''Walter L M Russ'' 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 ...

built in 1927 in Rostock, Germany. In 1945, she was seized by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). It was intended that she would be renamed ''Empire Concourse'' but in July 1945 she ran aground between Wales and Ireland, and was wrecked.

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, Germany. The ship was long, with a beam of a depth of . She had a GRT of 1,538 and a NRT of 890. The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had two cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by AG Neptun.

History

''Walter L M Russ'' was built for Ernst Russ, Hamburg. The

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

RGJK were allocated. In 1934, her Code Letters were changed to DHZG. On 2 March 1936, she was in collision with the German

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Condor'' in the

Kaiser Wilhelm Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the ...

. The schooner sank. ''Walter L M Russ'' was seized by the Allies in May 1945 at Schleswig in Germany and was passed to the British MoWT. It was intended that she would be renamed ''Empire Concourse'', but on 15 July 1945 she ran aground at

Grassholm Grassholm ( cy, Gwales or ) or Grassholm Island is a small uninhabited island situated off the southwestern Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, lying west of Skomer, in the community of Marloes and St Brides. It is the westernmost point in Wales ot ...

St George's Channel St George's Channel ( cy, Sianel San Siôr, ga, Muir Bhreatan) is a sea channel connecting the Irish Sea to the north and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. Historically, the name "St George's Channel" was used interchangeably with "Irish Sea" ...

and was wrecked. Nine crew were rescued by the

Angle Lifeboat Angle ( cy, Angl) is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community on the southern side of the entrance to the Milford Haven Waterway in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village school has closed, as have one of the two pubs, the General store, vil ...

, the ''Elizabeth Elson''. James Watkins, the lifeboat's Coxwain, was awarded a RNLI Bronze Medal for his part in the rescue. ''Walter L M Russ'' lies in of water and the site is occasionally used for recreational diving.

References

External links

Photograph of ''Walter L M Russ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter L M Russ 1927 ships Ships built in Rostock Steamships of Germany Merchant ships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in July 1945 Shipwrecks in the Bristol Channel Wreck diving sites in Wales 1945 in Wales