of . She had a GRT of 1,6964 and a NRT of 993. Her DWT was 2,658. The ship was propelled by a

triple expansion 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 ...

, which had two cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by AG Neptun. The engine was supplied with steam from two boilers with a total heating area of , operating at . The engine could propel her at .

History

''Theresia L M Russ'' was built for Ernst Russ, Hamburg. The Code Letters RGNK were allocated. She made her maiden voyage on 20 December 1927. On 26 July 1932, ''Theresa L M Russ'' rescued the 40 survivors from the

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the '' ...

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

schooner ''Niobe'', which had capsized off

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

in a

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

. In 1934, her Code Letters were changed to DHXN. On 14 August 1938, the French steamship struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

and sank south east of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. ''Theresia L M Russ'' rescued her crew of 14, who had taken to the

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

. They were landed at Gibraltar. On 9 April 1940, ''Theresia L M Russ'' was requisitioned at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

by the Kriegsmarine. She was returned to Ernst Russ on 29 April. On 15 August 1940, she was again requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine. On 9 December 1941, ''Theresia L M Russ'' was one of seven ships in a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

travelling from Kirkenes,

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

, Norway when the convoy was attacked by and was sunk. ''Theresia L M Russ'' was returned to her owners on 23 May 1942. She was damaged in an air raid on 26 February 1944 at

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. On 18 December 1944, ''Theresia L M Russ'' was sunk in a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

raid on Gotenhafen, German-occupied Poland. On 13 January 1945, she entered dry dock for repairs. ''Theresia L M Russ'' was seized by the Allies in May 1945 at Flensburg. She arrived at Methil, Fife on 4 July 1945. ''Theresia L M Russ'' was passed to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Concrete''. Her port of registry was

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The Code Letter GLOL and United Kingdom Official Number 180708 were allocated. She was operated under the management of Stockwood, Rees & Co Ltd. On 25 October 1946, ''Empire Concrete'' was transferred to the Dutch Government and renamed ''Velsen''. She was placed under the management of Wm Müller & Co NV,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. On 9 February 1947, ''Velsen'' was sold to Müllers and renamed ''Cronenburgh''. Her port of registry was changed to Rotterdam and the Code Letters PDMW were allocated. On 20 July 1948, ''Cronenburgh'' grounded on a voyage between Stockholm and

Mäntyluoto Mäntyluoto ( sv, Tallholmen) is a district in Pori, Finland. It is mostly industrial and harbour area, including the Mäntyluoto Harbour which is a part of the Port of Pori. Mäntyluoto is the terminus of the Tampere–Pori railway The Tampere� ...

. It was subsequently discovered that she was leaking and she was drydocked for repairs. In 1955, ''Cronenburgh'' was sold to U Gennari & Co,

. She was operated under the management of Compania de Navigation Caribbean Cargo Carriers SA,

and was renamed ''Astor''. When

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owne ...

s were introduced, ''Astor'' was allocated number 5102755. On 15 February 1970, ''Astor'' was on a voyage from Algiers to Oran when she suffered damage to her boilers. She was sold on 9 March 1970 to Industry Varie SJV, La Spezia,

and arrived there under tow. Scrapping commenced on 23 March 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theresia L M Russ 1927 ships Ships built in Rostock Steamships of Germany Merchant ships of Germany Maritime incidents in 1932 World War II merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Maritime incidents in December 1944 Maritime incidents in 1948 Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by British aircraft Steamships of the Netherlands Merchant ships of the Netherlands Steamships of Panama Merchant ships of Panama