We are proud to announce that we have been able to identify another wreck using photogrammetry: the cargo steamer “Lotte Halm”, which sank in the North Sea in 1941!

Here my report (German): Link

German video:

English Video:

Model

On October 5, 2024, three divers from our group “Die GEZEITENTAUCHER – The Tide Divers” dove for the first time at a wreck position classified by the BSH (German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency) as a “submarine.” The wreck lies in the North Sea, approximately 37 km north of Norderney. Instead of a submarine, we found the 71-meter-long wreck of an iron steamship with two propellers, which is almost completely capsized and lying upside down. The wreck was examined during the dive and digitally captured using photogrammetry. By comparing the wreck with ships reported missing in the vicinity, we identified it as the steamer Lotte Halm. This assumption was definitively confirmed by the ship’s length, a comparison of the steam engine with data from Lloyd’s of London, and the description of the sinking found in war diaries.

The steamer Lotte Halm was originally built in 1914 as an oil tanker for the German Navy during World War I. Later, the ship was converted into a freighter. In 1927, it was acquired by a Cologne-based shipping company and renamed Lotte Halm.

The Sinking:
On August 14, 1941, the ship was loaded with sawn timber and en route from Brunsbüttel to Papenburg. From Cuxhaven, it followed the Norwegian freighter Marvel, which had an escort officer on board. A storm was raging. Off the German North Sea coast, north of Norderney, they were attacked at 6:45 PM by British aircraft. Machine gun fire and incendiary bombs caused explosions in the superstructure, and the cargo caught fire. Four people lost their lives. The survivors managed to board a lifeboat. They were rescued by the Marvel and brought to Borkum. The minesweeper M572, the patrol boat V1105, and the tug Atlantik rushed to the burning ship during the night and managed to anchor it. All day long, efforts were made to extinguish the fire to tow the ship to the Weser, but these attempts failed. On the evening of August 15, 1941, the ship was abandoned, and an attempt was made to sink it using artillery fire and depth charges. However, the ship remained afloat on its burning timber cargo. The next day, only a drifting mast with a cargo boom was found. Four minesweepers searched for the wreck using sonar over the following days. The search was abandoned after six days without success, and the wreck was classified as “no danger to navigation.”