Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 01:23, 25 December 2024

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. Click for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 2,147 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Erlangen (Schiff, 1929)}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.

SS Erlangen was a German cargo vessel that escaped from New Zealand at the beginning of the Second World War and travelled to Chile.

The Erlangen was built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg for North German Lloyd (NDL). She was given the construction number 484, and launched on 31 August 1929. Her maiden voyage took place on 2 November 1929. The vessel was a coal-fired steamship using a steam turbine and single screw for propulsion. Her sister ship was the Goslar.

On 28 August 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, the Erlangen left Port Chalmers in Dunedin seeking to avoid the crew becoming prisoners. The ship was powered by a coal-fired steam engine, and was known to be low on fuel when it left the port. The Erlangen steamed south to the uninhabited Auckland Islands, entering Carnley Harbour on 30 August, and anchored in the North Arm of the harbour. Over the next five weeks, the crew cleared around 1.2 ha (3 acres) of rātā forest, aiming to collect 400 tonnes of wood to fuel the vessel. New Zealand authorities suspected that the Erlangen could be in the Auckland Islands, and sent the cruiser HMS Leander to search for Erlangen. However, severe weather prevented HMS Leander from entering Carnley Harbour and the Erlangen was not discovered. On 7 October 1939, the Erlangen left her anchorage with only an additional 240 tonnes of wood fuel, but eventually reached Chile.

During the time in Carnley Harbour, sails were fabricated using available canvas and tarpaulins from the ship's hatch covers. These sails were rigged to the masts and derricks to provide additional propulsion. On the journey to Chile, the ship travelled 1,507 nmi (2,791 km; 1,734 mi) under sails alone, and 3,319 nmi (6,147 km; 3,819 mi) under steam power.

References

1. Brenstrum, Erick (May–June 2015). "Danger isles". New Zealand Geographic (133). Retrieved 21 December 2024.
2. "Auckland Islands". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
3. "The Erlangen: How she reached Chile - Wood fuel and much sailing". The Evening Post (New Zealand). Vol. CXXIX, no. 21. 25 January 1940. p. 14 – via Papers Past.

This article about a specific civilian ship or boat is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Cargo ships of Germany
• Steamships of Germany
• 1939 in New Zealand
• History of the New Zealand outlying islands
• Individual ship or boat stubs