German trawler V 621 Mars

History
Name	Mars
Owner	Dollart Heringfischerei (1937–39) Kriegsmarine (1939–44)
Port of registry	Emden, Germany (1939)   Kriegsmarine (1939–44)
Builder	Schulte & Bruns, Emden
Yard number	116
Launched	8 June 1937
Completed	7 August 1937
Commissioned	10 September 1939
Out of service	15 July 1944
Identification	Fishing boat registration AE 81 (1937–39) Code Letters DGLF (1937-44) Pennant Number M 1402 (1939–42) Pennant Number M 4415 (1942–43) Pennant Number V 621 (1944)
Fate	Burnt out in an air attack
General characteristics
Type	Fishing trawler (1937–39) Minesweeper (1939–43) Vorpostenboot (1944)
Tonnage	268  GRT, 124  NRT
Length	35.84 m (117 ft 7 in)
Beam	7.49 metres (24 ft 7 in)
Depth	3.28 m (10 ft 9 in)
Installed power	Diesel engine, 94nhp
Propulsion	Single screw propeller
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h)

Mars was a German fishing trawler which was built in 1937. She was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was used as a minesweeper under the pennant numbers M 1402 and M 4413, and later as the Vorpostenboot V 621 Mars. She was lost in an Allied air attack in July 1944.

Description

The ship was 35.84 m (117 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 7.49 metres (24 ft 7 in). She had a depth of 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in). She was assessed at 268  GRT, 124  NRT. She was powered by a diesel engine, which had 8 cylinders of 28 centimetres (11 in) diameter by 44.9 centimetres (17+11⁄16 in) stroke. The engine was built by Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG, Köln, Germany. It was rated at 94 nhp. It drove a single screw propeller. ^[1] It could propel the ship at 11 knots (20 km/h). ^[2]

History

Mars was built as yard number 116 by Schulte & Bruns, Emden, Germany. ^[2] She was launched on 8 June 1937 and completed on 7 August. She was owned by the Dollart Heringfischerei AG, Emden ^[3] Her port of registry was Emden. She was allocated the Code Letters DGLF, ^[1] and the fishing boat registration AE 91. ^[3]

On 10 September 1939, Mars was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine, serving with 14 Minensuchflotille as the minesweeper M 1402. On 12 April 1942, she was reallocated to 44 Minensuchflotille and her pennant number was changed to M 4413. On 1 January 1943, she was designated as a vorpostenboot . She was allocated to 6 Vorpostenflotille as V 621 Mars. On 15 July 1944, she was attacked off La Pallice, Charente-Inférieure, France by two Allied aircraft and set afire. She was beached on Belle Île, Morbihan, where she burnt out. Mars was a total loss. ^[3] V 624 Köln was severely damaged in the attack. ^[4]

References

1. "Mars(61047)" (PDF). Lloyd's Register: Trawlers &c. MAR (in English and French). London: Lloyd's Register. 1938–1939. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Southampton City Council.
2. Gröner 1993, p. 253.
3. Gröner 1993, p. 255.
4. Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard. "Seekrieg 1944, Juli". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 3 April 2024.

Sources

• Gröner, Erich (1993). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German). Vol. 8/I: Flußfahrzeuge, Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände (Teil 1). Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN   3-7637-4807-5.