German trawler V 603 Carsten

Carsten was a German fishing trawler which was built in 1923. She was requisitoned by the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was used as a Vorpostenboot. She was allocated to France post-war, and was renamed Thon in 1948. She was scrapped in 1954.

Description
The ship 131 ft long, with a beam of 23 ft. She had a depth of 10 ft. She was assessed at,. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 12+5/8 in, 20+1/2 in and 33+1/16 in diameter by 23+3/8 in stroke. The engine was built by G. Seebeck AG., Wesermünde-Geestemünde, Germany. It was rated at 53 nhp. It drove a single screw propeller. It could propel the ship at 10 kn.

History
Carsten was built as yard number 439 by G. Seebeck AG., Wesermünde-Geestemünde, Germany. She was launched in June 1923 and completed in August. Owned by the L. Janssen & Co., her port of registry was Wesermünde. She was allocated the Code Letters KSBL, and the fishing boat registration PG 342. In 1934, her Code Letters were changed to DEZI.

On 22 September 1939, Carsten was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine. Designated as a vorpostenboot. She was allocated to 7 Vorpostenflotille as V 705 Carsten. On 1 July 1943, she was reallocated to 6 Vorpostenflotille as V 603 Carsten. On 26 April 1944, V 606 Fladengrund was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by a Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax aircraft with the loss of 21 of her 38 crew. V 603 Carsten rescued the survivors. On 7 May 1945, she was declared a prize of war and allocated to France. Her name was changed to Thon in 1948. She was scrapped in 1954.