AFROS
| Name : | AFROS |
| Greek name : | ΑΦΡΟΣ |
| Type of Ship : | Yacht |
| LRS-Name : | AFROS |
| Port of Registry : | Piraeus 628 |
| Later Names : | 1941 12 M 3 1942 GA 51 |
| Initial Flag of Registry : | Great Britain |
| Owner : | 1911 Christian Salvesen & Co., Leith (Scotland), Great Britain 1915 French Navy 1920 W.H. Miller, Piraeus, Greece 1920 Embiricos Bros, Andros Island, Greece 1928 Maris A. Embiricos, Piraeus, Greece 1941 German Reich |
| Shipyard : | Akers Mekaniske Verksted, Oslo (those days Christiania), Norway |
| Hull Number : | 318 |
| Year of Construction : | 1911 |
| Commissioned : | 00.05.1911 |
| Size (GRT) : | 110 |
| Size (NRT) : | 72 |
| Lenght (m) : | 28 |
| Width (m) : | 5,8 |
| Depth (m) : | 3,3 |
| Engine : | Steam engine/3 cylinders/Akers Mekaniske Verksted, Oslo, Norway |
| Output : | 51 NHP |
| Screws : | 1 |
| Speed (kn) : | 12 |
1911 built by Akers Mekaniske Verksted, Oslo (at that time still Christiania), Norway, as the whaler HORTA for Christian Salvesen & Co., Leith (Scotland), Great Britain. During the summer of 1911 working off Iceland. [D]
1912 working in the Antarctic ocean and off the Falklands.
1913 sent to Iceland for the whaling season.
1915 purchased by the French Navy, rebuilt as a patrol boat and renamed CIGALE 1.
1920 purchased by W.H. Miller & Co., Piraeus, Greece.
1920 sold to National S.N. Co. of Greece (Embiricos Bros), Andros Island, Greece, and renamed ANAFI. [G]
09.05.1920 arrived in Greece. [E]
1928 rebuilt as yacht and renamed AFROS. She became the private yacht of the shipowner Maris A. Embiricos, Piraeus, Greece.
02.11.1940 commandeered by the Greek government (Office Δ.Θ.Μ./Γ΄) in the port of Lavrion, Attica. [A]
07.04.1941 sunk in the port of Piraeus during an attack by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) by the explosion of British steamer CLAN FRASER, which was loaded with ammunition and TNT. [B][G]
09.06.1941 declared as German war booty. The ship was raised and repaired [C]
04.08.1941 commissioned as minesweeper “12 M 3” for the “12. Küstensicherungsflottille” (12th Coast Guard Flotilla) with Steuermann Eskilsson in command and used for that purpose*. [F]
14.11.1941 run aground in the bay of the island of Poros, Peloponnese, together with 12 M 1.
15.11.1941 ready to proceed again.
01.12.1941 Steuermannsmaat Bellersen in command. [F]
16.-24.02.1942 special task at Milos, Cyclades.
25.02.1942 entered Piraeus.
07.-17.03.1942 special task at Iraklion, Crete.
18.03.1942 special task at Iraklion finished, return to Piraeus via Milos.
20.03.1942 additional repairs at the shipyard in Piraeus. The ship was not in service up to the end of September 1942.
01.-04.10.1942 engine trials with Steuermann Eskilson in command. [F]
05.10.1942 in service again.
16.-24.10.1942 engine repairs.
30.10.1942 left for engine trials.
01.11.1942 again in service, in accordance with the renaming of the 12. Küstensicherungsflottille as “Küstenschutzflottille Attika”, renamed “GA 51”** (Steuermann Eskilson in command). [F]
10.11.1942 installation of short-waveband radio.
16.12.1942 Steuermann Gerstenberger in command
16.01.1943 Obersteuermann Wiechern in command.
23.-27.01.1943 engine repairs.
07.-17.02.1943 engine repairs.
25.05.-08.06.1943 salvage work for the sailboat EVANGELISTRIA at Seriphos Island, Cyclades.
01.09.1943 Steuermannsmaat Bremer in command.
16.09.1943 Steuermann Janze in command.
26.09.-08.12.1943 participated in the “cleansing” of the Cyclades of Italian troops.
08.12.1943 entered the harbor of Naxos with boiler damage. [F]
09.12.1943-15.01.1944 repairs.
16.12.1943 Steuermannsmaat Malessa in command.
16.01.1944 Obersteuermann Weiss in command up to the day of scuttling.
10.04.-15.08.1944 at the Skaramagas shipyard.
00.10.1944 scuttled during the retreat of the German occupational army from Piraeus***.
After the war found by the O.A.N. (Greek wreckers' committee) in the port of Piraeus and broken up. [G][H]
*) The entry in Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (s. S. 403 Band 8/2), that the ship got the marking “12 M 3” on 7.9.1941, refers erroneously to the Vorpostenboot “12 V 3” (former Greek PARALOS, later UJ-2103). AFROS carried the marking “12 M 3” since beginning of August 1941 (s. [F]).
**) GA = Griechenland Attika
***) In the “Cai Boie List”, the date of loss is reported to be 09.10.1944.
1912 working in the Antarctic ocean and off the Falklands.
1913 sent to Iceland for the whaling season.
1915 purchased by the French Navy, rebuilt as a patrol boat and renamed CIGALE 1.
1920 purchased by W.H. Miller & Co., Piraeus, Greece.
1920 sold to National S.N. Co. of Greece (Embiricos Bros), Andros Island, Greece, and renamed ANAFI. [G]
09.05.1920 arrived in Greece. [E]
1928 rebuilt as yacht and renamed AFROS. She became the private yacht of the shipowner Maris A. Embiricos, Piraeus, Greece.
02.11.1940 commandeered by the Greek government (Office Δ.Θ.Μ./Γ΄) in the port of Lavrion, Attica. [A]
07.04.1941 sunk in the port of Piraeus during an attack by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) by the explosion of British steamer CLAN FRASER, which was loaded with ammunition and TNT. [B][G]
09.06.1941 declared as German war booty. The ship was raised and repaired [C]
04.08.1941 commissioned as minesweeper “12 M 3” for the “12. Küstensicherungsflottille” (12th Coast Guard Flotilla) with Steuermann Eskilsson in command and used for that purpose*. [F]
14.11.1941 run aground in the bay of the island of Poros, Peloponnese, together with 12 M 1.
15.11.1941 ready to proceed again.
01.12.1941 Steuermannsmaat Bellersen in command. [F]
16.-24.02.1942 special task at Milos, Cyclades.
25.02.1942 entered Piraeus.
07.-17.03.1942 special task at Iraklion, Crete.
18.03.1942 special task at Iraklion finished, return to Piraeus via Milos.
20.03.1942 additional repairs at the shipyard in Piraeus. The ship was not in service up to the end of September 1942.
01.-04.10.1942 engine trials with Steuermann Eskilson in command. [F]
05.10.1942 in service again.
16.-24.10.1942 engine repairs.
30.10.1942 left for engine trials.
01.11.1942 again in service, in accordance with the renaming of the 12. Küstensicherungsflottille as “Küstenschutzflottille Attika”, renamed “GA 51”** (Steuermann Eskilson in command). [F]
10.11.1942 installation of short-waveband radio.
16.12.1942 Steuermann Gerstenberger in command
16.01.1943 Obersteuermann Wiechern in command.
23.-27.01.1943 engine repairs.
07.-17.02.1943 engine repairs.
25.05.-08.06.1943 salvage work for the sailboat EVANGELISTRIA at Seriphos Island, Cyclades.
01.09.1943 Steuermannsmaat Bremer in command.
16.09.1943 Steuermann Janze in command.
26.09.-08.12.1943 participated in the “cleansing” of the Cyclades of Italian troops.
08.12.1943 entered the harbor of Naxos with boiler damage. [F]
09.12.1943-15.01.1944 repairs.
16.12.1943 Steuermannsmaat Malessa in command.
16.01.1944 Obersteuermann Weiss in command up to the day of scuttling.
10.04.-15.08.1944 at the Skaramagas shipyard.
00.10.1944 scuttled during the retreat of the German occupational army from Piraeus***.
After the war found by the O.A.N. (Greek wreckers' committee) in the port of Piraeus and broken up. [G][H]
*) The entry in Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (s. S. 403 Band 8/2), that the ship got the marking “12 M 3” on 7.9.1941, refers erroneously to the Vorpostenboot “12 V 3” (former Greek PARALOS, later UJ-2103). AFROS carried the marking “12 M 3” since beginning of August 1941 (s. [F]).
**) GA = Griechenland Attika
***) In the “Cai Boie List”, the date of loss is reported to be 09.10.1944.
| Date of Loss : | 07.04.1941 |
| Place of Loss : | Piraeus, Attica, Greece [B] |
| Kind of Loss : | Air attack |
| Cause of Loss : | Air attack |
| Name of Opponent : | German Luftwaffe |
| Fate of Crew : | No losses [B] |
1. Lloyds Register of Shipping
2. [A] Melissinos, Ioannis: The Navy during World War II - The total contribution of the Greek Merchant Navy (Motorsailers and Steamers) 1940-1945, volume I and II, University of Ioannina 1995 (Gr.)
3. [B] Dounis, Christos: The wrecks of the Greek Waters 1900-1950, volume I, Finatec, Athens 2000 (Gr.)
4. [C] Gröner, Erich (Fortgeführt von Dieter Jung und Martin Maass): Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945, Band 8/2, Bernard & Graefe Verlag
5. [D] Robins, Nich: Scotland and the Sea: The Scottish Dimension in Maritime History, US Naval Institute Press, 2014
6. [E] magazine SFAIRA (Gr.)
7. [F] KTB 12. Küstensicherungsflottille
8. [G] Forum Marinearchiv
9. [H] Thoctarides, Kostas and Bilalis, Aristomenis: “Whalers in the Aegean”, magazine „Naftiki Ellas“, October 2014 (Gr.)
2. [A] Melissinos, Ioannis: The Navy during World War II - The total contribution of the Greek Merchant Navy (Motorsailers and Steamers) 1940-1945, volume I and II, University of Ioannina 1995 (Gr.)
3. [B] Dounis, Christos: The wrecks of the Greek Waters 1900-1950, volume I, Finatec, Athens 2000 (Gr.)
4. [C] Gröner, Erich (Fortgeführt von Dieter Jung und Martin Maass): Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945, Band 8/2, Bernard & Graefe Verlag
5. [D] Robins, Nich: Scotland and the Sea: The Scottish Dimension in Maritime History, US Naval Institute Press, 2014
6. [E] magazine SFAIRA (Gr.)
7. [F] KTB 12. Küstensicherungsflottille
8. [G] Forum Marinearchiv
9. [H] Thoctarides, Kostas and Bilalis, Aristomenis: “Whalers in the Aegean”, magazine „Naftiki Ellas“, October 2014 (Gr.)
| Inserted : | 30.03.2015 |
| Inserted by : | Dimitris Galon |
| Last Edit : | 17.06.2015 |
| Edited by : | Thorsten Reich |
| Modifications : | - 17.06.2015 T. Reich photos 1-2 und documents 1-6 inserted |
