''Auriga'' was a Hansa A Type cargo ship which was built as ''Adamsturm'' in 1944 by

Deutsche Werft Deutsche Werft (English: German Shipyard) was a shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder Rüschpark, Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) and '' ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

for Deutsche Dampfschifffarts-Gesellschaft Hansa,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

Germany. She was seized as a

prize of war A prize of war is a piece of enemy property or land seized by a belligerent party during or after a war or battle, typically at sea. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of captured ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Basis in inte ...

in 1945, passing to the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

and renamed ''Empire Gantry''. She was sold in 1947 and was renamed ''Baltanglia''. She was renamed ''Baltic Pine'' in 1952. Sold to Greece in 1954, and renamed ''Germania'', she was declared a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

following a collision in 1955. Sold to Germany, she was repaired and renamed ''Auriga''. She served until 1965, when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of . She was assessed as , , . The ship was propelled by a

compound steam 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, then having given up h ...

, which had two cylinders of and two cylinders of diameter by inches stroke. The engine was built by Ottensener Eisenwerk AG, Hamburg, Germany. Rated at 1,200

IHP Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

, it drove a single screw propeller and could propel the ship at . The ship had a complement of 25, plus 8-10 gunners during wartime. She was equipped with 1×30-tonne, 1×10-tonne and 10×5-tonne cranes.

History

''Adamsturm'' was a Hansa A Type cargo ship built in 1944 as

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

433 by

for Deutsche Dampfschifffarts-Gesellschaft Hansa,

, Germany. Her keel was laid on 16 March 1945. She was launched on 16 June 1944 and completed on 29 August. Her port of registry was Bremen, and the

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 and today also. Later, with the i ...

DOYS were allocated. She was damaged on 23 October 1944 at

Kirkenes Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsula along the Bøk ...

, Norway in an attack by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

aircraft. ''Adamsturm'' was also damaged on 1 January 1945 in the

Skaggerak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. Th ...

and on 4 April at Hamburg in attacks by Allied aircraft. On 9 May 1945, ''Adamsturm'' was seized as a

at Hamburg. She was passed to the

and was renamed ''Empire Ganymede''. She was delivered to

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

on 11 July. The

GKWX and United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats have sometimes ...

180612 were allocated. Her port of registry was

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and she was operated under the management of Glen & Co, Ltd.,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. In 1947, ''Empire Ganymede'' was sold to the United Baltic Corporation and was renamed ''Baltanglia''. She was renamed ''Baltic Pine'' in 1952. On 20 April 1954, ''Baltic Pine'' was sold to Hellenic Lines, Greece and was renamed ''Germania''. Her port of registry was

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Sar ...

. On 26 April 1955, she collided with the Panamanian steamship off

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, for ...

, Sussex, United Kingdom in fog and then ran aground near the

Beachy Head Lighthouse Beachy Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the English Channel below the cliffs of Beachy Head in East Sussex. It is in height and became operational in October 1902. It was the last traditional-style 'rock tower' (i.e. offshore light ...

and broke in two. Twenty-three of her 26 crew were taken off by the Eastbourne Lifeboat ''Beryl Tollemache''; three remaining on board to safely release steam from her boilers. The coxwain of the Eastbourne Lifeboat was awarded the Maud Smith Award for his part in the rescue. On 6 May, men employed in the salvage of ''Germania'' had to be rescued from the ship when the became trapped by a gale. The Eastbourne and Newhaven Lifeboats and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s from

RNAS Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Fo ...

were involved in the rescue. Although declared a

, she was sold to Crainer Kinsley Freight Co. Ltd. Salvage was undertaken by Mylchcreest Noble Ltd. Each half was refloated on 30 November and beached at

Pevensey Bay Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part o ...

, Sussex. ''Germania'' was sold in February 1956 to Partrederi Auriga ved Adler & Söhne, Bremen. She was towed to Bremen on 16 February by the

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

. She was repaired by Adler Werft. Photographs show that her bridge and funnel were altered. Repairs were completed on 30 June. She was renamed ''Auriga''. Her port of registry was Bremen and the Code Letters DLCM were allocated. She was operated under the management of Argo Line, Bremen. With their introduction in the 1960s, ''Auriga'' was allocated the

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owne ...

5503090. She served until 1965, arriving at

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the R ...

on 24 January for scrapping by Eisen und Metall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auriga 1944 ships Ships built in Hamburg World War II merchant ships of Germany Steamships of Germany Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Cargo ships of Greece Steamships of Greece Maritime incidents in 1955 Merchant ships of West Germany Steamships of West Germany