Johann Faulbaum sank etter et russisk flyangrep utført av flytypen P-40 fra 78 IAP VVS, i Jarfjord på morgenen den 14 mai 1944. Men før skipet endte sine dager her, hadde skipet et interessant oppdrag under den første verdenskrig. Under første verdenskrig var de tyske ubåtene blitt et problem og handelsflåten hadde lite å sette opp mot dem. Som et mottiltak mot ubåtene ble det utarbeidet en plan med å kamuflere handelsskip med våpen som kunne benyttes som lokkemat, såkalte Q-ships. Et av skipene som ble valgt ut til en slik tjeneste var Johann Faulbaum. Den 7 juni 1917 ble skipet angrepet av ubåten UC 29 og ble truffet i lasterommet av en torpedo. Mannskapet forlot skipet , men når ubåten kom opp til overflaten for å senke skipet med sin kanon ble ubåten istedet angrepet av soldatene ombord på skipet. Ubåten ble raskt skutt i senk og kun to menn av den tyske besetningen overlevde. Commander Campbell som var kommandant for HMS Q5 ble tildelt Victoria Cross etter hendelsen. Før hun ble senket nær Kirkenes i 1944, kom skipet fra Tyskland. Johann Faulbaum var lastet med sement og tre for den tyske organisasjonen Todt som holdt på å bygge kabelbane til Litsafronten. Den 1 mai 1944 kommer skipet fram og besetningen starter lossingen umiddelbart grunnet den dype trusselen om et russisk angrep. Alt går ikke etter planen, og den 15 mai blir skipet oppdaget av russiske bombefly på veg hjem fra et tokt over Kirkenes by. Noen timer senere stuper plutselig fem russiske bombefly ned fra himmelen. I kampens hete blir et fly truffet og forsvinner innover fjorden med en røykhale etter seg, før det smeller rett i åssiden. Piloten blir drept momentant. Under angrepet blir ingen ombord på Johann Faulbaum drept, men skipet har nå fått ytterligere fem treff fra bomber og akterskipet revner og skipet synker raskt. Det mindre skipet Flohendiep plukker opp besetningen og forsøker å taue skipet til land, men dette må oppgis. Under angrepet mister Russerne en P-40. Vraket står idag rett på kjølen er godt intakt på en dybde av ti til førti meter. Vraket ligger i nordre bukt ved Tårnet i Jarfjord nesten tre hundre meter fra land, med akterskipet mot land, og er normalt merket med en bøye. Skipet lå også på Fillipstadkaia den 19. desember 1943 da lasten ombord på det tyske skipet Selma eksploderte. Men Johann Faulbaum ble tauet unna av slepebåtene og unnslapp Filipstadulykken i 1943...

Johann Faulbaum sank after a Russian aircraft of the type P-40 from 78 IAP VVS, attack in the Jarfjord in the morning on the 14th of May 1944. But before the ship ended her days here, the ship had an interesting task during the first world war. During the first world war the German submarines had become a problem and the trade fleet had not much to set up against them. As a countermeasure against the the submarines there was worked out a plan to camouflage civilian merchants ships with weapons which could be used as decoys, Q ships. One of the vessel's to be apionted to such a service was Johann Faulbaum. On the 7th of June 1917 the ship was attacked by the submarine UC 29 and was hit in the cargo room by a torpedo. The crew left the ship, but when the submarine surfaced to sink the ship with her cannon, the submarine instead was attacked by the soldiers onboard the ship. The submarine was quickly sunk, and only two men of the German crew survived. Commander Campbell who was the commandant on HMS Q5 was given the British Victoria Cross after this event. Before she was sunk near Kirkenes city in 1944, the ship came from Germany. Johan Faulbaum was loaded with cement and wood for the German organization Todt who built a cable canal to the Litsa front. On the 1st of May the ship arrives and the crew start to unload the cargo immediately because of the grave danger of a Russian attack. Not all goes according to the plan, and on the 15th of May the ship is spotted by Russian bombers heading for home after an attack on Kirkenes city. Some hours later there suddenly dives five Russian bombers from the sky. In the heat of the fight one plane was hit and disappear in the fjord with a tale of smoke behind her before it crashes in the mountain wall. The pilot is killed momentary. During the attack no one onboard Johann Faulbaum were injured, but the ship had gained five more hits from bombs and the bow part split apart and the ship sank soon. The smaller ship Flohendiep picked up the crew and tried to tow the ship to land, but they have to give up the attempt. The Russians lost one P-40. The wreck stands on her keel and is in a good  condition on a depht of ten to forty meters. The wreck lies in the northern bay by Tårnet in Jarfjord almost three hundred meters from land, with her stern part towards land, and is normally marked with a buoy. The ship was also at Filipstad harbor the 19. December 1943 when the cargo onboard the German ship Selma exploded. But Johann Faulbaum was towed away by the tugboats and survived the Filipstad Accident in 1943...

 

Name:
Former names:
 Material:
Dimensions:
Johann Faulbaum
 Vittoria
Steel
       
Tons: Built: Homeport: Cargo:
2944 grt Stockton ( UK ) 1907 Stettin ( D ) Concrete,wood


The official Victoria Cross reference.

Commander Campbell
Age: 31
Nationality: English
Deed:
On 17 February 1917 in the north Atlantic,
Commander Campbell, commanding HMS Q.5
(one of the 'mystery' ships) sighted a torpedo
track. He altered course and allowed the torpedo to
hit Q.5 aft by the engine-room bulkhead. The
'Panic party' got away convincingly, followed by the
U-boat. When the submarine had fully surfaced
and was within 100 yards of Q.5 - badly damaged
and now lying very low in the water - the
commander gave the order to fire. Almost all of the 45 shells fired hit the U-boat
which sank. Q.5 was taken in tow just in time and was safely beached.
Other Decorations: DSO & 2 Bars, Croix de Guerre avec Palmes and Legion d'Honneur (France)
Remarks: Later achieved rank of Vice-Admiral.


Edited 29.06.2007