Product Overview
The Tsingtau was a speedboat escort of the German Kriegsmarine. Launched in 1934 and scrapped in 1950, she worked as an escort outside of Poland in the baltic sea in 1939 and from mid-February 1940 she served as an anti-aircraft training ship, now with eight 2-cm anti -aircraft guns.
On the night of May 5, 1945, the Tsingtau and their speedboats evacuated 3,500 people from the Gotenhafen-Hexengrund torpedo base in the Bay of Danzig . On May 8, the Tsingtau was part of the very last convoy that once again evacuated soldiers from the Kurland pocket. When entering the port of LibauShe was fired upon by German tanks, as no one believed there would be German ships for evacuation. On May 8, 1945 at around 9.30 p.m., only a few hours before the official end of the war, the last convoy left Libau, taking a total of about 15,000 people west. Between 2,000 and 3,000 wounded were accommodated on the Tsingtau alone . An order received on the way to enter the Soviet-occupied Kolberg was ignored and on May 11th or 12th the convoy with the Tsingtau arrived in Kiel.
Includes a period postcard.
Plaque is 6 x 4.75 inches.
