German weather ship Sachsenwald
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Sachsenwald was a German weather ship
during the Second World War. She was built in 1939 as a commercial trawler and operated out of Cuxhaven, but was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine
after the outbreak of war and used as a weather ship under the designation Wetterbeobachtungsschiff 7.
was known to be. After sailing through heavy seas, and being briefly attacked by a Bristol Blenheim
with machine gun fire, she reached the debris field left after the sinking of Bismarck on 28 May. After several hours searching the field, which contained only bodies and debris, Sachsenwald communicated with two U-boat
s which were also searching the area. Finally, late in the night, they discovered a raft containing two survivors, and took them on board. They were Matrosengefreiter Walter Lorenzen, and Matrosengefreiter Otto Maus. Sachsenwald continued to search the area, recovering an empty raft from Bismarck but failed to find any more survivors. She briefly communicated with the Spanish cruiser Canarias
, which was also searching the area, before making for the French coast on 31 May, escorted by several patrol boats. She reached it without incident, discharging the survivors, and tying up at Bordeaux
on 1 June.
, named Vorpostenboot 414 (V-414) and was assigned to the 4th Outpost Flotilla (4. Vorpostenbootflotille) in the Bay of Biscay
and operating out of Bordeaux. In August 1944 she formed part of a seven-ship convoy, consisting of the Otto, Höheweg, V-414, M-263, M-486 and FT-3 which was carrying ammunition from St. Nazaire to La Pallice. They were intercepted early in the morning of 6 August by Force 26, which was carrying out Operation Kinetic. The taskforce, consisting of the cruiser , and the destroyers , , and , attacked the convoy, sinking six of the ships, including V-414. The wreck lies in 180 feet (54.9 m) of water.
Weather ship
A weather ship was a ship stationed in the ocean as a platform for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, reporting via radio...
during the Second World War. She was built in 1939 as a commercial trawler and operated out of Cuxhaven, but was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
after the outbreak of war and used as a weather ship under the designation Wetterbeobachtungsschiff 7.
Bismarck survivors
Sachsenwald was returning from a 50 day operational cruise in the Atlantic under her commander, W. Schutte, when she received orders on 27 May 1941 to move to the area where the BismarckGerman battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
was known to be. After sailing through heavy seas, and being briefly attacked by a Bristol Blenheim
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
with machine gun fire, she reached the debris field left after the sinking of Bismarck on 28 May. After several hours searching the field, which contained only bodies and debris, Sachsenwald communicated with two U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s which were also searching the area. Finally, late in the night, they discovered a raft containing two survivors, and took them on board. They were Matrosengefreiter Walter Lorenzen, and Matrosengefreiter Otto Maus. Sachsenwald continued to search the area, recovering an empty raft from Bismarck but failed to find any more survivors. She briefly communicated with the Spanish cruiser Canarias
Spanish cruiser Canarias
The Canarias was a heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in the United Kingdom and was a modified version of the Royal Navy's County class cruiser. She was built in Spain by the Vickers-Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval...
, which was also searching the area, before making for the French coast on 31 May, escorted by several patrol boats. She reached it without incident, discharging the survivors, and tying up at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
on 1 June.
Sinking
She was later designated a vorpostenbootVorpostenboot
Vorpostenboots were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars...
, named Vorpostenboot 414 (V-414) and was assigned to the 4th Outpost Flotilla (4. Vorpostenbootflotille) in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
and operating out of Bordeaux. In August 1944 she formed part of a seven-ship convoy, consisting of the Otto, Höheweg, V-414, M-263, M-486 and FT-3 which was carrying ammunition from St. Nazaire to La Pallice. They were intercepted early in the morning of 6 August by Force 26, which was carrying out Operation Kinetic. The taskforce, consisting of the cruiser , and the destroyers , , and , attacked the convoy, sinking six of the ships, including V-414. The wreck lies in 180 feet (54.9 m) of water.