Unsinkable Sam: The World War II Cat
Dogs are amazing, they’re always happy to see you. They act like you’re the only thing they know and want to know. They’re always around showing love or just laying on your lap like it’s their home. And then you have cats.
“Oh look who’s home.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love cats too. I used to have a cat when I was younger and my god they just don’t care. They’re super independent and live their own lives. As someone who is pretty much a recluse, I admire them. Those qualities probably contributed a lot to the feline we’re talking about today, the cat known as unsinkable Sam.
Oh, and they’ll eat your face off if you die. Sure dogs will do that too but we’ve transitioned to talking about cats now.
Today we’re looking at the life of an adorable cat known as Unsinkable Sam, considered to be a good luck charm to have aboard a ship. Honestly, after researching the story I don’t know if I would describe Sam as good luck.
Battle at Sea
The seas were rough that day, gale force winds were pushing waves up and over onto the Bismarck, a German battleship on its first mission that began 8 days prior on May 18th, 1941. The 2,100 men onboard prepared for yet another battle with British ships after having their fuel tank damaged from the Battle of Denmark just days ago.
Related Article: The Russian Anti-Tank Dogs of World War II
On the night of May 26th, the British Ark Royal found its target and launched its attack. The proceeding torpedoes slammed into the Bismarck from its port side, jamming the rudders. The crew tried and failed to repair the damage done, leaving the ship only able to steer in one direction. And it was heading directly toward the British Battleships, King George V and The Rodney.
Soon The Bismarck was flanked and surrounded by Polish and British destroyers including the HMS Cossack. By the following grey morning, King George V and The Rodney closed in on The Bismarck opening fire at precisely 8:47 am. Over the next two hours, the ships traded fire including torpedoes with most of the Bismarck’s attempts missing.
The battle ended when the Bismarck began to capsize, the 115 men left aboard shouting and running around, the wind howled as the metal on the ship creaked and wailed. Through all the noise from the ship taking on water, a distant sound was heard from the ship's furriest passenger; a defiant and stubborn meow.
Oscar the Grouchy Cat
Through the floating debris from the Bismarck, the HMS Cossack spotted a survivor clinging to a wooden board floating in the sea and he was angry. Of course, you would be too if you were a black and white fur adorable ball of fluffy cat that generally hates water.
The crew of the HMS Cossack plucked the cat out of the water welcoming him on board and giving him the name Oscar. It was a reference to the international code of signals which used O for Oscar as the signal for a man overboard. Since Oscar was found in the water floating on a board it was just adorable and clever.
It wasn’t crazy to have cats onboard ships, in fact, it was pretty common going back centuries, especially as a way to limit rodent infestations. Rodents onboard a ship could damage important electrical equipment and wiring, since cats are natural predators, one plus one equals two.
Cat Overboard Again
Oscar became sort of a mascot for the HMS Cossack accompanying the ship on several convoy escort missions as he slept most of his day away watching the sea. But it being World War II the ship was bound to be dealing with enemy combatants. And on October 24th, 1941, that’s exactly what happened.
While the Cossack was escorting a convoy from Gibraltar, a German submarine fired a torpedo at the ship destroying a third of the front part of the ship and killing 139 of the crew. Attempts were made to salvage the ship but the weather made it impossible.
Instead, the destroyer HMS Legion rescued its passengers and there, among the survivors suffering from a really bad case of deja-vu, was Oscar floating in the sea hanging off a board. Oscar was brought on board and celebrated gaining a new name, “Unsinkable Sam” which honestly is just not as creative as Oscar so I’m disappointed.
The survivors were brought to Gibraltar and just when Sam thought he could finally retire the navy pulled him back in.
Sam’s face as he’s told he’s going on yet another ship
Unsinkable Sam
The HMS Ark Royal, the ship that had originally shot at Sam's first home ship, requested his assistance with keeping rodents at bay. And the deal was pretty good, the Ark Royal was a well-known tough-as-nails aircraft carrier.
The Germans, plenty of times, had reported the Ark Royal sunk only to be surprised when it came back roaring from the dead. It was deemed to be unsinkable and we all know when a ship is considered unsinkable it truly lives up to its name.
Just look at the titanic…oh no…
“Oh no” is right, because just three weeks later the HMS Ark Royal sank, and a small destroyer, the HMS Lightning, found the furry Sam floating on yet another plank in the sea. His rescuers described him as “Angry but quite unharmed”.
Retirement
Sam was now on ship four, he was then transferred to the HMS Legion and brought to the Governor of Gibraltar who then sent him to a seaman’s home in Belfast called the “Home for Sailors” where Sam could finally retire in peace.
He passed away in 1955 and his legacy was honored in a pastel painting hanging in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London. There are some adorable pictures of Sam online and in every single picture I’ve seen, he just looks so done with everything, it’s great.
Oh, and the HMS Legion and the HMS Lightning sank in 1942 and 1943 respectively, so are we sure Sam wasn’t just a cursed cat?
