Louis Sheid 1939
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Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | Louis Sheid | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1939 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | general cargo ship | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | War action | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Sea / ocean | English Channel | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | England | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 6 km from land |
| Position | 50.2610, -3.8638 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
SS Louis Sheid was a cargo steamship that was wrecked in the English Channel in 1939. She was laid down in Bremerhaven in 1916 as Mai Rickmers. She was completed in 1920, and surrendered as World War I reparations to the United Kingdom government, which renamed her Ultor. In 1921 the UK Shipping Controller sold the ship to a British shipping company, which renamed her Kendal Castle. In 1932 Armement Deppe bought her, and renamed her Louis Sheid.
In December 1939, Louis Sheid rescued survivors from the Dutch cargo ship Tajandoen, which a German U-boat had just torpedoed in the English Channel. Louis Sheid then ran aground on the South Devon coast. An RNLI lifeboat rescued Tajandoen's survivors from Louis Sheid. The next morning, Louis Sheid's crew were rescued by Breeches buoy to the shore. The wreck became a total loss, and broke in two. Most of it was salvaged, but what remains is now a recreational dive site.
Diving & visiting
By 14 December 1939, work had begun to salvage Louis Sheid's cargo of grain, by transferring it to lighters. It was hoped that, once she was lightened by discharging her cargo, the ship could be refloated. Salvage work continued into early January 1940, and much of her cargo was saved. Salvors then hoped to jettison her remaining cargo to lighten her, but early in February the weather worsened, and so did the ship's position on the shore. By late February, a gale had broken her in two.
In 1942, some of the metal of the ship was salvaged. On 29 April that year, eight salvage workers who had been on the wreck were caught in a gale, and got stranded on Book Rock with their 16-foot (5 m) boat.
What remains of Louis Sheid lies off Thurlestone beach at position 50°15.7357′N 3°51.8197′W, at a depth of 26 feet (8 m). Two Thirds Blue Sub-Aqua Club (SAA 912) adopted the wreck under a scheme run by the Nautical Archaeology Society.
Location
- Recorded position: 50.2610, -3.8638 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: English Channel
- Nearest coast: England
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article SS Louis Sheid (revision 1340000015), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage”, “Dive site”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
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- Erme Estuary Wreck 8 km
- Salcombe Cannon Wreck 10 km
- Moor Sand site 10 km
- U-1063 1945 · 15 km
- HMS Penylan 1942 · 21 km
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off England · English Channel · Second World War