''Carl Röver'' 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 ...

which 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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'', serving as V 209 ''Carl Röver'' and V 203 ''Carl Röver''. Severely damaged in the war, she was repaired post-war and re-engined. She served as the fishing trawler ''Essen'' and was later converted to 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 List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

. She served as ''Hans Peter'', ''Handsome'', ''Handsome I'', ''Walid'' and ''Samir'' under the flags of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, the United Kingdom, Panama and the Lebanon. She was lost in 1985.

Description

The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . 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 made by Deschimag Seebeckwerft,

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 ...

. It was rated at 112 nhp. The engine powered a single screw propeller driven via a geared low pressure turbine. It could propel the ship at . She was assessed at , .

History

The ship 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 ...

505 by Deschimag Seekbeckwerft, Wesermünde. She was launched in July 1933 and completed on 24 August. She was built for the Nordsee Deutsche Hochseefischerei Bremen-Cuxhaven AG. The ship was named for

Carl Röver Carl Georg Röver (12 February 188915 May 1942) was a German Nazi Party official. His main posts were as '' Gauleiter'' of Gau Weser-Ems and '' Reichsstatthalter'' of both Oldenburg and Bremen. Early years Röver was born in Lemwerder and ...

, a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' and party official. ''Carl Röver'' was one of the first two

s built by Bremenhaven-based shipbuilder Seebeckwerft after

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's rise to power, along with '' R. Walther Darré''. 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 ...

DNPM were allocated, as was the fishing boat registration ON 148. This was changed to PG 489 on 17 October 1934. ''Carl Röver'' took part in the '' Festungkriegsübung Swinemünde'' naval exercises on 10 June 1937. She was requisitioned by the

on 28 September 1939 for use as a '' Vorpostenboot''. She was allocated to 2 ''Vorpostenflottille'' as V 209 ''Carl Röver''. On 20 October, she was redesignated V 203 ''Carl Rover''. On 28 July 1942, ''Carl Röver'' and V 292 ''Hermann Bösch'' involved in a battle with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s , , 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 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. V 202 ''Hermann Bösch'' was sunk. ''Carl Röver'' was severely damaged. She was taken in to

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, France with her forecastle burnt out. Following repairs, she returned to service on 6 July 1943. On 13 July 1944, she was severely damaged in an engagement with and in which V 213 ''Claus Bolten'' and the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

were sunk. HMS ''Eskimo'' was severely damaged by gunfire from ''Carl Röver''. Due to damage received, ''Carl Röver'' was withdrawn from service in September 1944. ''Carl Röver'' was repaired in November 1945. She returned to merchant service in December as the fishing boat ''Essen'', registration BX343, under the ownership of the Nordsee Deutsche Hochseefischerei AG,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. In December 1955, ''Essen'' was sold to Gunter Trulsen,

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 ...

. He sold her to Peter Witthein, Heiligenstedten in March 1956. Witthein had her converted to a

and renamed ''Hans Peter''. The work was done by Hugo Peters,

Wewelsfleth Wewelsfleth is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north a ...

. Her steam engine and boilers were removed, with the latter sold to the Poseidon Line for use in their steamships.

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

continued to list her as a fishing trawler. She was now assessed at , . Her port of registry was

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9&nb ...

. She was now fitted with a

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

single action A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a tr ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

which had six cylinders of diameter by stroke. The engine was built by

Maschinenbau Kiel Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH was a German company that designed, manufactured and marketed marine diesel engines, diesel locomotives and tracked vehicles under the MaK brand name. The three primary operating divisions of Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH were s ...

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, West Germany. ''Hans Peter'' was chartered to the Poseidon Line and was mainly used for trade with Norway. ''Hans Peter'' suffered an engine failure in 1970 and was condemned. She was sold to M. K. Walsh,

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, United Kingdom, who had her repaired and renamed ''Handsome''. She was sold the next year to A. King & Sons Navigation Ltd., Panama and was renamed ''Handsome I''. She was sold to Chameleon Shipping Co. S.A., Panama in 1972. In 1979, ''Handsome I'' was sold to A. R. Hegazi Bureau d'Assistance Maritime Agence,

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon and was renamed ''Walid''. She was sold to Z. H. Abiyad, Beirut the next year and was renamed ''Samir''. She was lost or scrapped in 1985.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carl Röver 1933 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Fishing vessels of Germany Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Maritime incidents in July 1942 Maritime incidents in July 1944 Fishing vessels of West Germany Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Panama Merchant ships of Lebanon Maritime incidents in 1985