However, I learned that I had bee n given a gift membership in the National Maritime Historical Society by an older brother. H e had given a membership to each of our siblings (16 of us in all). I am now a great fan of Sea H istory an d die Society. And I would like ro propose a challenge to each NMHS m ember-send a gift membership to just one brother, sister, o r ocher family member. We can double MHS m embership and double the reach and effecti ve ness of the organization. Just to let yo u know what NMHS and m y brother have started: My husband is trying to deci de what his next project wi ll be. H e is clea ning out the tack shed and experimenting with plans to build something that looks to be a small Viking ship . I am not sure when it wi ll be fin ished or what it will look li ke, but it sure will get plenty of attention o n the lakes aro und here! KELLY A
E H EADLEY
Lander, Wyoming
"Drawing a Dead Horse" I very mu ch enjoyed the interesting and in format ive article by Dr. Louis Norton on "S uperstiti o ns of Fishermen" in Sea History 101. Even in today's navy, taking an advance in pay for a du ty statio n move o r for uniforms is cal led "drawing a dead ho rse." I had always wondered about the derivatio n of that rather strange term. Now I know! CAPT. P. G. HAAG, USNR (RET) Mountain View, Californi a A Forgotten Tragedy Following th e success of the movie Titanic, bookstores seem to be full of publications about great sea disaste rs. I feel the tragic bombing of Lubeck Bay in May 1945 overshadows all th e published stories, but is ignored in the literature. On 3 May 1945 (fo ur days before Ge rman y's surrender), three ships were anchored in Lubeck Bayon the Baltic Sea: th e CapArcona, a 27,560-ton German luxury lin er, fl ags hip of the H amburg-So uth America Line; the 2 I ,046-ton German liner Deutschfandof rhe Hamburg-America Line; and the Ge rman freighter Thiefbek. The Cap Arcona and the Thiefbek were loaded with prisoners from the concentrat io n camps of Neuengamme, Danzig and others. T he Deutschfand was bein g co nverted to a hospical ship and it's uncl ea r whether there were prisoners on board. In any event,
SEA HISTORY I 03 , WINTER 2002-03
so me 15 ,000 persons-pnsoners, crew members and SS guards-were aboard the three ships. At 2:30 th at afternoon, the ships were attacked by British fi ghter-bombers. The Cap Arcona, on fire, rolled over and lay pardy submerged. The Deutschland burned, keeled over, and sank in about four hours. The Thiefbek burned o ut and sank in 45 minutes. T he estim ated number of deaths varies from 8,000 to as high as 13,400. Reports indicate the RAF was unaware that most of the people aboard were prisoners. A survi vo r of the horrifi c event still wonders why th e attack was necessa ry, especially with the AJlied armies so close. The events of this day are rarely mentioned in accounts of World War II and lisrs of maritime tragedies. Perhaps readers of Sea History co uld expand o n or add to my acco unt. THOMAS H. MORRIS
Houston, Texas
Steam Schooners Forever! It came to my attention that the National Maritime Historical Society has Shannon Wall as an ad visor. Shan non was my shipmate in World War II on an old woodenhulled steam schooner call ed the Barbara C. We were both ABs but lacer Shannon became the bosun. He was a great shipmate and a superb bosun, and late r became president of the National Maritime U ni o n. T he woode n-hulled steam schoo ners were ve ry commo n before WWII o n the
West Coast of the U nited States. A coupl e of years afterthewar, I was o n the SS Wayne Victory in Manila harbo r and saw th e Barbara C, but by then she was sailing under the fl ag of C hina. PAT STOPPELMAN
Camano Island, Washington
Seeking Bassett-Lowke Ship Models I am wo rkin g with the Museum fur H amburgische Geschi chte (th e Museum of Hamburg History), which is pl anning an exhibition for late 2003 dedicated to the histo ry of 1:1200/1: 1250 scale models. I have been advi sin g th em on previous ship model exhibition s as I am a coll ecto r of 1:400 scale woode n ship models. I wo uld be most grateful if readers of Sea History cou ld let me know the whereabouts of ship models from the Bassett-Lowke company so that I can contact the owners regarding information about the models and the possibility of borrowing them for the exhibiti on. HANS-jUERGEN STEFFEN
Stri ndbergweg 71 22587 H amb urg GERMANY phone: 011 +49 (40) 86 63 4 10 e-mai l: HaJueSte@aol.com
Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancie nt marin ers of Greece to Portuguese navigators opening up the ocean world to the hero ic efforts of seamen in thi s ce ntury's conflicts. Each issu e brings new in sights and new discoveries. If yo u love the sea, ri vers, lakes,
and bays-if yo u love the legacy of rhose who sail in deep water and their workaday craft, then yo u belong wid1 us. Join today! Mail in the form below, phone:
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