German trawler V 202 Franz Westermann
{{Short description|German Vorpostenboot of World War II}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = | Ship flag = | Ship name = *Franz Westermann (1937–54)
| Ship namesake = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Seebeck G. Ag. - Weser Werk Seebeckwerft | Ship owner = *Reederei Siebert & Co (1937–39)
| Ship registry = *{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} Wesermünde, Germany (1937–39)
| Ship identification = *Code Letters DFDI
| Ship yard number = 600 | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = November 1937 | Ship completed = 30 December 1937 | Ship commissioned = 1 October 1939 | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = 15 June 1944 – 1948 | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship honours = | Ship fate = Scrapped 1962 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = *Fishing trawler (1937–39, 1948-60)
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|481}}, {{NRT|178}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|166|ft|8|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|166|ft|8|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}} | Ship draught = | Ship depth = {{convert|13|ft|0|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}} | Ship power = Triple expansion steam engine, 96nhp | Ship propulsion = Scew propeller | Ship speed = {{convert|12|kn}} | Ship range = | Ship complement = | Ship armament = | Ship notes = }} |
Description
Franz Westermann was {{convert|166|ft|8|in|m|2|order=flip}} long, with a beam of {{convert|26|ft|4|in|m|2|order=flip}} and a depth of {{convert|13|ft|0|in|m|2|order=flip}}. It was assessed at {{GRT|481}}, {{NRT|178}}. The ship was powered by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of {{convert|13+3/4|in|cm|order=flip}}, {{convert|21+5/8|in|cm|order=flip}} and {{convert|35+7/16|in|cm|order=flip}} diameter by {{convert|25+9/16|in|cm|order=flip}} stroke. The engine was built by Deschimag, Wesermünde and was rated at 96nominal horsepower. It drove a single screw propeller.{{cite plimsoll |filename=38a0236.pdf |date=1938–1939 |ship-name=Franz Westermann |lr-number=57903 |guide=FRA |subtitle=C |access-date=4 May 2022 }}
History
Franz Westermann was constructed as yard number 599 by Deschimag Seebeck in Bremerhaven as a fishing trawler. She was launched in November 1937 and completed on 28 December.{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=205}} She was built for Reederei Siebert & Co, Wesermünde. The Code Letters DFDI were allocated, as was the fishing boat registration PG 521. On 6 October 1940, the Kriegsmarine requisitioned the vessel and commissioned it as a Vorpostenboot in the 2 Vorpostenflotille under the designation V 202 Franz Westermann. It was redesignated V 205 Franz Westermann on 20 October. With the rest of the 2 Vorpostenflotille, Franz Westermann operated in the North Sea from 1939 to 1940 and in the English Channel from 1940 to 1944.{{Cite web|title=Vorpostenboote der deutschen Kriegsmarine 1939-45|url=https://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/km/vboote/vfl1-20.htm|access-date=2020-01-24|website=www.wlb-stuttgart.de |language=German}}
V 202 Franz Westermann was sunk in an Allied air raid on St. Peter Port, Guernsey on 15 June 1944.{{cite web|title=V-205 (Franz Westermann) (+1944)|url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?131949|publisher=Wrecksite|accessdate=18 October 2015}}{{cite web|title=VERLUSTE DEUTSCHER HANDELSSCHIFFE 1939-1945|url=http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/verluste/ausl+dtsch-4406.htm|publisher=Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart|language=German|accessdate=18 October 2015}} She was refloated and repaired in 1948, receiving the fishing boat registration BX 297. Franz Westermann was renamed Pommern on 28 June 1954 and was then homeported at Cuxhaven. She was then owned by the Cuxhavener Hochseefischerei. She was sold to W. Ritscher, Hamburg for breaking on 30 April 1962.{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=213}}
References
{{Reflist}}
;Sources
- {{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Erich |title=Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 |volume=8/I: Flußfahrzeuge, Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände (Teil 1) |date=1993 |publisher=Bernard & Graefe |location=Koblenz |isbn=3-7637-4807-5 |language=de}}
{{Vorpostenboote Navbox}}
{{June 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franz Westermann}}
Category:Fishing vessels of Germany
Category:Steamships of Germany
Category:Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine