SS Adolph Woermann |
|
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Adolph Woermann |
| Port of registry: | Hamburg (1922-35) Hamburg (1935-39) |
| Builder: | Blohm + Voss |
| Yard number: | 395 |
| Launched: | 1922 |
| Maiden voyage: | 15 November 1922 |
| Out of service: | 22 November 1939 |
| Fate: | Scuttled |
SS Adolph Woermann was a German ship built in 1922 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Bau-Nr. 395 for the shipping lines Woermann-Linie (WL) and German East Africa Line (Deutsche Ostafrika Linie, DOAL) and named after German merchant, ship owner and politician Adolph Woermann.
At the outbreak of World War II on the homebound trip Adolph Woermann lay at Lobito and was held up by Portuguese authorities.
On 16 November 1939 she left Lobito trying to reach South America.
Disguised as the Portuguese ship Nyassa, she was traced by the British Waimarana who informed HMS Neptune. On the approach of Neptune on 22 November Capt. Otto Burfeind evacuated Adolph Woermann and sank her according to governmental order.
Crew and passengers were taken up in a friendly manner by the Neptune's crew. It is reported that one Neptune crew member was injured in trying to save the liner by going onboard to close the flood-valves.
Passengers and crew of Adolph Woermann were taken to England and interned at Seaton/Devon.
In 1940 most of the internees from the camp were taken on the Arandora Star and so was Capt. Burfeind and his crew, and he was lost when that ship was sunk by the German submarine U-47 on 2 July 1940.