German trawler V 304 Breslau

V 304 Breslau was a German fishing trawler that was requisitioned in the Second World War by the Kriegsmarine for use as a vorpostenboot. Built in 1925 as Weser, she was renamed Breslau in 1939. She was wrecked at the entrance to the Noordzeekanaal in 1940.

Description
The ship was 43.90 m long, with a beam of 7.35 m. She had a depth of 4.16 m and a draught of 3.35 m. She was assessed at,. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 13+3/4 in, 21+5/8 in and 35+7/16 in diameter by 25+9/16 in stroke. The engine was built by Seebeckwerft, Wesermünde, Germany. It was rated at 64nhp. It drove a single screw propeller, and could propel the ship at 11 kn.

History
Weser was built as yard number 462 by Seebeckwerft, Wesermünde, Germanay for the Hochseefischerei Bremerhaven. She was launched in May 1925 and completed in July. The Code Letters QVKM were allocated, as was the fishing boat registration BX 178. On 7 June 1929, she was sold to the Nordsee Deutsche Hochseefischerei Bremen-Cuxhaven AG. Her registration was changed to ON 117. Her port of registry was changed to Nordenham. In 1934, her registration was changed to PG 467 and her Code Letters were changed to DNNS.

Weser had been renamed Breslau by February 1939 and her port of registry was changed to Wesermünde. On 30 September, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for use as a vorpostenboot. She was allocated to 3 Vorpostenflotille as V 304 Breslau. On 17 September 1940, she was wrecked in a storm at the entrance to the Noordzeekanaal near IJmuiden, North Holland, Netherlands with the loss of four of her crew. The wreck could still be seen in 1969 near the north mole at the entrance to the canal.