Wetterbeobachtungs-Schiff

Admiral Scheer

Schwerer Kreuzer

Built

Name

Denmark Strait

Note

1934

Admiral Scheer

31.10.-1.11. 1940
27.3.1941

1940: supported by weather ships:
WBS 3 :
Fritz Homann
WBS 4 :
Hinrich Freese
WBS 5 :
Adolf Vinnen


Commerce War: 23rd October 1940 to 1st April 1941.  During the 161 days of commerce war in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, the Admiral Scheer sunk 14 ships, captured 2 ships and destroyed the auxiliary cruiser Jervis Bay.

Operations 5.11 - 28.1. 1940


Support from Weather ships and Weather flights:

13th October 1940: Küstenfliegergruppe 706 receive orders from Marinegruppekommando Nord to set up reconnaissance flights in the Denmark Strait to support the Admiral Scheer breakthrough in the last week of October. Two weather ships - WBS 4 Hinrich Freese and WBS 3 Fritz Homann - were to become the floating seaplane base on the isle of Jan Mayen.

19th October 1940: Hinrich Freese sail from Trondheim with a load of fuel, supplies and 3 members of the Luftwaffe  and reach Jan Mayen on the 22nd October.

28th October 1940: Fritz Homann arrive from Bergen
and proceed on 29th to the weather station in Marine-Planquadrat AE 39, where she stay during the Admiral Scheer breakthrough. Ship return safely to Bergen on 12th November 1940.

29th October 1940: Two He 115 seaplanes arrive at Jan Mayen from Norway – unfortunately one seaplane was damaged and sink shortly after landing in Maria Muschbukt. With only one seaplane left, the Marinegruppekommando Nord decide to cancel the aerial reconnaissance from Jan Mayen. Mission cancelled when the last He 115 was destroyed at its anchor during a storm the following night. Hinrich Freese and 2 air crews return to Trondheim where they arrive on the 5th November.

"Admiral Scheer" - Possible mail connections

Date

Port / Ship

Direction

to 23.10.1940

Gotenhafen, Germany

In & Out
27.10.1940 Brunsbüttel, Germany Out
28.10.1940 Stavanger, Norway Out
12.11.1940 Refuelled by tanker Eurofeld Out
Eurofeld
14.11.1940 Re-supplied by supply ship Nordmark ?
14.12.1940  Re-supplied by supply ship Nordmark ?
26.12.1940

Point "Andalusien" (15'S 18'W): Prize Duquesa (Herzogin) and Admiral Scheer meet Schiff 33 Pinguin, Schiff 10 Thor, supply ship Nordmark and tanker Eurofeld. (Eurofeld return to France ?)

Out
Eurofeld
24-28.1.1941

Point "Andalusien" (15'S 18'W): Admiral Scheer and captured Norwegian tanker Sandefjord meet Schiff 10 Thor and supply ship Nordmark. More than 200 prisoners transferred to Sandefjord which sail to France with a prize crew. Arrive Bordeaux on 27.2.1941.

Out
Sandefjord
14.2.1941

Indian Ocean (13'S 64'E) : Meet Schiff 16 Atlantis, the 2 prizes Speybank, Ketty Brövig and german freighter Tannenfels. Prisoners transferred to Tannenfels and sailed to France. Arrive Bordeaux on 20.4.1941.

Out
Tannenfels
9.-10.3.1941

Point "Andalusien" (15'S 18'W): Meet Schiff 33 Pinguin, supply ship Nordmark and Schiff 41 Kormoran. Admiral Scheer received supplies (mail ?) from Kormoran which had left Gotenhafen, Germany on 3.12.1940.

In (?)
Kormoran
11.-24.3.1941

Meets the 2 German freighters Portland from Chile and Alsterufer from Germany (?). Admiral Scheer transferred 327 prisoners to Portland who left for Bordeaux, France. Alsterufer (mail ?) may just have arrived from Germany (?)

In
Alsterufer
 
Out
Portland
30.3.1941 Bergen, Norway Out

from 1.4.1941

Kiel, Germany

In & Out


Letter from Funkgefreiter Karl-Heinz Lübke M 10149 in Kiel (24.5.1941)


Card from Eibach 26.5.1941 to Bootsmann on Adm. Scheer during repair in Kiel.


Card from Ulm (Donau) 23.6.1941 to bootsmann onboard Admiral Scheer (Feldpost Nr. 10149)
- forwarded to Schiff 21 Widder (Feldpost M 29834). Canc.
Zurück, Feldpostsperre and Absender nicht zuermitten.

Feldpost Nr.
M 10149

(1939-1945)
Panzerschiff "Admiral Scheer"
1940 Kreuzer "Admiral Scheer"

From: "Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945" by Norbert Kannapin.




5.11.1940 - off Newfoundland (52.45N 32.13W) - Admiral Scheer attack on convoy HX 84
and sinks the auxiliary cruiser
Jervis Bay + 5 merchant ships.

 
Prize crew from Admiral Scheer. 

 

War Records  23.10.40 -  1.4.41

Prize Name Type Flag Date Tonnage Fate
Mopan Freighter United Kingdom 05-11-40 5389 Sunk
Jervis Bay Auxiliary Cruiser United Kingdom 05-11-40 14164 Sunk
Maidan Freighter United Kingdom 05-11-40 7908 Sunk
Trewellard Freighter United Kingdom 05-11-40 5201 Sunk
Kenbane Head Freighter United Kingdom 05-11-40 5225 Sunk
Beaverford Freighter United Kingdom 05-11-40 10042 Sunk
Fresno City Freighter United Kingdom 05-11-40 4955 Sunk
Port Hobart Freighter United Kingdom 24-11-40 7448 Sunk
Tribesman Freighter United Kingdom 01-12-40 6242 Sunk
Duquesa Freighter United Kingdom 18-12-40 8651 Captured*
Sandefjord Tanker Norway 17-01-41 8038 Captured
Barneveld Freighter Netherlands 20-01-41 5597 Sunk
Stanpark Freighter United Kingdom 20-01-41 5103 Sunk
British Advocate Tanker United Kingdom 20-02-41 6994 Captured
Gregorios Freighter Greece 20-02-41 2546 Sunk
Canadian Cruiser Freighter Canada 21-02-41 7178 Sunk
Rantau Pandjang Freighter Netherlands 22-02-41 2542 Sunk
Total Admiral Scheer

113.223

* Sunk by Schiff 33 Pinguin in Feb. 1941    

 

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Update: 28.10.2005
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