German weather ship Sachsenwald

Sachsenwald was a fishing trawler that was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She served as a supply ship, the weather ship WBS 7 Sachsenwald and the vorpostenboot V 414 Sachsenwald. She was sunk in the Bay of Biscay in August 1944 by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships.

Description
Sachsenwald was 62.84 m long, with a beam of 8.53 m. She had a depth of 4.43 m and a draught of 5.03 m. She was assessed at,. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 14+15/16 in, 24 in and 29+5/8 in diameter by 26 in stroke. The engine was made by Deschimag Seebeckwerft, Wesermünde, Germany. It was rated at 168nhp. The engine powered a single screw propeller driven via a low pressure turbine, double reduction gearing and a hydraulic coupling. It could propel the ship at 12.5 kn.

History
Sachsenwald was built as yard number 631 by Deschimag Seebeckwerft for the Nordsee Deutsche Hochseefischerei Bremen-Cuxhaven. She was launched in June 1939. Her port of registry was Wesermünde. At the outbreak of the Second World War, she was interned in Murmansk, Soviet Union, but was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in January 1940. Initially serving as a supply ship allocated to Basis Nord, Sachsenwald was intended for use in Operation Sea Lion before being converted for use as a weather ship under the designation Wetterbeobachtungsschiff 7, with the Pennant number WBS 7.

Bismarck survivors
Sachsenwald was returning from a 50-day operational cruise in the Atlantic under her commander, the experienced trawler skipper Ernst Wilhelm Schütte, when she received orders on 27 May 1941 to move to the area where the GERMAN BATTLESHIP Bismarck was known to be. After sailing through heavy seas, and being briefly attacked by a Bristol Blenheim aircraft with machine gun fire, she reached the debris field left after the sinking of Bismarck on 28 May. After several hours searching the field, which contained only bodies and debris, Sachsenwald communicated with two U-boats that were also searching the area. Finally, late in the night, they discovered a raft containing two survivors, and took them on board. They were Matrosengefreite Walter Lorenzen and Otto Maus. Sachsenwald continued to search the area, recovering an empty raft from Bismarck but failed to find any more survivors. She briefly communicated with the SPANISH CRUISER Canarias, which was also searching the area, before making for the French coast on 31 May, escorted by several patrol boats. She reached it without incident, discharging the survivors, and tying up at Bordeaux on 1 June.

Sinking
On 29 August 1941, WBS 7 Sachsenwald was re-designated as a vorpostenboot. She was allocated to 4 Vorpostenbootflotille operating in the Bay of Biscay out of Bordeaux. She served as V 414 Sachsenwald. In August 1944 she formed part of a seven-ship convoy, which included V 414 Sachsenwald, MV Otto (1937), V 1549 Höheweg, M 263, M 486 and SG 3 Sans Souchi, which was carrying ammunition from St. Nazaire to La Pallice. They were intercepted early in the morning of 6 August by Force 26, which was carrying out Operation Kinetic. The task force, consisting of the cruiser HMS Bellona (63), and the destroyers HMS Ashanti (F51), HMS Tartar (F43), HMCS Haida (G63) and HMCS Iroquois (G89), attacked the convoy, sinking at least six of the ships, including V 414 Sachsenwald. The wreck lies in 180 ft of water.