German trawler V 804 Skolpenbank
{{Short description|German Vorpostenboot}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = Germany | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Weimar Republic|civil}} {{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany}} {{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}} | Ship name = Skolpenbank | Ship owner = Kriegsmarine | Ship namesake = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau | Ship yard number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 1930 | Ship registry = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 1939 | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship identification = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship honours = | Ship honors = | Ship fate = Lost in the North Sea on 17 October 1939 due to unknown causes | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = {{r|"Wrecksite"}} | Ship class = | Ship tonnage = *{{GRT|381}} | Ship length = {{convert|45.3|m|ftin}} | Ship beam = {{convert|7.7|m|ftin}} | Ship draught = {{convert|4|m|ftin}} | Ship depth = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = steam | Ship speed = | Ship range = | Ship complement = | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = | Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
History
Skolpenbank was built in Bremen by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau in 1930. It was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in 1939.{{r|"Wrecksite"}}
Skolpenbank was listed as missing on 18 October while patrolling in poor weather near a mined area north of Schiermonnikoog in the North Sea. While the area was checked once the weather was cleared and no deliberately laid mines were found, it is possible the ship was sunk by a "drifter" which had broken loose and floated away due to the poor weather. It is also possible that the Skolpenbank simply succumbed to the bad weather, though this is unlikely because the ship was designed to operate in the North Sea.{{r|"Paterson 2018"|page=78}}
The sinking of Skolpenbank and the uncertainty regarding the location and condition of its wreck led the Seekriegsleitung (Maritime Warfare Command) to order that no unnecessary classified information should be carried aboard patrolling vessels, since there was always a possibility that they could be wrecked in shallow water and boarded by enemy forces in search of intelligence.{{r|"Paterson 2018"|page=79}}
References
{{Cite book |last=Paterson |first=Lawrence |url=https://www.scribd.com/read/400042864/Hitler-s-Forgotten-Flotillas-Kriegsmarine-Security-Forces# |title=Hitler's Forgotten Flotillas: Kriegsmarine Security Forces |publisher=Open Road Integrated Media |year=2018 |isbn=9781473882416}}}}{{Vorpostenboote Navbox}}{{October 1939 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skolpenbank}}
Category:World War II auxiliary ships of Germany