SS Lichtenfels
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Lichtenfels |
| Owner: |
 DDG Hansa |
| Operator: |
DDG Hansa, Bremen |
| Port of registry: |
.svg.png){kind=small} Bremen (1931-33) |
| Builder: | Deschimag Werk A.G (Bremen, Germany) |
| Yard number: | 878 |
| Launched: | 12 June 1929 |
| In service: | 1929–1941 |
| Identification: |
|
| Fate: | Scuttled in Massawa on 4 April 1941, wreck raised and scrapped 1950 |
| Notes: | [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 7,457 GRT |
| Length: | 160.45 m (526.4 ft) |
| Beam: | 18.94 m (62.1 ft) |
| Draught: | 8.49 m (27.9 ft) |
| Speed: | 13.7 knots (25.4 km/h) |
| Crew: | 35 |
| Notes: | [1] |
SS Lichtenfels was one of the world's first modern heavy lift ship, built for DDG Hansa in 1929. She was equipped with a 120 t (118 long tons; 132 short tons) boom crane capable of lifting fully assembled locomotives, which were shipped to India.
History
In the 1920s DDG Hansa recognised a demand for the delivery of fully assembled locomotives to India and as a result commissioned SS Lichtenfels from Deschimag Werk A.G.[1][2] On 25 October 1939, while off the Port Sudan Lichtenfels was ordered to Massawa in Italian Eritrea. She remained here for 18 months, along with nine other German merchant ships: Bertram Rickmers, Coburg, Crefeld, Liebenfels, Oder, Oliva, Wartenfels, Frauenfels and Gera during the East African campaign. She was scuttled on 4 April 1941 along with the other German merchant ships and a number of Italian merchant ships in an effort to block the use of the harbour.[1][3] She was finally raised for scrap in 1950.[1]
Code letters
Lichtenfels used the code letters QMKB from 1929 to 1933[4] and DOFY from 1934 to 1941.[5]
Sister ships
As demand for locomotives from India increased, DDG Hansa also commissioned three sister ships: Freienfels (1929), Geierfels (1931) and Uhenfels (1931).[1][2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lichtenfels". DDG Hansa:. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- 1 2 Raymond Fisch, "The Roots of Heavy Lift Shipping", Anchored by Excellence (BBC Chartering Group) 1 (2011) pp. 10–13 (pdf) p. 10 (based on Holger Patzer, Die zusammengefasste Geschichte der D.D.G. „Hansa" (1881–1980), ddg-hansa.de, December 2005 (German))
- ↑ "NAVAL EVENTS, APRIL 1941, Part 1 of 2, Tuesday 1st – Monday 14th". Naval History. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS 1930-31" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS 1934-35" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
Coordinates: 15°36′39″N 39°28′28″E / 15.6108°N 39.4744°E