SS Deutschland (1923)
German ocean liner steamship (1923-45) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Deutschland IV?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SS Deutschland[note 1] was a 21,046 gross registered ton (GRT) German HAPAG ocean liner which was sunk in a British air attack on May 3, 1945. Before the sinking, between April 16 and 28, 1945, the concentration camp of Neuengamme was systematically emptied of all its remaining prisoners, other groups of concentration camp inmates and Soviet POWs; with the intention that they would be relocated to a secret new camp. In the interim, they were to be concealed from the advancing British and Canadian forces; and for this purpose the SS assembled a prison flotilla of decommissioned ships in the Bay of Lübeck, consisting of the liners Cap Arcona and Deutschland, the freighter Thielbek, and the motor launch Athens. Since the steering motors were out of use in Thielbek and the turbines were out of use in Cap Arcona, Athen was used to transfer prisoners from Lübeck to the larger ships and between ships; they were locked below decks and in the holds, and denied food and medical attention[citation needed]. All people on board the Deutschland survived the attack, though two accompanying vessels sank with great loss of life.
The SS Deutschland | |
History | |
---|---|
Weimar Republic | |
Name | SS Deutschland |
Owner | Hamburg-America Line |
Port of registry | Germany |
Route | Hamburg to New York |
Ordered | 1921 |
Builder | Blohm & Voss, Kommandit Ges auf Aktien, Hamburg, Germany |
Launched | 28 April 1923 |
Maiden voyage | 27 March 1924 |
Homeport | Hamburg, Germany |
Fate | Transferred to the Kriegsmarine in 1940. |
Notes |
|
Nazi Germany | |
Name | SS Deutschland |
Acquired | 1940 |
Fate | Capsized and sank on 3 May 1945 as a result of a British air attack. |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | 21,046 gross register tons |
Length | 196.6 m overall |
Beam | 22 m |
Depth | 12.8 m |
Decks | 4 |
Installed power | 8 steam turbines |
Propulsion | Twin screw |
Speed | 20 knots |
Complement | 976 passengers |
Crew | 422 officers and crew |