1939 Silkwork Embroidery Of The M.S Havelland

ID: 3523

1939 Silkwork Embroidery Of The M.S Havelland

Price: £250

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Description

M.S. Havelland Blockade Runner – Embroidered Silkwork

A fine silkwork embroidery depicting the M.S. Havelland, a German early-war merchant vessel and blockade runner, which undertook a number of long-range voyages during the opening phase of the Second World War, including runs to South America for coal and oil and later operations in the Far East.

The Havelland was built in 1921 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, for the Hamburg-Amerika-Linie (HAPAG). Launched on 12 May 1921, it entered service on 30 August 1921. By 29 August 1939, on the eve of war, the ship was at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, transiting between Cebu and Hamburg via the Panama Canal. Following the outbreak of hostilities, it was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine on 4 September 1939.

In October 1939, the vessel was transferred to Manila, arriving twelve days later, and during the same period reached Manzanillo, Mexico, suffering from persistent engine trouble. On 18 March 1940, it became part of Hamburg Shipping Company GmbH, and on 27 June 1940 sailed for Japan. After a further engine failure en route, it was towed by the German merchant ships MV Bogota and MV Quito, finally arriving at Yokohama on 12 August 1940.

From September 1940, the Havelland served as a depot ship (Etappendepotschiff) in Yokohama. In December 1943, it was converted into a transport ship, and on 22 December 1943, while sailing between Kobe and Singapore, it was damaged by the American submarine USS Gurnard (Gato-class), followed by yet another engine failure. After being towed back to Kobe, it was repaired and subsequently employed as a U-boat depot ship, renamed Tatsumi Maru.

The vessel was chartered again by HAPAG on 3 April 1944. Its final fate is recorded differently in contemporary sources: one states that it struck a mine and sank on 22 June 1945, while another records that it was damaged during a typhoon in September 1945, ran aground, and was later towed to Kobe, where it was scrapped in January 1946.

The embroidery itself is inscribed in German:

“Zur Erinnerung an meine Reise China Japan”
“In memory of my journey to China and Japan.”

Size:
45 × 54 cm