Sailing through History: Nazi Ensign from WWII’s First Captured British Merchantman
Plymouth Auction Rooms will present a remarkably preserved and eerie piece of WWII history in an upcoming auction: a Nazi ensign flag hoisted on the first captured British merchantman after Germany's surrender. It once adorned the 897-ton Ellerman Wilson Steamship Salerno, which returned to her home port in the Humber in 1945 under the command of Captain William Maybee.
The Salerno was captured by the Germans off Norway in February 1940, a fact documented in the crew's log, which hauntingly records the transition to German control. The German log entries, starting from August 23, 1940, by German engineer Tiedemann, detail the ship's transformation into a torpedo-trials vessel. For five years, the Salerno sailed the Baltic under the red ensign, until allied naval forces seized her at Eckenforde, near Kiel, Germany.
A shocking relic from the totalitarian regime that forever changed human history, this flag represents a significant moment as the Salerno joined the first convoy of merchant ships to sail from the Elbe Estuary post-war and became the first Red Ensign ship to pass through the Kiel Canal, symbolising the triumphant victory of the 'Big Four.' Seize this rare chance to possess a significant artifact from wartime history 13th August 2024. For more information, please visit plymouthauctions.co.uk.
