Info on German ship RO1 and RO22

[aaaviku]

I am looking for information on 2 ships used in evacuation of German soldiers and Estonian civilians to Danzig and Gotenhafen in the fall of 1945.
The ships were designated RO1 and RO22 (or also referred to as RO1, and RO22).
The two photos attached are from an album on ebay, but unfortunately can no longer find the listing there... (so glad I pulled the photos down when I did).

RO22 was apparently in the harbour of Tallinn when the Moero was destroyed (22-Sept-45), and arrived (damaged) in Gotenhafen.

RO22 is referenced in this online diary, as English booty: D. West Plain.
(http://kriegsende.aktuell.ru/deutsche/19/)

RO1 transported evacuees from Kuressaare, Saaremaa, Estonia on Sept 30, 1945 to Danzig (with my parents on board).
Earlier it was in the harbour of Tallinn when the Moero was destroyed, but was not damaged itself.
I have no other record of the RO1 - what type of ship, and whether it was perhaps also a captured vessel.

Does anyone recognize the type of ship(s) from the photos, or have any more information on either ship?

[aaaviku]

Just reading back, I also wanted to mention that in a list of ships sunk by Soviet aircraft in the Baltic
(http://www.wio.ru/fleet/sunk/baltic.htm), the following shows RO22 as follows:

22 September 1944 German merchant Moero (5272tons) (655 soldiers aboard killed) sunk by A-20 bombers and merchants Sumatra (9280tons), RO22/Westplain (4370tons) and Malaga (2146tons) are damaged. Also the German torpedo boat T 20 was damaged.

So the above shows RO22 as a 4370 ton ship also known as Westplain, which agrees with the other diary I posted the link for, which called RO22 English "booty" Westplain.

Any help (especially with RO1) would be very helpful!!!

[aaaviku]

ok, continued digging and I found it (after a month of searching!)
http://lemairesoft.sytes.net:1944/pages ... vid=366738

RO22 was Westplein, a dutch ship.
Regitered as RO22 in 1940. Captured in May 1945 and returned to Netherlands as war reparations, and scrapped in 1955.

RO1 was British (Harpalyce), then dutch (Loppersum), then registered as German (RO1/Loppersum)
RO1 was a steam cargo ship, used for troop transport, and returned to Netherlands as war reparations. In 1956 it was renamed Luisita Groce.

Harpalyce, 3rd of that name, built by J. Readhead & Sons Ltd., South Shields | 1937 sold to Stoomvaart Maatschappij Oostzee, Amsterdam renamed Loppersum, 1956 sold to F.I. Croce renamed Luisita Groce, 28th January 1960 wrecked.
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines ... ison.shtml

[igorr]

Both RO.1 and RO.22 was ex-holland steamship taken by germans for intended landing in England (Seelowe). "RO" means that ships must sail from Rotterdam. LOPPERSUM was 4691 grt built 1930. In Aug. 1940 germans requisitioned ship for Seelowe. After cancelling of operation ship went to Erprobungverband Ostsee (EVO, landing-training unit in Baltic). There she was flagship and floating barracks. In 1942 ship given to 24. Landungsflottille in same role and from 22.10.44 she was Truppentransporter. 12.8.45 returned to owner.
Fate of WESTPLEIN was quite the same. Built in 1920 for rotterdamian owners in Germany, she became RO22 in 08.40, goes to EVO 12.4.41, then 24, 23 in finally 27 Landungsflottillen. From 30.7.44 became Truppentransporter and 9.8.45 returned to owners.

[igorr]

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/pho ... id=2066237#

[aaaviku]

Thank you so much, Igorr! Much appreciated! Especially the link to the picture, and also the explanation of the "RO" designation (which I was curious about). I will also look up information about Seelöwe.

Also just to correct some of what I said in my initial post - Moero was sunk on route to Gotenhofen, not in Tallinn harbour. RO22 was also damaged in the attack, but continued and arrived in Gotenhafen, with casualties on board.

Thanks again!
/ann

[Jaaktik]

Thank you so much, Igorr! Much appreciated! Especially the link to the picture, and also the explanation of the "RO" designation (which I was curious about). I will also look up information about Seelowe.

Also just to correct some of what I said in my initial post - Moero was sunk on route to Gotenhofen, not in Tallinn harbour. RO22 was also damaged in the attack, but continued and arrived in Gotenhafen, with casualties on board.

Thanks again!
/ann

Just for interest My mother's sister and her sister in law were evacuated on the Moero from Tallinn. My mother was separated from her sister who was the last one allowed aboard. My mother left on the RO22. All three women had two children each. Both relatives on the Moreo lost a child each. My mother recounted the time that the torpedo hit the RO22 and left a damaged area in the ship which had about 120 dead floating in it. Thank you for your research I now know what the name of the ship was that we travelled in.

Many thanks JT

[aaaviku]

JT; you may be interested in these links. Karl Hintzer recording ship arrivals in Danzig and Gotenhafen, and his diaries are here:

http://www.hot.ee/lvpfoorum/hintzer.htm
http://www.hot.ee/hintzer/laeva_0.htm

26. septembril 1944. a.
Gotenhafeni tuli „RO" torpeedotabamusega. Pardal oli 100 surnut ja samapalju haavatuid. Laev tuli Tallinnast ja sai juba Eesti ranniku juures tabamuse. Laeval ei olnud reisijate nimekirja ja arvati, et üle saja inimese kukkus plahvatuse tõttu merre.Üks laeva trümmidest oli täidetud mereveega. Danzigi sadamasse tuli Tallinnast „Warthe" umbes 500 eestlasega ning Pärnust „Sonnenfelde" umbes 310 eestlasega. 21. sept. Tallinnast väljunud laev „Moero" ca. 3000 eestlasega hukkus. Pääsenuid ca. 400 - 500. Hukkunute hulgas on ka dr. Tare, dr. Kook, dr. Vahtrik, õp. Uhke-Aumere perekondadega. Pardal oli ka üks laatsaret koos haavatutega.

/ann

[OldTom]

My mother and her family were on a German ship in Sept 1944 sailing out of Tallinn - I believe it was in a convoy with the Moero on Sept 22. It sounds apocryphal, but my understanding was that a Soviet plane un-artfully dropped a torpedo which hit the water, bounced high in the air, and went through the stack without exploding. My understanding was that there were no casualties from the torpedo, and maybe a couple people killed by a machine gun strafing of the deck. Almost all the passengers were below decks. Is anybody familiar with any of this and know which ship it was?

[igorr]

You describe wxactly attack of "Bostons" on SS MINDEN 13.52-13.55 on her way to Gotenhafen 21.9.44. She was in convoy with WARTHELAND and T 5 and T 12. This was not a torpedo, but heavy bomb, dropped by skip-bombing tactic. Some bombs jump over ship and just one holeda stack and exploded near boardwand. MINDEN has 3 dead and 11 heavily wounded from gun fire.

[OldTom]

Thank you very much!. The name Minden rings a bell! What means "Bostons"?

[igorr]

This is american bombers of type A-20G, named "Boston" in England and then in USSR.

[OldTom]

You mean the Russians were flying American-made planes?

[Polar bear]

hi, OldTom,

In the frame of Lend-Lease, nearly 10,000 (!) US-made aircraft were delivered to the SU, the bulk being P-39 Airacobra, P-63 Kingcobra and A-20 Boston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_P-39 ... viet_Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_P-63 ... viet_Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A ... viet_Union
https://vvsairwar.com/2018/01/09/the-do ... t-service/

greetings, the pb

[OldTom]

Very interesting- thank you very much, the PB, and Igorr