SS Arsterturm (1944)

Last updated
History
Name:Arsterturm
Owner: Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa
Operator: Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa
Port of registry: Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Bremen, Germany
Builder: Deutsche Werft
Yard number: 447
Launched: 13 September 1944
Completed: 31 October 1944
Out of service: 26 February 1945
Identification:
  • Code Letters DOYO
  • ICS Delta.svg ICS Oscar.svg ICS Yankee.svg ICS Oscar.svg
Fate: Bombed, torpedoed and sunk
General characteristics
Class and type: Hansa A type Cargo ship
Tonnage: 1,923  GRT, 9,350  NRT, 3,200  DWT
Length: 85.22 m (279 ft 7 in)
Beam: 13.51 m (44 ft 4 in)
Draught: 5.69 m (18 ft 8 in)
Depth: 4.62 m (15 ft 2 in)
Installed power: Compound steam engine, 1,200IHP
Propulsion: Single screw propeller
Speed: 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h)
Crew: 25, plus 8-10 flak soldiers

Arsterturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built in 1944 Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen. She was bombed and sunk on 26 February 1945.

Contents

Description

The ship was 85.22 m (279 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 13.51 m (44 ft 4 in). She had a depth of 4.62 m (15 ft 2 in), and a draught of 5.69 m (18 ft 8 in). She was assessed as 1,923  GRT, 930  NRT, 3,200  DWT. [1]

The ship was propelled by a compound steam engine. The engine was built by Rheinmetall-Börsig AG, Görlitz Rated at 1,200IHP, [2] it drove a single screw propeller and could propel the ship at 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h). [1] The ship had a crew of 25, plus 8 to 10 flak soldiers. It was equipped with 1×30-tonne crane, 1×10-tonne crane and 10×5 tonne cranes. [2]

History

Arsterturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship built in 1944 as yard number 447 by Deutsche Werft, Finkenwerder, Germany for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen. She was launched on 13 September 1944 and completed on 31 October. [1] Her port of registry was Bremen and the Code Letters DOYO were allocated. [2] She participated in the evacuation of the Ostgebiete in December 1944.

On 26 February 1945, Arsterturm was bombed, torpedoed and sunk by Allied aircraft south of Kristiansund, Norway with the loss of 31 of her crew. She was on a voyage from Swinemünde to Tromsø, Norway with a cargo of ammunition. [2]

Related Research Articles

AG Weser shipbuilding company

Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ships of different types, including many warships. A.G. „Weser" was the leading company in the Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, a cooperation of eight German shipbuilding companies between 1926 and 1945.

Admiral Ushakov was a 7,838 GRT cargo liner that was built in 1939 as Neidenfels by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen, Germany for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa", Bremen. She was seized in May 1945 by the British at Eckernförde, Germany, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Dee. In 1946, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and renamed Admiral Ushakov. She served until 1975, when she was scrapped at Split, Yugoslavia.

Lowland was a 1,923 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1944 as Kattenturm by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Eden. In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Lowland. A sale to a Bermudan owner in 1959 saw her renamed Mary Enid. She was sold to a Greek owner in 1963 and renamed Stelianos and then Marynik following another sale in 1964. In 1967, she was sold to Hong Kong and renamed Euphipides, serving until she was scrapped in 1969.

SS <i>Eleni</i> (1947)

Eleni was a 6,112 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1947 by Lübecker Flenderwerke AG, Lübeck, Germany. She had been laid down as Greifswald for Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was captured uncompleted in May 1945 and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), being completed in 1948 as Empire Ely. In 1954, she was sold to a Liberian company and renamed Maribella. A sale in 1955 to West Germany saw her renamed Ganges. In 1959, she was sold to Greece and renamed Eleni, serving until she was involved in a collision in 1971. She was declared to be beyond economic and scrapped in April 1972.

SS <i>Wairuna</i>

SS Wairuna, originally called D/S Schneefels, then SS Gibraltar and SS Polescar, was a cargo steamship that was launched in Germany in 1913. She had a varied career spanning three decades under successive German, British and New Zealand owners before being scuttled in the North Atlantic in 1945.

Arsterturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Betzdorf in 1945 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Unternehmen der Eisenstahlindustrie, Bremen. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gaffer. Sold in 1947, renamed Baltrader then Baltic Fir in 1952, she was sold to West Germany in 1956, rebuilt and renamed Arsterturm. She was sold in 1969 to India and renamed Unigoolnar. A further sale in 1976 saw her renamed Sudarsan Shakti, serving until 1981 when she was scrapped.

Podolsk was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Weserstrand in 1944 by NV Nederland Scheepvaart Maatschappij, Amsterdam, Netherlands for Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gala. She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946, she was renamed Podolsk. She served until 1948 when she ran aground in the Yangtze and sank

Smolensk was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Günther in 1944 by Neptun AG, Rostock, Germany for Hamburg South Amerika Line. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Galashiels. She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946, she was renamed Smolensk. She served until 1976 when she was scrapped.

Fortune was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Weserstrom in 1944 by J Cockerill SA, Antwerp, Belgium for Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Galena. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed Albatross. She was sold in 1958 to South Africa and renamed Port Capetown. A further sale in 1959 saw her renamed Frontier. She was sold to Hong Kong in 1966 and was renamed Fortune. She served until 1968 when she was scrapped.

SS <i>Fairwood</i> Hansa A Type cargo ship

Fairwood was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Celia in 1943 by Lübecker Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft, Lübeck, Germany for A. Kirsten, Hamburg, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gallant. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed Richard Borchard. She was sold in 1960 to West Germany and was renamed Fairwood. She served until 1963 when she was scrapped.

Anglia was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Weserberg in 1944 by P Smit, Rotterdam, Netherlands for Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gallery. She was sold to Singapore in 1947 and renamed Kampar. She was sold in 1957 to Greece and renamed Anglia before being sold the next year to Panama. She served until 1974 when she was scrapped.

Palmyra was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Fangturm in 1944 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Hansa Line, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gallop. She was sold in 1947 and renamed Baltonia, the Baltic Oak in 1953. She was sold to West Germany in 1957 and renamed Palmyra. She served until 1962, when she was sunk in a collision with another ship.

SS <i>Volochaevsk</i> German, and later Soviet cargo ship

Volochaevsk was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Weserwald in 1943 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Norddeutsche Lloyd, Hamburg. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Galveston. She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 and was renamed Volochaevsk. She served until 1973, when she was scrapped.

Pagenturm was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Schauenberg in 1944 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for H Schuldt, Hamburg. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Galway. She was allocated to Belgium in 1946 and was renamed Kinshasha. She was sold to Norway in 1951 and renamed Anne Reed. Sold to West Germany in 1956, she was rebuilt and renamed Pagenturm. She served until 1964, when she was scrapped.

Aghia Thallassini was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Brünhilde in 1943 by C. Van der Giessen & Zonen's Scheepswerfen NV, Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands for Hamburg-Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft, Hamburg, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Game. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed Canford. Sold to West Germany in 1956, she was rebuilt and renamed Fangturm. She was sold to the Lebanon in 1961 and was renamed Panaghia Lourion. She was sold in 1967 to Greece and was renamed Aghia Thassalini. Sold to Cyprus in 1970, she served until 1973, when she was scrapped.

Olsztyn was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Imkenturm in 1944 by Werf de Npord, Alblasserdam, Netherlands for Deutsche Dampfschifffarts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gantry. She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 and was renamed Feodosia. Sold to Poland in 1947, she was renamed Olsztyn. She served until 1972, when she was scrapped.

Auriga was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Adamsturm in 1944 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany for Deutsche Dampfschifffarts-Gesellschaft Hansa, Bremen Germamy. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Gantry. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed Baltanglia. She was renamed Baltic Pine in 1952. Sold to Greece in 1954, and renamed Germania, she was declared a constructive total loss following a collision in 1955. Sold to Germany, she was repaired and renamed Auriga. She served until 1965, when she was scrapped.

Filio was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Njong in 1944 by Stettiner Vulkan Werft AG, Stettin, Germany for Deutsche Afrika-Linien, Hamburg Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Garland. She was sold in 1946 and was renamed Sheldrake. She was sold to Liberia in 1959 and renamed Salamstar. Sold to Greece in 1960 and renamed Ambelos. She was sold in 1961 and renamed Marmina. A final sale in 1968 saw hre renamed Filio. She served until 1972, when she was scrapped.

Aghios Nectarios was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Kalliope in 1944 by NV Koninklijk Maatschappij de Schelde, Vlissingen, Netherlands for Neptun Line, Bremen, Germany. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Garrison. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed Bengore Head. She was sold to Greece in 1967 and renamed Aghios Nectarios. following a sale to Cyprus in 1971, she served until 1974, when she was scrapped.

Salamanca was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as Äolus in 1944 by J Cockerill SA, Hoboken, Belgium for Netptun Line, Hamburg. She was seized as a prize of war in 1945, passing to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Witham. She was sold to Hong Kong in 1948 and was renamed Choysang. A further sale in 1861 saw her renamed Milford. She was sold to Panama in 1967 and was renamed Salamanca. She was scrapped in 1971.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ARSTERTURM (Ty.)" (in Danish). J Marcussen. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "D/S Arsterturm (DOYO) 1944-45" (in German). DDG Hansa. Retrieved 3 September 2020.