SS Friedrich Karl (1938)

Friedrich Karl was a cargo ship which was built by Neptun Werft, Rostock in 1938. She was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War, serving as the vorpostenboot V 108 Friedrich Karl and the sperrbrecher Sperrbrecher 138. She struck a mine and sank off Borkum on 23 December 1942.

Description
The ship was 236 ft long, with a beam of 35 ft and a depth of 15 ft. She was assessed at,. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 16+1/8 in, 26 in and 44+5/16 in diameter by 27+9/16 in stroke. The engine was built by Neptun Werft, Rostock. It was rated at 167nhp and drove a single screw propeller. She had a speed of 10.5 kn.

History
Friedrich Karl was built in 1938 by Neptun Werft, Rostock for Reederei Wendenhof GmbH, Wismar. The Code Letters DMXL were allocated. During the Second World War, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine to serve as a Vorpostenboot. She was allocated to 1 Vorpostenbootflotille under the designation V108 Friedrich Karl. She was redesignated as a Sperrbrecher on 26 September 1941, becoming Sperrbrecher 138 with 1 Sperrbrecherflotille. On 23 December 1942, she struck a mine and sank off Borkum.