Christian Nissen aka Hein Mück (1893 – after 1955) was a German sailor and yachtsman, who served with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

and its special forces, the

Brandenburgers The Brandenburgers () were members of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht special forces unit during World War II. Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence and counter-espionage organ, the ''Abwehr''. ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Nissen was a very experienced sailor, who had sailed around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

several times and belonged to the international guild of ''Cape Horniers''. As an experienced yachtsman too he got in the focus of Germany's Abwehr. The ghost sailors were an asset of Abwehr chief Admiral

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...

. Experienced yachtsmen trained by his special forces, the Brandenburgers, sailed the northern and southern Atlantic in World War II.

Operation Lobster I

In June 1940 Nissen had been called to the Sabotage School at

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

to prepare for

Operation Lobster I Operation Lobster I (''Unternehmen Hummer I'' in German) was an Abwehr plan to infiltrate three German agents into Ireland, in July 1940. It was part of a wider series of missions carried out within the framework of Operation Lobster during Wor ...

and asked to find a boat suitable for transporting three agents to Ireland. Nissen had served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

aboard the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

full-rigged ship

Melpomene Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask. Etymolog ...

. Melpomene had been captured by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

west of the port of Queenstown, now

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

, in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. He was interned first at

Templemore Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the historical Barony (Ireland), barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the Ecclesiastical parish, parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea i ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, then in

Oldcastle, County Meath Oldcastle () is a town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the northwest of the county near the border with County Cavan, Cavan, approximately 13 miles (21 km) from Kells, County Meath, Kells. The R154 road, R15 ...

, and finally on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. Therefore, Nissen was familiar with this area. He selected the ''"Soizic"'', a luxurious

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

from the harbour in Brest Bay for the voyage. The boat was fitted out like a French fishing vessel and had previously belonged to the French military attaché in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. The mission was successful, but the agents were arrested in Ireland two hours after getting ashore.

Operation Seagull

Operation Lobster was followed by

Operation Seagull (Ireland) Operation Seagull (''"Unternehmen Möwe"'' or ''"Seemöwe"'' in German) was an Abwehr II/Brandenburger Regiment-sanctioned mission launched in September 1940. The object of the mission was to infiltrate the UK in preparation for Operation Sea Lio ...

in late summer 1940. Nissen's orders were to transport an NCO from the

, Helmut Clissmann, and one Abwehr I radio operator to the southern coast of Ireland to carry out their mission. The vessel chosen was the ''"Anni Braz-Bihen"'' a Malamok type sailing boat, register no. 'Douarnenez 3384' belonging to Henri Helias. The vessel was returned to French owners in 1945. Clissmann was stationed at

Westende Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It lies on the Belgian coast, also called the Flemish coast. It used to be the far west (West-ende: Dutch for west-end) of the is ...

, Belgium in readiness for the operation. Nissen received his orders from his direct superior in the Regiment, Captain Hollman. The mission failed.

Operation Hawthorne

Operation Hawthorn, in German "Operation Weissdorn" was a piece of outstanding yachtmanship in those days. "Leutnant zur See" (or "Ensign"), Christian Nissen, also known as ''Hein Mück'' a traditional popular figure in Bremen, brought, together with Arndt Georg "Age" Nissen, Paul Temme and three other "Ghost sailors" (), the South African boxer

Robey Leibbrandt Sidney Robey Leibbrandt (25 January 1913 – 1 August 1966) was a South African Olympic Games, Olympian, who during World War II acted as an Abwehr agent for the Third Reich against the British Empire in South Africa. In 1943, he was convicted ...

with a confiscated French sailboat, ''Kyloe'' from St. Malo,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, down to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and dropped him with a rubber dinghy at the coast northwest of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. Klyoe had a crew of six, including Heinrich Garbers, who later on became such a commander too. They performed a non-stop voyage of , which ended in

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...

, from where they took the plane to Rome and further on home to Berlin.

References

External links

''Die Geistersegler der Abwehr'' (Engl. ''The ghost sailors of Abwehr'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissen, Christian 1893 births 20th-century deaths Abwehr personnel of World War II German sailors Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I German World War II special forces Naval battles of World War II involving Germany