View source for MS Schwabenland (1925)

{{other ships|MS Schwabenland}}
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|Ship caption=''Schwabenland'' before 1939
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|Ship country=[[Weimar Republic|Weimar]] / [[Nazi Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Weimar Republic|naval}} {{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|navy}}
|Ship name=MS ''Schwabenland''
|Ship namesake=The region of [[Swabia]] in Germany
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|Ship launched=1925
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|Ship completed=July 1925
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|Ship fate=Loaded with poison gas shells and scuttled, 31 December 1946
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|Ship type=Steamship
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|8,500}}
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|Ship aircraft facilities= Crane and catapult for [[flying boat]]s
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[[Motor ship|MS]] '''Schwabenland''' was a German [[Aircraft catapult|catapult]] ship owned by the [[Deutsche Luft Hansa]]. It took part in the 1938-1939 [[Third German Antarctic Expedition]].<ref name=Geographical>{{cite journal|title=The Schwabenland in the Antarctic|journal=The Geographical Journal|date=January 1940|volume=95|issue=1|pages=52–54|doi=10.2307/1788684|jstor=1788684|publisher=The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
''Schwabenland'' was a [[Hansa Line|Hansa]] liner of {{GRT|8,500|disp=long}}, built in 1925. It was converted into a catapult ship in 1934; a Heinkel-built K-9 [[aircraft catapult|catapult]] was installed on the ship's stern, along with a crane for lifting aircraft.  The K-9 could accelerate a 15-ton aircraft to {{Convert|94|mph}}. ''Schwabenland''{{'}}s twin diesel screws gave it a speed of {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name="Catapult Aircraft">{{cite book|last1=Marriott|first1=Leo|title=Catapult aircraft : the story of seaplanes flown from battleships, cruisers and other warships of the world's navies, 1912-1950|date=2006|publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation|location=Barnsley|isbn=184415419X|pages=101–105|edition=1. publ. in Great Britain.}}</ref>

==Lufthansa air mail==
Lufthansa sought to engage in [[air mail]] service to the Americas using seaplanes launched off catapult ships, with ''Schwabenland'' being the second of those ships. The craft flew with a payload of {{convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}} over {{convert|5,000|km|mi}};<ref>Dancey, Peter ''Lufthansa to Luftwaffe-Hitlers: Secret Air Force'' Lulu Press, Inc, 12 Mar 2013</ref> each flight carried 100,000 air mail letters.<ref name="80th anniversary">{{cite web|title=80th anniversary of trailblazing airmail flight across the South Atlantic|url=http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/press/news-releases/singleview/archive/2014/january/30/article/2781.html|website=Lufthansa Group|publisher=Deutsche Lufthansa AG|access-date=3 September 2015|date=30 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929003553/http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/press/news-releases/singleview/archive/2014/january/30/article/2781.html|archive-date=29 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Two [[Dornier Do 18]] Lufthansa seaplanes christened ''Zephir'' and ''Aeolus'' were used for air mail flights from the [[Azores]] to the United States and from [[Fernando de Noronha]] to [[Natal, Rio Grande do Norte|Natal]].<ref name="southatlanticflight">{{cite web |last1=Grosschopff |first1=Robert |date=2010 |title=South Atlantic Mail Services |url=https://southatlanticflight.com/south-atlantic-mail-services |access-date=3 September 2015 |website=southatlanticflight.com}}</ref>

==Third German Antarctic Expedition==
{{main article|New Swabia}}
''Schwabenland'' was borrowed from Lufthansa for the 1938-1939 Third German Antarctic Expedition. The ship sailed in secret from [[Hamburg]] on 17 December 1938, carrying a complement of 82 men and two [[Dornier Wal]] seaplanes. The ship contacted the German [[whaling]] fleet off [[Bouvet Island]], then anchored near the edge of the pack ice at 69°14′S, 4°30′W.  After the expedition had completed its work, ''Schwabenland'' headed north on 6 February 1939, reaching Germany again on 11 April.<ref name=frontiers>{{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=William James|title=Exploring polar frontiers : a historical encyclopedia (Volume 1)|date=2003|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.] |isbn=978-1576074220 |pages=552–553 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYdBH4dOOM4C&q=Schwabenland+Lufthansa&pg=PA552|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

==World War II and fate==
[[File:German catapult seaplane tender, MS Schwabenland, starboard aft, 1939 (26786989561).jpg|right|thumb|''Schwabenland'' with two seaplanes near catapult, 1939]]
In October 1939 ''Schwabenland'' entered [[Luftwaffe]] service and used [[Blohm & Voss BV 138]] seaplanes. After the [[fall of France]] it was stationed off the coast of [[Occupied France]], based from the ports of [[Le Havre]] and [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]].<ref>p.&nbsp;420 Warship International, Volume 27 International Naval Research Organization, 1990</ref>

In August 1942 it was transferred to [[Tromsø]], Norway.<ref>Page 420 ''Warship International - Volume 27'' 1990</ref>

The ship was damaged and forced to [[Beaching (nautical)|beach]] by the British submarine {{HMS|Terrapin|P323|2}} in 1944 which was attacking a [[convoy]] off [[Flekkefjord]], Norway. ''Schwabenland'' was then [[Ship grounding|run aground]] at Sildeneset in Abelnes Harbour, and later refloated. When the war ended, the ship was taken by the British, and on 31 December 1946 it was loaded with [[chemical warfare|poison gas]] ammunition, and [[Scuttling|scuttled]] in the [[Skagerrak]].<ref name="Cargo liners">{{cite book|last1=Greenway|first1=Ambrose|title=Cargo liners : an illustrated history|date=2011|publisher=Seaforth Pub.|location=Barnsley|isbn=978-1848321298|page=66|edition=New|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5n9AwAAQBAJ&q=Schwabenland&pg=PA66|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal|last1=Caruana|first1=Joseph|last2=Grobmeier|first2=Alvin H.|last3=Layman |first3=R. D. |last4=Truebe |first4=Carl E.|year=1990 |title=Question 33/89|journal=Warship International|volume=XXVI |issue=4 |pages=417–420 |issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book |first=David Thomas |last=Murphy |chapter=Aryan Aurora |title=German Exploration of the Polar World : A History, 1870–1940 |location=Lincoln |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2002 |pages=183–207 |isbn=0-8032-3205-5 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.steelnavy.com/1250DLHships.htm ''The Interesting History of the Lufthansa Catapult Ships'']
* [http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?93451 Wreck site]
* [https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.seefunknetz.de/dofw.htm&prev=search Photos]

{{March 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{1946 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|58.1728|N|10.7567|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwabenland (1925)}}
[[Category:1925 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kiel]]
[[Category:Steamships of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Germany]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1944]]
[[Category:World War II naval ships of Germany]]
[[Category:Seaplane tenders]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1946]]
[[Category:Antarctica during World War II]]