MS Seattle

For other ships with the same name, see Seattle (disambiguation) § Ships.

German cargo ship sunk in 1940

Seattle at anchor in 1933

History
Germany
Name| Seattle
Namesake| Seattle
Owner| Hamburg America Line
Port of registry| Hamburg
Route| Hamburg – Vancouver
Builder| Deutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number| 104
Launched| 28 March 1928
Completed| 7 June 1928
Identification|

* 1928: code letters RGTD
*   * 1934: call sign DIFA

Fate| sunk 1940
General characteristics
Type| cargo liner
Tonnage| 7,369 GRT, 4,355 NRT, 9,773 DWT
Length| 461.6 ft (140.7 m)
Beam| 61.6 ft (18.8 m)
Depth| 27.7 ft (8.4 m)
Decks| 2
Installed power| 1,845 NHP
Propulsion|

* 1 × two-stroke diesel engine
* 1 × screw

Speed| 13 knots (24 km/h)
Capacity| 88,200 cubic feet (2,498 m3) refrigerated
Crew| 57
Sensors &
processing systems|

* submarine signalling
* by 1930: wireless direction finding

Notes| sister ship: Portland

MS Seattle was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) cargo liner that was launched in 1928. Her regular route was between Hamburg and Vancouver via the Panama Canal and the West Coast of the United States.

She spent the first six months of the Second World War sheltering in the Netherlands Antilles. She then tried to reach Germany via the Norwegian Sea, but ran into the first day of the German invasion of Norway and was sunk. Her wreck is now a popular but hazardous wreck diving site.

## Building

[edit]

In June 1928 HAPAG took delivery of a pair of new motor ships for its Hamburg – Vancouver route. Deutsche Werft in Hamburg launched Seattle on 28 March 1928 and completed her on 7 June. Bremer Vulkan in Bremen launched her sister ship Portland on 19 April 1928 and completed her on 30 June.[1]

Seattle's registered length was 461.6 ft (140.7 m), her beam was 61.6 ft (18.8 m) and her depth was 27.7 ft (8.4 m). Her tonnages were 7,369 GRT, 4,355 NRT,[2] and 9,773 DWT. 88,200 cubic feet (2,498 m3) of her cargo space was refrigerated.[3]

Seattle had a single screw, driven by an MAN seven-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine. It was rated at 1,845 NHP[2] and gave her a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h).[4]

## Career

[edit]

HAPAG registered Seattle at Hamburg. Her code letters were RGTD. Her navigation equipment included submarine signalling.[2] By 1930 it also included wireless direction finding.[5] By 1934 her wireless telegraph call sign was DIFA, and this had superseded her code letters.[6]

Seattle's regular route was between Hamburg and Vancouver. Regular ports of call on the route were Bremen, Antwerp, Curaçao, Cristóbal, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tacoma.[7] HAPAG advertised that a voyage from Vancouver to Hamburg took about 26 days.

## Loss

[edit]

Advertisement for cabin class and third class travel on HAPAG's Vancouver – Hamburg route

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In August 1939, shortly before the Invasion of Poland, Germany ordered its merchant ships to either return to a German port or seek refuge in a neutral port as soon as possible. Seattle was returning from Tacoma, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, so on 29 August she put in to Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. At first she and a number of other German ships were in port in Willemstad, but then the Dutch authorities made them move 4 nautical miles (8 km) up the coast to St Michael's Bay. Allied warships picketed outside Dutch territorial waters to prevent the German ships' escape.

On 4 March 1940 Seattle and another German motor ship, H. C. Horn's Mimi Horn, left St Michael's Bay undetected. They headed north to try to reach German waters via the Norwegian Sea. On 28 March the armed merchant cruiser HMS Transylvania intercepted Mimi Horn in the Denmark Strait. The German crew scuttled their ship to prevent her being captured as a prize.[8]

Seattle evaded Allied patrols, and on 31 March reached Tromsø in northern Norway. Royal Norwegian Navy destroyers escorted her southward through Norwegian coastal waters. HNoMS Draug took her as far as Stavanger, where HNoMS Gyller took over. On the evening of 8 April Gyller instructed Seattle to anchor off the islet of Oksøy, off Kristiansand in the southernmost part of Norway.

One of Seattle's anchors, preserved on Odderøya

Early the next morning Germany invaded Norway. As Seattle got underway, she sighted warships. Her Master assumed they were Allied, so he turned Seattle back toward Kristiansand. In fact they were Gruppe 4 of the German invasion force, led by the German cruiser Karlsruhe.

The garrison of the Norwegian coastal defence fortress on Odderøya opened fire on Seattle with its 150-millimetre (5.9 in) guns, setting her on fire. Her crew abandoned ship, and the Norwegians took them prisoner. Gruppe 4 captured Kristiansand, and on 10 April freed Seattle's crew. Seattle drifted, still burning, until 13 April, when she sank at position 58°2′19.6″N 8°1′25.4″E﻿ / ﻿58.038778°N 8.023722°E﻿ / 58.038778; 8.023722 .[9]

## The wreck

[edit]

Seattle's wreck lies at a depth of 25 to 72 metres (82 to 236 ft). It was found in 1988,[10] and is listed by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.[11] Large numbers of sea squirts, sponges, and cnidaria such as dead man's fingers have colonised it, along with fish and starfish. It is popular with divers, but it is hazardous, and there have been several fatal accidents.[12] Divers are encouraged to view the wreck from outside, and not to go inside it.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kludas 1989, p. 192.
2. ^ a b c Lloyd's Register 1928, SEA–SEB.
3. ^ Lloyd's Register 1930a, List of vessels fitted with refrigerating appliances.
4. ^ Haws 1980, p. 158.
5. ^ Lloyd's Register 1930b, SEA–SEC.
6. ^ Lloyd's Register 1934, SEA–SEB.
7. ^ Larrson, Björn (24 June 2019). "Hamburg–American Line". marine timetable images. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
8. ^ Allen, Tony; Lettens, Jan. "MV Mimi Horn (IV) (+1940)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
9. ^ "DS Seattle". Teknisk Dykking (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
10. ^ "MS Seattle". OneOcean dive resort. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
11. ^ "Seattle, Shipwreck (139365-1)" (in Norwegian). Kulturminnesøk.
12. ^ "Seattle". Dykkepedia (in Norwegian).
13. ^ "Scuba diving and snorkeling". Visit Norway. Innovation Norway. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Haws, Duncan (1980). The Ships of the Hamburg America, Adler and Carr Lines. Merchant Fleets in Profile. Vol. 4\. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-397-2.
* Kludas, Arnold (1989). Vernichtung und Wiedergeburt 1914 bis 1930. Die Geschichte der deutschen Passagierschiffahrt (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg: Ernst Kabel Verlag. ISBN 978-3822500408.
* Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Vol. II.–Steamers and Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1928 – via Internet Archive.
* Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). Vol. I.–Steamers and Motorships under 300 tons. Traslwers, tugs, dredgers, &c. Sailing Vessels. Shipowners, &c. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1930 – via Southampton City Council.
* Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). Vol. II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1930 – via Southampton City Council.
* Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). Vol. II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1934 – via Southampton City Council.

* v
* t
* e

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1940

Shipwrecks|

* 6 Apr: U-1, U-50
* 8 Apr: HMS Glowworm, Rio de Janeiro
* 9 Apr: HNoMS Æger, Blücher, HNoMS Eidsvold, HMS Gurkha, German cruiser Karlsruhe, HNoMS Norge, Seattle, Sørland, HNoMS Tor
* 10 Apr: Albatros, Z22 Anton Schmitt, Friedenau, HMS Hardy, HMS Hunter, Königsberg, HMS Tarpon, HMS Thistle, Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp
* 11 Apr: V 105 Cremon
* 13 Apr: Z11 Bernd von Arnim, Z17 Diether von Roeder, Z12 Erich Giese, Z13 Erich Koellner, HNoMS Frøya, Z2 Georg Thiele, Z18 Hans Lüdemann, Z19 Hermann Künne, HNoMS Storm, U-64, Z9 Wolfgang Zenker
* 14 Apr: Bärenfels, Brummer, Oldenburg
* 15 Apr: U-49
* 18 Apr: HNoMS Sæl, HMS Sterlet
* 20 Apr: Stegg
* 25 Apr: HMS Bradman, Trygg
* 26 Apr: HNoMS Garm
* 29 Apr: HMS Unity
* 30 Apr: HMS Bittern, HMS Dunoon, Maillé Brézé

Other incidents|

* 8 Apr: HNoMS Pol III
* 10 Apr: Alster, HMS Hotspur
* 11 Apr: Alster, HNoMS Brand
* 12 Apr: HMS Eskimo, Schürbek, HNoMS Storm
* 13 Apr: Malangen
* 16 Apr: HNoMS Brand
* 18 Apr: Achille, Pasteur

1939 1940 1941
March 1940 May 1940
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