Rauzan was built as the British
fishing trawlerEarl Hereford. Sold to the
Faroe Islands in 1912, she was purchased by the
French Navy in 1917, serving as the
patrol boatGuénon. She was sold in 1919 and was renamed Pen-er-Vro. Renamed Rauzan by 1930, she was requisitioned by the
Kriegsmarine during the
Second World War for use as a vorpostenboot, serving as V 421 Rauzan. She was sunk in June 1944.
Description
The ship was 128 feet 4 inches (39.12 m) long, with a beam of 22 feet 0 inches (6.71 m).[1] She had a depth of 11 feet 7 inches (3.53 m), and a draught of 12 feet 9 inches (3.89 m).[2] She was assessed at 259
GRT, 111
NRT. She was powered by a
triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 32 centimetres (12+1⁄2 in), 56 centimetres (22 in) and 89 centimetres (35 in) diameter by 61 centimetres (24 in) stroke. The engine was made by C. D. Holmes & Son Ltd.,
Hull,
Yorkshire,
United Kingdom. It was rated at 71
nhp. The engine powered a single screw propeller.[1] It could propel the ship at 9 knots (17 km/h).[2]
In 1919, she was sold to F. Evan,
Lorient,
Morbihan and was renamed Pen-er-Vro.[1] The fishing boat registration L 1965 was allocated,[2] as were the Code Letters OQHY.[5] She had been renamed Rauzan by 1930.[6] In 1933, she was sold to L. Ballas, Lorient.[1] Her Code Letters were changed to FOXA in 1934.[7]
On 20 May 1942, Rauzan was seized by the
Kriegsmarine. On 1 October, she was commissioned as a vorpostenboot and allocated to 4 Vorpostenflotille, serving as V 421 Rauzan. [8] She was lost on 4 June 1944, during
Operation Neptune.[1] 4 Vorpostenflotille was operating out of
Boulogne,
Pas-de-Calais, France on that day. Its orders were to carry out a reconnaissance patrol from Boulogne in a westerly direction.[9] V 421 Rauzan was decommissioned on 22 August 1944.[8]
References
^
abcdefgh"Earl Hereford". Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^Danmarks Skibsliste 1915(PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Ministeriet for Handel og Søfart. 1915. p. XXXII.
^"Rauzan (09370)"(PDF). Lloyd's Register: Chalutiers &c. RAP-REF (in English and French). London:
Lloyd's Register. 1931–1932. Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Southampton City Council.
^"Rauzan (59279)"(PDF). Lloyd's Register: Trawlers &c. RAS-REF (in English and French). London:
Lloyd's Register. 1930–1931. Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Southampton City Council.
^"Rauzan (64905)"(PDF). Lloyd's Register: Trawlers &c. RAR-RAY (in English and French). London:
Lloyd's Register. 1934–1935. Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Southampton City Council.
^German Naval Staff Operations Division (1958).
War Diary, June 1944(PDF). Washington, D.C.: Naval History Division. p. 90. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
Sources
Gröner, Erich (1993). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German). Vol. 8/I: Flußfahrzeuge, Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände (Teil 1). Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe.
ISBN3-7637-4807-5.