''Hermann Bösch'' was a German

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

that was requisitioned by the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 military branch, branche ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for use as a ''

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 ...

'', serving as V 205 ''Hermann Bösch'' and V 202 ''Hermann Bösch''. She was shelled and sunk in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

off

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

, France by and on 28 July 1942.

Description

''Hermann Bösch'' was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was assessed at , . She was powered 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 heat ...

which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Deschimag Seebeck,

Wesermünde Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the city-state of Bremen. The River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Bremerhaven was founded in 1827 as ...

and was rated at 96

nominal horsepower 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 th ...

. It drove a single screw propeller via a low-pressure turbine, double reduction gearing and a hydraulic coupling.

History

''Hermann Bösch'' was built as

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

592 by Deschimag, Wesermünde. She was launched in October 1937 and completed on 24 November. She was built for C. C. H. Bösch. She was completed by Deschimag Seebeck, Wesermünde. Her port of registry was

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

. 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. Later, with the introduction of ...

DOTK and

fishing boat registration Port letter and number (PLN) is a code identifying fishing vessels and other boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, ...

BX 261 were allocated. On 30 September 1939, ''Hermann Bösch'' was requisitioned by the

and commissioned as the ''

'' V 205 ''Hermann Bösch''. She was redesignated V 202 ''Hermann Bösch'' on 20 October. On 9 September 1941, she assisted V 208 ''R. Walther Darré'' in rescued the crew of the

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 List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

, which had been

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

ed and sunk off

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

, France by the Motor Torpedo Boat ''MTB 54''. On 28 July 1942, she was shelled and sunk in the

off

, France by , , and two

motor gun boat The motor gunboat (MGB) was a small, high-speed British military vessel of the Second World War, which was armed with a mix of guns, in contrast to the physically similar motor torpedo boat (MTB), whose main offensive weapon were torpedoes. ...

s. Her captain survived, but 34 crew were killed. ''Vorpostenboot'' V 203 ''Carl Röver'' was damaged beyond repair in the same engagement.

References

;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermann Bösch 1937 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Steamships of Germany Fishing vessels of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Maritime incidents in July 1942 World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel