This is Unsinkable Sam aka Oscar, a cat that served with the Kriegsmarine (navy of Nazi Germany) and the Royal Navy (navy of the UK) during World War 2.⁣⁣





This is Unsinkable Sam aka Oscar, a cat that served with the Kriegsmarine (navy of Nazi Germany) and the Royal Navy (navy of the UK) during World War 2.⁣⁣

He was reportedly to have belonged to a sailor onboard the German battleship Bismarck. On May 18, 1941, Bismarck was on its first mission when it was sunk by the Allies. Out of the 2,100 crew members onboard, only 115 men and one cat survived.⁣

The HMS Cossack scooped up the cat and gave him the name Oscar. For the next few months, Oscar lived on the ship until it was hit by torpedoes from a German U-boat, which killed 159 crew members but not Oscar, who was brought to the shores of Gibraltar by the remaining survivors.⁣

Oscar was soon transferred to the HMS Ark Royal where he was given the name, "Unsinkable Sam". Ironically, the Ark Royal was heavily involved in the sinking of the Bismark. After a series of near misses, the ship had garnered a reputation for being a "lucky ship", however its luck would soon run out.

On November 14, 1941, the Ark Royal was torpedoed by a U-boat, causing it to roll over and sink. Sam was found clinging to a piece of wood and was described as "angry, but quite unharmed".⁣ ⁣

The sinking of the Ark Royal ended Sam's career at sea and he lived out his remaining years in Belfast with a seaman until 1955.⁣ ⁣

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