30th August 1935
T.S. 'Tannenberg'
See 30.08.1935 - 24/68
Postcard depicting the turbine steamer 'Tannenberg'. The card was posted 'an Bord' on the 30th August 1935 (and subsequently delivered from Kiel on the 9th September), just over a month after the ships commissioning. Ref: 30.08.1935 - 24/68
The Tannenberg was a German passenger and car ferry that operated in the Baltic Sea to East Prussia from 1935 to 1939 and was requisitioned by the Navy during World War II and used as a mine ship. The turbine ship, built by the Stettiner Oderwerke for the Reich Ministry of Transport, was launched on 16th March 1935. The ship was christened by the then twelve-year-old Gertrud von Hindenburg, granddaughter of the Field Marshal and Reich President Paul von Hindenburg , who had died the year before. It was the third major new ship to be commissioned for the East Prussian naval service , and with a top speed of 20 knots it was the fastest ship on the line. The home port was Stettin , and HAPAG acted as the correspondent shipowner. The Tannenberg sailed from Schleswig-Holstein , Mecklenburg and Pomerania to East Prussia as part of the East Prussia naval service from 1935 to 1939. The main route ran from Travemünde via Warnemünde , Binz and Swinemünde to Zoppot , Pillau and Memel . Kiel was also called at when required. The ship was equipped to transport 2,000 passengers and around 100 passenger cars. The vehicle compartment was also used to accommodate young people on camp beds, in which the aim was to arouse interest in the navy, for example on trips to the naval base in Kiel. On 2nd September 1939, the ship, which had been designed for wartime use, was requisitioned by the Navy and converted into a mine-laying ship. In August 1940, it was used as the flagship of the mine-laying ships. On 9th July 1941, the ship, together with the mine ships Preußen and Hansestadt Danzig, hit a Swedish minefield east of the southern tip of Öland and sank. The Preußen and the Hansestadt Danzig were also lost in the same minefield.
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