Fritz Homann (ship, 1930)
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The Fritz Homann was a German side trawler that was first used by the Navy during the Second World War as a weather observation ship and then as an outpost boat, after which it was used for fishing until 1955 under the German flag and finally under the Finnish flag until it was dismantled in 1985 .
construction
The 391 BRT presumptuous ship arrived in June 1930 work Seebeck the Deschimag in Wesermünde from the stack and was in August with the external identification PG 395 from the fishing shipping company Grundmann & Gröschel , Wesermünde, with home port Geestemünde put into service. It was 45.3 m long and 7.7 m wide and had a 3.8 m draft .
Navy service
With the navy's need for ocean-going, small ships, which grew rapidly after the start of the war, the ship was requisitioned in 1940 and, after appropriate modifications, put into service on March 1, 1940 as a weather observation ship with the designation WBS 3 . The crew consisted of 15 men and a small group of meteorological experts. WBS 3 was assigned to the Marine Group Command West (MGK West). Its first mission began on March 21 in Wilhelmshaven and led to the so-called Operation Area 1 , the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland , where it was together with Hinrich Freese ( WBS 4 ) and Adolf Vinnen ( WBS 5 ), who were also posted along the planned route Should support the breakout of the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis in the North Atlantic with weather information. The ship then observed and reported the traffic off the Norwegian coast at the beginning of April, immediately before and during the German invasion of Norway and disguised as a fishing vessel . After around 25 days at sea, the Fritz Homann returned to Wilhelmshaven in mid-April.
With the creation of the Marine Group Command North and the simultaneous change of command in the North Sea from MGK West to MGK North in August 1940, Fritz Homann came to the command area of MGK North. She was positioned in Operation Area 3 north of Jan Mayen . In October and November 1940, together with the WBS Hinrich Freese, she was involved in an attempt to set up a base for German seaplanes in either Maria-Musch-Bucht or Rakved-Bucht on Jan Mayen , which from there with reconnaissance and weather observation flights Should secure and support the breakthrough of the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer through the Denmark Strait into the Atlantic . The Fritz Homann , loaded with equipment and material for the planned base, entered Trondheim on October 25th and reached Jan Mayen on October 28th. The two Heinkel He 115s of Coastal Aviation Group 506 who were involved in the operation appeared the following day, but one of the two broke on landing in the heavy weather, the other was anchored in Maria Musch Bay during the night , irreparably damaged by a severe storm. The company was then canceled. The Fritz Homann was ordered to the sea area northeast of Iceland on the same day to monitor and report the weather for the Admiral Scheer and returned to Bergen on November 12th . The Hinrich Freese drove with the crews of the two damaged aircraft back to Trondheim on October 30th, where they arrived on November 5th.
As early as November 19, 1940, the Fritz Homann left Bergen to relocate via Trondheim to the area northeast of Iceland for weather monitoring. After 32 days at sea, she returned to Trondheim on December 21st. On December 31, 1941, Fritz Homann was given the new designation WBS 4 . In the further course of 1941 she provided regular weather observation service northeast of Iceland, alternating with other WBS.
In September 1941, Fritz Homann was involved in the Knospe company, the establishment of a weather station on northwest Spitzbergen . In coordination with the Hamburg Naval Weapons and Equipment Company , the North Marine Group Command dispatched the two weather observation ships Sachsen and Fritz Homann from Kiel to Spitsbergen on September 26, 1941 , loaded with radio systems, power units, sledges, timber, scientific equipment and personnel. The ships arrived on October 15, 1941, after a stopover in Tromsø from October 10 to 12, at the planned base in Signehamna Bay on the west side of Lilliehöökfjord. The station was fully operational on October 29th. On November 15, the two ships finally started their return voyage to avoid being trapped in the ice.
In August 1942, the Fritz Homann with the new designation V 5717 was assigned to the 57th outpost flotilla in Northern Norway, where she performed security and escort service until the end of the war.
post war period
The Fritz Homann drove to the end of the war again as a fishing trawler until 1955 under its old name and the German flag, then it was sold to Finland, where they named Saukko (5314717 IMO number) received and until its dismantling in 1985 in the fishing was used.
Notes and individual references
- ↑ a b http://maritime-connector.com/ship/saukko-5314717/
- ↑ PG = Prussia Geestemünde.
- ↑ After the Second World War the shipping company merged with the shipping company "Nordsee" Deutsche Hochseefischerei .
- ↑ a b c d http://www.warcovers.dk/greenland/wbs3_3.htm
- ↑ The crew was saved by the Hinrich Freese .
- ↑ http://www.warcovers.dk/greenland/wbs4_1.htm
- ↑ http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/km/vboote/vfl51-61.htm