Former French ferry Côte d’Azure became German minelayer Elsass 1941-1944/1945

According to order no. 20083 was in 1941 at the Dutch shipyard of the Kon.Mij. De Schelde the former French ferry Côte d’Azure rebuilt into the German minelayer Elsasz.(1) This ferry on the line Dover-Calais was in May 1940 seized by the French navy to be used as troop transport towards the Netherlands embarking the troops in Flushing. She was next used for evacuating Belgian troops and refugees to England and British troops from Dunkirk towards England. She sunk in the harbour of Dunkirk on 27 May 1940 during an air attack. A year later she was salvaged and refloated and towed to the shipyard in Flushing. Arrived on 23 June 1941 in the inner harbour and at the sawmill three days later. There she was in 16 months converted  into a minelayer. Docked 5-15 September 1941 to remove the engines and since then again docked 8-3 October 1941, 23 April-10 June 1942 and 26-30 September 1942. On 25 October 1942 departed towards Antwerp. In 1943-1944 served she in the Baltic and sunk in August 1944 outside sunk (sabotaged?). In German service was her captain Dierikhoff. The conversion costs were probably ƒ 1.800.000 although this figure is not certain. She was (originally) fitted out with two turbines which while driving two screws allowed a speed of 22 knots. Built in 1930 at the shipyard Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranéee, Graville, Le Havre, France. Her dimensions were 105 x 13,68 x 7,92 (hold) metres or 325’9”x 45’0”x 25’0” and a measurement of 3.047 gross and 1.040 net tons.

Source

Archive Kon.Mij. De Schelde (Munipality Archive of Flushing) order administration.

Note

1. According to the website http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/SNCF1.html#anchor18092 property of the Société Anonymé de Gerance et d’Armement. The website http://www.forum-marinearchiv.de/ablage/artikel/duenkirchen.html calls her a passenger ship built in 1930 with a gross tonnage of 3.047 tons, which was sunk on 27 may 1940 and which was commissioned inn German service as the Elsass. The website http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa%C3%9F_(1930) supplies an extensive note dealing with her German service but that she sunk on 5 January 1945 within a short time in the Samsø Bælt between Kalundborg and island Samsø after hitting a mine. According to this site was she lenghtened to 103,5 metres and were her orginal dimensions 99,29 x 13,72 x 3,65 metres and armed with 2-10,5cm guns. Her crew numbered around 280 men and her captain was Klt.d.R. Friedrich Dyckerhoff. See also the link http://www.marinekameradschaft-flensburg.de/files/malherhoeren/Jg-51-Nr04-Mal-Herhoeren-Nov-2003.pdf