German weather ship WBS 2 Coburg

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WBS 2 Coburg was a German weather ship that began life as a fishing trawler.

Construction and specs
- Built in 1938 by Schulte & Bruns (yard 125) for H. Bischoff & Co., Bremen.
- Length 41.35 m, beam 7.70 m, depth 2.97 m.
- Tonnage: 344 GRT.
- Powered by a 120 nhp diesel engine, single screw, speed about 11.5 knots.
- Crew of 18, plus 8 meteorologists.
- Port of registry: Wesermünde.

Requisition and conversion
- Requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in 1940 and converted to a weather ship.
- Commissioned on 3 August 1940 as WBS 2 Coburg.

Missions and fate
- 15 March 1943: Sailed from Hammerfest, escorted by U-657, to establish a new automatic weather station on Bear Island (Operation Viola).
- 28 August 1943: Sailed from Narvik as part of the Bassgeiger Expedition.
- 16 October 1943: Trapped by ice off Île-de-France, Greenland, and made landfall at Cape Sussi, Shannon Island.
- The crew spent the winter in snow caves; supplies were dropped by air.
- The Danish Sirius patrol later found the camp but could not attack at first. An assault on 22 April 1944 was unsuccessful; one German was killed.
- 3 June 1944: Coburg was abandoned and scuttled.
- The crew evacuated to Trondheim, Norway, by Junkers Ju 290 aircraft.
- The wreck was found on 24 July 1944 by USCGC Northland; the weather station had been destroyed.