# Altmark



## BarryJ (May 28, 2007)

Does anyone have information on the inshore motor trawler ALTMARK, built in Brixham by J.W. Upham in 1945? 
I'm particularly interested in her ON, and her history between 1945 and 1959, when she was registered in Milford. She was a CTL after going ashore at Sker Bay, Mumbles on 12th June 1961.


----------



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

From
http://www.milfordtrawlers.org.uk/
Barry Johnson's excellent website database.
1940-88

ON300163; Port Nr 78 
Built 1945 68 grt
1959-61 Owner THN Sinclair. 
Went ashore at Sker Bay, Mumbles, 12.06.61. Constructive Total Loss. 

Skippers
A Utting 1959
J Sinclair 1959
THN Sinclair 1959-1961


----------



## BarryJ (May 28, 2007)

Thanks for the compliment, Treeve, but I'm updating the website, and I find that ON very fishy. (Ooops!) It's more like a 1950s ON, not 1945.

I've checked Olsens for 1948 and 1951, and she's not there under that name


----------



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

Sorry, didn't realise it was you, Barry.
May be a good idea to get hold of her records at Brixham.
All the Best, Raymond


----------



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

Brixham Heritage have a page covering books on 
the Upham vessels.
http://www.brixhamheritage.org.uk/society/books.htm

Looking at vessels for the 1945 period, I would expect the ON 
to have been 170,000 - 180,000, but it all depended on block
allocations, as to whether or not each block had been exhausted
before another block was allocated to each port.


----------



## BarryJ (May 28, 2007)

Yes, I saw that on the Brixham site, Treeve, but I don't want all that much info on her. I suspect that she didn't have an ON, and an Olsen's for 1960 would confirm that.

I'll start a new thread with a request for a lookup.

Barry


----------



## Keith Adams (Nov 5, 2006)

For a moment there when I first read the ship name I thought it was about the infamous vessel that sank MN ships but made a point of rescuing the crews during WWII ... was it of the same name ? Snowy


----------



## BarryJ (May 28, 2007)

Hello, Snowy.

The ALTMARK was a tanker, not a warship, but she was tender to the pocket battleship GRAF SPEE, and as such she acted as a prison ship for 299 captured merchant seamen of the ships sunk by the raider.

She was boarded by men of HMS COSSACK, who arrived with the cry "The Navy's here!", on 16th February 1940, in Jossing Fjord, Norway, and all the prisoners were rescued. She later continued as a supply ship to other surface raiders, and was accidently sunk in Yokohama in 1942.

Barry


----------



## aavh (Apr 6, 2006)

Barry, I have a 1960 Olsens and her ON is 300163.


Regards

Andy


----------



## BarryJ (May 28, 2007)

Thanks very much, Andy!

Barry


----------



## Keith Adams (Nov 5, 2006)

Thanks for the info Barry ... did recall where she was boarded and that prisoners were freed but couldn't remember what type of ship she was ... heck of a story there ... sort of thing that author Hammond Innes or Alister Maclean would write a novel about.
Maybe they did ? Cheers, Snowy


----------



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

In connection with the loss of the Trevanion some story
of Altmark at
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~treevecwll/speep.htm
and
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~treevecwll/spees.htm
All the best, Raymond


----------

