Germania (ship, 1869)

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Germania
Contemporary representation of Germania
Contemporary representation of Germania
Ship data
flag German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire
Ship type Auxiliary schooner
Owner August Petermann
Shipyard Joh. C. Tecklenborg , Geestemünde
building-costs 18,000 thalers
Launch April 16, 1869
Whereabouts Stranding
Ship dimensions and crew
length
30.48 m ( Lüa )
width 6.86 m
Draft Max. 3.05 m
displacement 165  t
 
crew 14th
Machine system
machine 1 × steam engine
Machine
performance
30 HP (22 kW)
propeller 1

The Germania was a North German research ship that served as the main ship in the Second German North Pole Expedition in 1869/70 .

history

Departure of the ships Germania and Hansa from Bremerhaven

The Germania was specially constructed in 1869 at the Tecklenborg shipyard in Geestemünde for the second German polar expedition and was particularly ice-proof. In addition to a special outer skin (spiked skin), which was also covered with sheet iron , the bow was constructed particularly solidly, which gave the schooner a beefy appearance.

The owner was the geographer August Petermann . On May 27, 1869, the ship was entered in the shipping register, and shortly afterwards the first test voyage to Nordenham took place on the Weser . Captain was Carl Koldewey , who already at the first German North Pole expedition to Greenland led. First officer was Heinrich Sengstacke from Bremen, who was shipwrecked as captain of the Nordenskiöld off Hokkaido in 1879 when he drove towards Vega , which had meanwhile been believed to have been lost , and with which Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was the first to cross the Northeast Passage .

On June 15, the Germania set out for the expedition together with the Hansa from Bremerhaven and reached the ice border in July. In the autumn / winter of 1869 the schooner was in Greenland . The Germania , which was temporarily enclosed by the ice, reached the 77 ° north latitude, while the Hansa became a wreck due to an ice break and sank. One of the most important research results of the trip was that it was now proven that the North Pole could not be reached by sea.

On her return voyage from Greenland, Germania did not call at land, nor were any ships encountering contacted. The ship's command was not informed of the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and the naval blockade of the German North Sea coast by a French armored ship squadron off the British island of Heligoland . The Germania unconsciously broke through the blockade line on September 8, 1870, but had to find out before Bremerhaven that there were no sea marks. The ship's command suspected that these had been torn loose by bad weather, in fact they had been removed by the shipping authorities for safety reasons (to mislead the French). The Germania therefore headed for Wilhelmshaven , which was secured by the German Navy with sea ​​mines . As if by a miracle, Germania did not run into a mine and was received with great cheers in the Jade City . On September 11, 1870, she returned to Bremerhaven.

In 1871 another trip to Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya took place . In 1872 the engine was removed and the schooner used as a merchant ship. In 1882 she was used again for scientific purposes and then sold to Great Britain in 1884 , where she was used as a whaler . It is not known whether it was renamed. On October 2, 1891, the schooner was lost in a hurricane due to stranding .

literature

  • Association for the German North Pole Tour in Bremen: The second German North Pole Tour in 1869 and 1870 under the leadership of Captain Karl Koldewey . 1.1: Narrative part. [Joint voyage of the two ships and voyage of the Hansa. History of the discovery of East Greenland], FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1873 ( digitized version ).
  • Association for the German North Pole Tour in Bremen: The second German North Pole Tour in 1869 and 1870 under the leadership of Captain Karl Koldewey . 1,2: Narrative part. [Journey of Germania], FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1874 ( digitized version ).
  • Lars Schmitz-Eggen : Lost in the pack ice. The 2nd German North Pole Expedition 1869/70 , Norderstedt 2007. ISBN 978-3-8334-6877-3 .
  • Oldenburger Zeitung ( Oldenburg ) from September 17, 1870.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Ernst Behm : The stranding of the steamer "AE Nordenskiöld" . In: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen . Volume 26, 1880, pp. 64-66 .