Sneland I (Norwegian for "snowland one") was a cargo ship which was built by Nüscke & Co. shipyard at Stettin-Grabow (then Germany) in 1922. She was the last merchant ship to be torpedoed by Germany in the Second World War, late on 7 May 1945, less than an hour before German surrender went into effect.Data Retrieved 30 April 2018.
History The ship was built for the German shipping line Stange & Dreyer GmbH in 1922 and got the name Ingeborg. Three years later, in 1925, it was sold to the Norwegian shipping company Richard Amlie & Sverre Amlie (Amlie & Amlie) in Haugesund, and renamed Sneland I.
On 6 May 1945 the ship was a member of Convoy EN 491, which departed Hull bound for Belfast via Methil.Voyage record Retrieved 30 April 2018. On 7 May 1945, the convoy was attacked by and two ships were sunk, Sneland I and , which became the last merchant ships to be sunk by a German U-boat during the Second World War. The sinking, at about 22:45 on 7 May 1945, was in the last hours of the Second World War in Europe, with the official surrender taking place at 23:01 on 8 May 1945.Crew list Retrieved 30 April 2018.
Sneland I sank at . Seven of the 29 crew were lost. A signal had been sent to the U-boats on 4 May 1945 ordering them to surrender but U-2336 did not receive the signal.Eberhard Rössler: U-Boottyp XXIII. 2nd extended edition, Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2002, , pp. 109–112, (German).
See also Actions of 7–8 May 1945
References
External links Image of Sneland I