Dr. Adolf Spilker was a German fishing trawler that was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War for use as a Vorpostenboot, serving as V 401 Dr. Adolf Spilker and V 402 Dr. Adolf Spilker. She was scuttled at Bayonne, France in August 1944.
Description
Dr. Adolf Spilker was 54.56 metres (179 ft 0 in) long, with a beam of 8.10 metres (26 ft 7 in). She had a depth of 4.35 metres (14 ft 3 in) and a draught of 3.77 metres (12 ft 4 in).[1] She was assessed at 435 GRT, 168 NRT. The ship was powered by a compound steam engine which had two cylinders each of 33 centimetres (13 in) and two cylinders each of 72 centimetres (28+3⁄8 in) diameter by 70 centimetres (27+9⁄16 in) stroke. The engine was built by Christiansen & Meyer, Harburg, Germany and was rated at 70nhp. It drove a single screw propeller.[2]
On 16 September 1939, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine and commissioned with 4 Vorpostenflotille as the Vorpostenboot V 401 Dr. Adolf Spilker. On 16 October 1944, she was redesignated V 402 Dr. Adolf Spilker.[3] She was scuttled as a blockship at Bayonne, Basses-Pyrénées, France on 20 August 1944.[4]
^ ab"Dr. Adolf Spilker (07103)"(PDF). Lloyd's Register: Trawlers &c. DIS-DOL (in English and French). London: Lloyd's Register. 1937–1938. Retrieved 20 November 2022 – via Southampton City Council.
Gröner, Erich (1993). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German). Vol. 8/I: Flußfahrzeuge, Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände (Teil 1). Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN3-7637-4807-5.
