German trawler V 201 Seydlitz

Seydlitz was a German trawler built in 1936 which was converted into a Vorpostenboot for the Kriegsmarine during World War II, serving as V 201 Seydlitz and  V 211 Seydlitz. She was bombed and sunk off the Channel Islands on 20 March 1944.

Description
Seydlitz was 162 ft long, with a beam of 26 ft and a depth of 12 ft. It was assessed at,. It was powered by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 14+3/16 in, 21+5/8 in and 35+7/16 in diameter by 25+9/16 in stroke. The engine was built by Deschimag, Wesermünde. It was rated at 98nhp, giving a speed of 10.5 kn.

History
In 1936, Seydlitz was constructed as yard number 570 by the German shipbuilder Seebeckwerft AG as a civilian fishing trawler for F. A. Pust Hochseefischerei AG, Wesermünde. The Code Letters DFCP were allocated, as was the fishing boat registration PG 508. On 1 October 1939, the Kriegsmarine requisitioned the vessel and commissioned it as a Vorpostenboot in the 2 Vorpostenflotille under the designation V 201 Seydlitz. The ship was redesignated V 211 Seydlitz on 20 October. With the rest of the 2 Vorpostenflotille, Seydlitz operated in the North Sea from 1939 to 1940 and in the English Channel from 1940 to 1944.

Seydlitz was sunk by British fighter-bombers on 20 March 1944 in the English Channel between Guernsey, Channel Islands and Barfleur, Manche, France. Twenty-seven crew were killed. The wreck now lies where it was sunk approximately 50 m below the surface.