SS Gneisenau
History
Nazi Germany
NamesakeAugust Neidhardt von Gneisenau
OwnerNorddeutscher Lloyd
BuilderDeutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG
Launched17 May 1935
FateSunk 2 May 1943
NotesRefloated 12 July 1950 and scrapped
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage18,160 GRT
Length198.9 m (652 ft 7 in)
Beam22.5 m (73 ft 10 in)
Draught12.5 m (41 ft 0 in)
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)

SS Gneisenau was a 18,160 gross register tons (GRT) Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) ocean liner that was launched and completed in 1935. Like several other German ships of the same name, she was named after the Prussian Generalfeldmarschall and military reformer August Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1760–1831).

Construction and career

Gneisenau was the second of three sister ships built for NDL, with the other ships being the Potsdam (later Empire Fowey) and the Scharnhorst. DeSchiMAG of Bremen, Germany, built Gneisenau. Gneisenau was launched at Bremen on 17 May 1935.[1]

Gneisenau's maiden voyage began on 3 January 1936.[2] Until the outbreak of World War II, she worked NDL's express service between Bremen and the Far East. At 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)[3] she was among the fastest ships on the route.[4] On 2 May 1943, Gneisenau was mined in the Baltic Sea, capsized, and sank. The wreck was raised on 12 July 1950 and scrapped in Denmark.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Sgarlato, Nico; Sgarlato, Alessio (2022). "Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier I (Europa)". Secret Projects of the Kriegsmarine: Unseen Designs of Nazi Germany's Navy. Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1-78438-688-7.
  2. ↑ "Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser". 31 Dec 1935. p. 1. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Harnack 1938, p. 549.
  4. ↑ Talbot-Booth 1942, p. 405.
  5. ↑ "SS Gneisenau (+1943)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

Sources and further reading

  • Harnack, Edwin P (1938) [1903]. All About Ships & Shipping (7th ed.). London: Faber and Faber. p. 549.
  • Rothe, Claus (1987). Deutsche Ozean-Passagierschiffe 1919 bis 1985. Berlin: VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen. ISBN 3-344-00164-7.
  • Talbot-Booth, E.C. (1942) [1936]. Ships and the Sea (7th ed.). London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. pp. 405, 518.


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