Coastlines 1/1250 CL-M535A Anneliese Essberger German blockade runner 1942
Anneliese Essberger is a 1/1250 scale polyurethane resin model of a German tramping ship that was taken into the Kriegsmarine in WW2 to supply and replenish U-boats at sea. By 1942, with more U-boats in service and armoured repair bunkers available to repair them in forward bases, Anneliese Essberger was withdrawn to Bordeaux and tasked to sail to Kobe, Japan with military supplies. The model is made and painted by Coastlines Models using an original master model created by Mercator Models, catalogue number CL-M535A
Annaliese Essberger sailed from Bordeaux in company with a sperbrecher to clear mines and a Japanese merchant ship in late Autumn 1942. The ships were spotted by the RAF in the Gironde Estuary and attacked by Halifax bombers. None of the ships were hit but Anneliese was near missed and a propeller shaft damaged which reduced her maximum speed. They were bombed again as they entered the Atlantic and the Japanese ship parted company to reduce the risk of them being attacked again. Annelise was spotted in mid-Atlantic by a civilian Clipper seaplane flying from Brazil to Europe which came down for a closer look before flying off and the ship's captain became nervous that a warship would be sent to investigate, so he altered course to westwards and passed by St Paul's Rocks halfway between Brazil and the African coast. An American patrol from the base at Recife intercepted consisting of the cruisers Milwalkee (flag) and Cincinnati and the destroyer Sommers. Anneliese stopped and the crew abandonned ship and the officers fired scuttling charges. There was a large explosion towards the stern and the ship settled by the stern with fires amidships. Sommers put a small boarding party on board, briefly but she was sinking quickly so they salvaged a few artifacts and the navigator's chart ant notebook. All the crew were rescued. Several photographs were taken from Milwalkee.