View source for French ship Gapeau (B284)

{{Short description|German and French fishing trawler and auxiliary warship}}
{{other ships|French ship Gapeau}}

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|Ship name=*''Johann Schulte'' (1939–47)
*''Gapeau'' (1947– )
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=*Großer Kürfurst Heringfischerei AG (1939–40)
*Kriegsmarine (1940–45)
*French Navy (1945–69)
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|Ship registry=*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Emden]], [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] (1937–39)
*{{navy|Nazi Germany}} (1939–44)
*{{navy|France}} (1946–69)
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|Ship builder=Schulte & Bruns, [[Emden]]
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|Ship yard number=130
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|Ship launched=22 March 1939
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|Ship completed=27 April 1939
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|Ship commissioned=7 January 1940
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|Ship identification=* Fishing boat registration AE 194 (1939–40)
* Code Letters DGNI (1939-45)
*{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|India}}
* Pennant Number M 1406 (1940–42)
* Pennant Number M 4417 (1942)
* Pennant Number V 625 (1943–45)
* Pennant Number Na 80 (1945–46)
* Pennant Number B 284/A 616 (1946–69)
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|Ship fate=Scrapped
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|Ship type=*[[Fishing trawler]] (1937–39, 1969–70)
*[[Minesweeper]] (1939–43, 1946–47)
*''[[Vorpostenboot]]'' (1943)
*[[Transport ship]] (1947–69)
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|298}}, {{NRT|136}}
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|Ship length={{convert|119|ft|4|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|24|ft|7|in|m|2|order=flip}}
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|Ship depth={{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}}
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|Ship power=Diesel engine, 94nhp
|Ship propulsion=Single screw propeller
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|Ship speed={{convert|10.5|kn|km/h}}
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|Ship complement=23 (''Gapeau'')
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|Ship armament=Unarmed (''Gapeau'')
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'''''Gapeau''''' was a French [[transport ship]] which was built as the German [[fishing trawler]] '''''Johann Schulte''''' in 1939. She was requisitoned by the [[Kriegsmarine]] during the [[Second World War]]. She was used as a [[minesweeper]] under the [[pennant number]]s '''''M 1406''''' and '''''M 4417''''', and later as the ''[[Vorpostenboot]]'' '''V 625 ''Johann Schulte'''''. She was sunk in 1945. Seized by the French post-war and entered service with the [[French Navy]] as ''Gapeau''. Sold in 1969, she was scrapped in 1970.

==Description==
The ship {{convert|119|ft|4|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, with a beam of {{convert|24|ft|7|in|m|2|order=flip}}. She had a depth of {{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}}<!-- and a draught of {{convert|xx|ft|x|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}}-->. She was assessed at {{GRT|298}}, {{NRT|136}}. She was powered by a [[diesel engine]], which had 8 cylinders of {{convert|11|in|cm|order=flip}} diameter by {{convert|17+11/16|in|cm|order=flip}} stroke. The engine was built by Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG, [[Köln]], [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], and was rated at 94 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]] or 500 [[brake horsepower|bhp]].<ref name=JS40>{{cite plimsoll |ship-name=Johann Schulte |lr-number=59535 |subtitle=C |guide=JOC-JOH |filename=40b0260.pdf |accessdate=11 April 2024 }}</ref>{{sfn|Roche|2005}} It drove a single [[screw propeller|screw]] which could propel the ship at {{convert|10.5|kn|km/h}}.<ref name="JS40" />{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=254}}

==History==
''Gapeau'' was built as [[yard number]] 130 by Schulte & Bruns, [[Emden]], Germany.{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=254}} She was launched as the [[fishing vessel]] ''Johann Schulte'' on 22 March 1939 and completed on 27 April. She was owned by the Großer Kürfurst Heringfischerei AG, Emden.{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=255}} Her port of registry was Emden. She was allocated the Code Letters DGNI,<ref name=JS40/> and the [[fishing boat registration]] AE 104.{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=255}}

On 7 January 1940, ''Johann Schulte'' was requisitioned by the [[Kriegsmarine]], serving with 14 ''Minensuchflotille'' as the [[minesweeper]] M 1406. On 22 March 1942, she was reallocated to 44 ''Minensuchflotille'' and her pennant number was changed to M 4417. On 1 January 1943, she was designated as a ''[[vorpostenboot]]''. She was allocated to 6 ''Vorpostenflotille'' as V 625 ''Johann Schulte''. She was sunk in 1945.{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=255}}

Later in 1945, ''Johann Schulte'' was seized by the French at [[Saint-Nazaire]].{{sfn|Roche|2005}} Her pennant number was changed to Na 80. She was repaired, entering service with the 28ème '' Division de Drageurs'' on 1 January 1946, based at [[Brest, France|Brest]], [[Finistère]]. Her pennant number was later changed to B284 and, again, to A616.{{sfn|Roche|2005}} On 5 December 1947, she was taken out of service and rebuilt as a [[transport ship|"regional transport"]], re-entering service named ''Gapeau'',{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=255}} the third ship of the [[French Navy]] bearing that name. Her complement was 22 crew and an officer. She was unarmed. She was initially based at [[Lorient]], [[Morbihan]], and later at [[Oran]], [[French Algeria|Algeria]], in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], providing [[cabotage]] to the [[Fusiliers marins|Demi-Brigade de Fusiliers-Marins]], operating between Oran and [[Ghazaouet|Nemours]], [[Algeria]].<ref name=Netmarine/> ''Gapeau'' completed her 100th Oran–Nemours round-trip on 12 March 1959 and on 23 April was placed into [[Reserve fleet|ready reserve]].{{sfn|Roche|2005}}

''Gapeau'' was condemned on 20 November 1969 and allocated the disposal number Q 455 and then sold.{{sfn|Roche|2005}}{{sfn|Gröner|1993|p=255}} She was scrapped at Brest in 1970.{{sfn|Roche|2005}}<ref name=Netmarine>{{cite web |url=http://www.netmarine.net/f/bat/gapeau/ancien.htm |title=Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Gapeau |trans-title=The ships bearing the name of Gapeau |publisher=Netmarine |language=French |accessdate=11 April 2024 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Erich |title=Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 |trans-title=The German Warships 1815-1945 |volume=8/I: Flußfahrzeuge, Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände (Teil 1) |year=1993 |publisher=Bernard & Graefe |location=Koblenz |isbn=3-7637-4807-5 |language=de}}
*{{cite book |last=Roche|first=Jean-Michel|year=2005|title=Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours |isbn=978-2-9525917-0-6|oclc=165892922|publisher=Group Retozel-Maury Millau |volume=II: 1870–2006|trans-title=Dictionary of French Warships from Colbert to the Present Day |language=fr}}

==External links==
*[http://www.netmarine.net/f/bat/gapeau/ancien01.jpg Black and white photograph of ''Gapeau'']

{{Vorpostenboote Navbox}}
{{1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gapeau}}
[[Category:1939 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Emden]]
[[Category:Fishing vessels of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Germany]]
[[Category:Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1945]]
[[Category:Auxiliary ships of the French Navy]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of France]]