White squall and the death of the Niobe
For a long time it was believed that such a natural phenomenon as a "white squall" was just one of many sea legends. In fact, this phenomenon is quite real, although quite rare. Its scientific research began only at the turn of the 50-60s.
White squall in the Strait of Magellan, October 25, 2009
This strong and sudden increase in wind often occurs in clear skies without the characteristic squall clouds. Wind speed can reach 25-30 m/s. Strong gusts of wind tear foam and water dust from the crests of the waves, making the surface of the sea white, visibility drops to two to three meters. Usually this phenomenon lasts from several minutes to half an hour, after which calm sets in. The conditions for the appearance of a white squall can be different, but the main reason is a sharp jump in air temperature up or down.
This phenomenon is especially dangerous for sailing ships, whose crews simply do not have time to lower the sails or change course. On July 26, 1932, the Reichsmarine (the name of the German Navy in 1921-1935) training sailboat "Niobe" fell victim to such a squall. The ship sank, killing 69 people.
The future training sailing ship was built in 1913 at a Danish shipyard as a four-masted schooner "Morten Jensen". Initially, it was used by a Danish shipowner for coastal shipping in the North and Baltic Seas. In 1916, it was sold to Norwegians, changed two shipowners and two names.
On November 21, 1916, the schooner, which was en route from Norway to England with a cargo of timber, was captured as a prize by the German submarine UB-41 and brought to Germany, where it was initially used as the floating lighthouse "Aldebaran".
Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany's once-mighty armed forces were reduced to a tiny size and conscription was abolished. These cuts included fleetIt was allowed to have 6 obsolete battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and torpedo boats, a small number of ships and vessels of other types, and 15 thousand personnel.
The Reichsmarine command, like the entire leadership of the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, paid great attention to the professional training of military personnel. Thanks to this, each of them had to, if necessary, take up a position at least two steps higher than the one they actually occupied. Thus, a private could take up the position of a senior non-commissioned officer or sergeant, and they, in turn, could take up the position of junior officers, etc. This would allow, in the event of mobilization, to quickly deploy numerous and fully combat-ready armed forces.
An important role in the training of future sailors was to be played by practice on board a training sailing ship. The command chose the Aldebaran, and in March 1921 it became part of the Reichsmarine.
Initially, under the name "Schwalbe", the ship was chartered by the film company Vera-Filmwerke AG, and a film was shot on board. The first commander (until September 1921) was the famous Count Felix von Luckner, who commanded the sailing raider "Seeadler" during the First World War. In the film, the role of the sailing ship's commander was played by Luckner himself. However, the Count did not have a long tenure as commander and "movie star" - due to "financial uncertainties" that arose, he was asked to leave his post "of his own free will".
In 1922, the sailing ship was returned to the Reichsmarine, and its conversion into a training ship began. From a four-masted schooner, it was transformed into a three-masted barquentine, living quarters for the crew, teachers and cadets, classrooms were equipped, and a new, more powerful main engine was installed. On April 30, 1923, under the name "Niobe" (in ancient Greek mythology - the daughter of Tantalus), the ship began its new life.
After modernization, the sailing ship had the following main performance characteristics:
Full displacement, t — 675
Length, m - 53,76
Length with bowsprit, m — 57,8
Width, m — 9,1
Draft, m - 5,6
Power of the main engine "Bolinder", hp - 240
Sail area (16 sails), sq. m — 953
Speed under engine, knots - 7,5.
The crew consisted of a commander, five officers, including a doctor, three sergeants, 24 non-commissioned officers and sailors, and 65-80 cadets (future officers and non-commissioned officers).
Every year, 200 to 350 people underwent practical training on board the Niobe. The ship made three training voyages a year, each lasting from two and a half to three and a half months, which took place in the Baltic and North Seas, and later voyages were also made to the shores of Scandinavia and Spain.
Model "Niobe"
On 25 July 1932, the ship left Kiel for a training voyage in the Baltic Sea under the command of Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Ruhfus (1895–1955). The following day, Niobe sailed into the Fehmarn Belt, which connects the Kiel and Mecklenburg bays and is located between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. The strait is 18 kilometres wide and up to 20–30 metres deep.
Heinrich Rufus, 1942
There was complete calm, the sky was cloudless, but from 11:30 the weather began to change - a southwest wind blew with a force of 3-4 points, and dark clouds appeared over Fehmarn.
Meanwhile, the trainees were learning to manage the sails, mastering the intricacies of flag signaling, exchanging signals with the floating lighthouse Fehmarnbelt, and in the classroom, navigation lessons were taking place. It was a hot day, and the officer on watch gave permission to open the portholes, skylights, and tambourine doors.
Suddenly, at about 14:50, a white squall hit from the south-east. No signs of it were noticed on board, even the barometer needle remained motionless. Everything happened so quickly that the crew did not have time to react. Half a minute later, the ship rolled over onto its left side, and streams of water poured in through the open portholes, hatches and doors.
The ship stayed afloat for about four minutes and sank with a large trim by the stern at a depth of more than twenty meters. Only six people managed to get out of the interior. In total, only forty of the 109 people on board managed to escape, including the commander. Among the dead were 46 interns, including six students from the medical faculty of the University of Greifswald, who were doing their internship on the Niobe as candidates for officers of the naval medical service.
All this took place in front of hundreds of spectators who watched from the shore as the world's largest six-engine seaplane, the Dornier X, flew overhead.
The Fehmarnbelt Lighthouse
Fortunately, the lightship Fehmarnbelt and the cargo ship Theresia LM Russ were nearby, and their boats picked up the survivors of this shipwreck.
This is how the captain of the floating lighthouse Thomsen describes what happened:
At about 14.00:26 on July 14, the training sailing ship Niobe approached the lighthouse with a request to conduct a training exchange of flag signals with it. At 15:5, the ship passed the lighthouse under topsails at a distance of 14 cables. The exchange of flag signals continued until 30:7. Suddenly, a wind of up to 19 points blew from the south, soon changing direction to southwest, at the same time it began to rain. The watchmen informed me that the Niobe had rolled over. Only the part of the hull rising above the water was visible. I immediately ordered a motorboat to be lowered and personally began the rescue operation. In order to attract the attention of the steamship Theresia LM Russ passing by, I ordered the fog horn to be turned on. However, the steamship had already noticed what was happening, immediately headed for the Niobe and lowered a boat. Our motorboat took the steamboat's boat in tow. Arriving at the scene (of the accident), we picked up 50 (?) people. All of them were within a circle of 100-30 meters in diameter, some in life jackets, and others, without jackets, holding on to floating debris. The rescue operation lasted about XNUMX minutes. The rescued were transferred to the "Theresia LM Russ".
Heinrich Rufus was brought before a military tribunal on charges of criminal negligence leading to the loss of the ship and its people. The surviving members of the Niobe crew served as witnesses. Experienced naval and merchant marine officers, meteorologists and other specialists were called in as experts. The group of experts was headed by the former commander of the Niobe, Fregattenkapitän Raul Mewis.
Having examined all the circumstances of the incident, as well as the technical condition of the ship and the level of training of its crew, the tribunal, in its verdict of November 3, 1932, recognized the cause of the death of the training sailing ship as “the action of a higher power,” and Heinrich Rufus was acquitted.
On July 29, 1932, the Reichsmarine signed a contract with the Hamburg salvage company Bugsier-, Reederei- und Bergungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (laid down in 1866) to raise the Niobe. During the salvage operations, the masts were separated by explosions, then the hull was raised 3 meters above the bottom and towed to the shore, where it was raised to the surface. The remains of 29 people were extracted through the cut holes, three were found entangled in the rigging. Earlier, 17 of the dead were picked up at sea, and the remains of 19 sailors were never found. Thus, almost all future officers of the 1932 recruitment (Crew 1932) perished.
"Niobe" was not cut into "needles"; it was destined for an honorable death. On September 18, 1932, the ship was taken out to sea and sunk by a torpedo fired from the destroyer "Jaguar".
After the loss of the sailing ship, the Reichsmarine command began to look for a replacement, this time it was decided to build a new specialized ship. In addition to budget funds, the public actively joined in collecting donations. This was supplemented by funds received from the sale of commemorative silver medals issued by the Mint. As a result, the training sailing ship "Gorch Fock" was built, which after World War II became the Soviet "Tovarishch".
A commemorative medal minted in memory of the sinking of the Niobe
The few remaining artefacts that remind us of the Niobe and its demise are the figurehead, which is kept at the naval academy in Mürwik, the steering wheel and lifebuoy in the garrison church in Wilhelmshaven, and several monuments.
Monument to Niobe in the Garrison Church of Wilhelmshaven
Monument to those killed on the Niobe on the island of Fehmarn
The Niobe was not the only victim of the white squall. On May 2, 1961, the American sailboat Albatross sank near the Dry Tortugas Islands (Gulf of Mexico) with cadets of the Ocean Academy on board. Based on these events, the feature film White Squall was made in the USA in 1996.
On May 14, 1986, the 42-meter schooner Pride of Baltimore II was suddenly hit by a squall with a speed of 250 knots 80 miles north of Puerto Rico. The vessel capsized.
2004. A sudden squall at a regatta in Saratov swept away yachts moored near the embankment. About 15 yachts were smashed, some to smithereens. It all happened suddenly and passed within 15-30 minutes, after which it became sunny and bright again.
The regatta organizers could have learned the forecast for stronger winds in advance, but either they didn't, or as always... There were almost no external signs of an approaching squall. Only heat, calm, and a kind of arc of haze, a kind of vertical wall at a height of several hundred meters and a couple of kilometers long, which was noticeably approaching quickly. The first time I simply noticed an unusual phenomenon, and when this arc approached, a strong wind arose with gusts of about 15-18 m/s. It lifted galvanized sheets into the air, one of which seriously injured a friend. The following summer I again saw a similar arc of haze in the sky, and everything repeated itself, though a little weaker. (Novozhilov N.I. "Coastal Wind", "Boats and Yachts" magazine, No. 55, 1975).
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