''Rhineland'' 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 ...

that

Howaldtswerke Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel i ...

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 ...

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 ...

built in 1938 for Argo Line,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. She was requisitioned by the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

in 1939, and served as VP-101 ''Schwan'', ''Sperrbrecher 31'' and ''Sperrbrecher 131''. She served post-war with the

German Mine Sweeping Administration The German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) () was an organisation formed by the Allies from former crews and vessels of the Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' for the purpose of mine sweeping after the Second World War, predominantly in the North ...

before being declared a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

and passed to British owners. She was renamed ''Weltonwold'' in 1948 and then ''Rhineland'' in 1949. She was sold 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 ...

n owners in 1956 and renamed ''Herrisbrook''. She was renamed ''Inyoni'' in 1957 and scrapped in 1962.

Sister ships

''Schwan'' was one of a series of

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 that Argo Line had built in the late 1930s. In 1936 Howaldtswerke built ''Fasan'' ("Pheasant") and

Nordseewerke Nordseewerke Emden GmbH (sometimes abbreviated NSWE, in English: North Sea Company) was a shipbuilding company, located in the Emden Harbor of the north German city of Emden. Founded in 1903, shipbuilding ended in 2010, and the company was taken ...

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

built ''Möwe'' ("Seagull"). In 1938 Nordseewerke built ''Habicht'' ("Hawk"), Howardtswerke built ''Schwan'' ("Swan") and Lübecker Maschinenbau Gesellschaft built ''

Adler Adler may refer to: Places *Adler, Alabama, an unincorporated community in Perry County * Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois, USA * Adler Township, Nelson County, North Dakota, USA * Adler University, formerly Adler School of Professional Psych ...

'' ("Eagle").

Description

''Schwan''s registered 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 . Like most of her sisters, ''Schwan'' was propelled by a two-cylinder

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 heat ...

plus a Bauer-Wach exhaust

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

. The reciprocating engine had a stroke of . Its high-pressure cylinder had a bore of and its low-pressure cylinder had a bore of . The exhaust turbine was coupled to the propeller shaft via an hydraulic coupling and double reduction gearing.

Deschimag Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in ...

, Germany built her engines. Her combined reciprocating and turbine machinery was rated at 222 NHP.

History

, Germany, built ''Schwan'' for Argo Line, Bremen. Argo Line registered her in Bremen. Her

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 DOUN. On 12 September 1939 she was commissioned into the

as the ''

vorpostenboot ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked ...

'' VP-101 ''Schwan'', serving with 1 ''Vorpostenbootflottille''. On 1 October 1940, she was transferred to 3 ''Sperrbrecherflottille'' and renamed ''Sperrbrecher 31''. The ship swept for British

magnetic mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are deposited and left ...

s through the

Great Belt The Great Belt (, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries fr ...

ahead of the and her escorts at the beginning of her sortie into the Atlantic in May 1941 (

Operation Rheinübung Operation Rheinübung () was the last sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation aimed to disrupt Allied shipping to the United Kingdom as the previously ...

).Groos, pp. 114–115; Rohwer, p. 74 She was renamed ''Sperrbrecher 131'' on 15 July. Post-war, she served with the

. In 1947 ''Sperrbrecher 131'' was declared a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

and passed to the UK. Laid up, she was sold to Atkinson & Pritchett,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and renamed ''Weltonwold'' in December 1948, remaining laid up. Although reported as destroyed by a fire in 1949, she was repaired. She was sold to Currie Line,

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

in 1949 and renamed ''Rhineland''. In 1956, ''Rhineland'' was sold to Smiths Coasters Pty Ltd,

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa and was renamed ''Herrisbrook''. She was renamed ''Inyoni'' in 1957. Her South African call sign was ZTML. She was scrapped at Durban in August 1962.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhineland 1938 ships Ships built in Kiel Merchant ships of Germany Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Minesweepers of the Kriegsmarine Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1949 Steamships of South Africa Merchant ships of South Africa