was a

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

. She was built in 1924 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1924 . In 1939 she was renamed twice: firstly as , and then as . A mine sank her off the coast of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in 1943. Her wreck is now a site for wreck diving.

Building and registration

In 1922 and 1923, Howaldtswerke in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

built three

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s fpr Deutsche Levante-Linie. Yard number 643 was built in 1922 as ; yard number 644 was built in 1923 as ; and yard number 645 was built in 1923 as .

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent Germ ...

owned and ; and owned ; but managed all three. Also in 1924, built a fourth ship, to the same design, but for . She was built as yard number 646, and launched as . Her length was ; her beam was ; and her depth was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

s were and . She had a single

screw A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

; driven by a three-cylinder

triple-expansion engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...

that was rated at 143 NHP. She was equipped with submarine signalling. She was registered in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. Her

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

were RFHP.

Career

By 1930, Jebsen & Jessen were s managers, but by 1931, August Bolten William Miller’s Nachfolger had succeeded them. By 1934, her wireless telegraph

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was DHHB, and this had superseded her code letters. By 1938, owned as well as managing her. In 1939 she was renamed , but later that year she was renamed , after Bungsberg, a hill that is the highest point in

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

Loss and wreck

On 24 March 1943, struck one of a set of mines that had been laid across the Suurupi Strait. She sank off Naissaar, at position . Her wreck lies on an even keel, at a depth of . The

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of a

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

discovered the wreck in 1984, and told the Estonian Maritime Museum in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. The Museum fixed the position of the wreck on 15 June 1988, during a

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

testing operation by the Estonian Geology Administration. The Museum identified the wreck in 1992. On 2 July 2011 the wreck was added to the Estonian National Register of Cultural Monuments. The engine order telegraph and some papers were salvaged from the wreck, and are kept at the Estonian Maritime Museum. Her funnel, mizzen mast, and the upper part of her

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

are missing. Damage from the mine explosion is clearly visible on her

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

bow. All four of her cargo holds are empty. recreational divers now visit the wreck.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Recreational dive sites, wresit 1924 ships Cargo ships of Germany Maritime incidents in Estonia Maritime incidents in March 1943 Ships built in Kiel Ships sunk by mines Ships sunk by Soviet aircraft Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland Viimsi Parish World War II merchant ships of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea Wreck diving sites