Sam, the unsinkable cat: amazingly, this cat has survived three shipwrecks!

The story of Sam, the unsinkable cat, is so incredible that later on, many people not only questioned it, but even considered the story to be apocryphal. Even though it's really hard to believe that a cat would be lucky enough to survive three shipwrecks, we believe that as bizarre as it may sound, nothing is impossible. After all, legends say that a cat has nine lives.

The first thing to know about Sam is that he went by a different name on each ship. But he became known as Unsinkable Sam, since after his third shipwreck that was the only way ship captains referred to him. Not to mention that during the Second World War he was perhaps the only creature who was worshiped both on German and British ships. In any case, Sam’s story is really quite incredible, and it is no coincidence that historians doubt this. Although it is worth noting that according to the depictions, two presumably different cats can be seen in the person of Oscar and Sam. Although in their opinion, Sam could have been an excellent spy who could not only change his face, but also change his shape.

The first sinking, on the German battleship Bismarck

As far as we know, the story began on the German battleship Bismarck, where a black and white spotted cat with an unknown name was traveling on board. The animal was allegedly owned by the crew, but it roamed freely on board. Well, as we know from historical sources, the Bismarck had only one operation, the Rheinübung, which it did not complete successfully, because on May 27, 1941, just 9 days after departure, it was sunk by the British during a fierce sea battle. Only 115 of the crew of more than 2,100 survived the shipwreck. Of course, among the survivors was the unnamed cat, who was found floating on a board hours later by the crew of the British destroyer HMS Cossack. Despite being a cat from an enemy ship, the British crew didn’t think twice and pulled the shipwrecked cat out of the water, whom they named Oscar.

The second survival on the British battleship HMS Cossack

Sam’s name was originally unknown, the first records of him being written by the crew of the British destroyer HMS Cossack, in which he was referred to as Oscar. And Oscar came to the British by being rescued from the sea after the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. Despite the fact that Oscar was originally a German cat, the English welcomed the cat that survived in strange circumstances with the greatest love. Thus, Oscar, who was otherwise regarded as a lucky mascot by the British, served aboard the Cossack. By the way, this ship performed convoy escort tasks in the Mediterranean Sea and the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. 1941. on 24 October Cossack was escorting a convoy from Gibraltar to Britain when she was severely damaged by a torpedo from the German submarine U-563. Most of the crew were immediately transferred to the destroyer HMS Legion, and with the surviving crew, and of course Oscar on board, they attempted to withdraw the damaged vessel. However, due to the worsening weather conditions, this became absolutely impossible. So on October 27th, another explosion hit the ship, destroying a third of her forward section and killing about 159. And what is even more shocking is that Oscar survived this torpedo attack, so he was transferred first to a nearby shore facility, and from there to the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

The third sinking, on the battleship HMS Ark Royal

However, the story is far from over, as the cat, named “Unsinkable Sam”, was transferred to the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. The fact that this battleship contributed to the sinking of Sam’s original home, the Bismarck, gives the story a special twist. it was not a cloudless journey either, as the ship was torpedoed on the way back from Malta. So they tried to tow the Ark Royal to Gibraltar, but the ship capsized and began to sink. However, thanks to the extremely slow sinking of the ship, all but one man were saved, including Sam, too. According to the records, the kitten was found again clinging to a board, but by this time it turned out to be quite angry, but of course this time it was completely unharmed. Having seen history repeat itself several times in this story. We are not surprised that Sam was rescued again by the same ship as when the Cossack sank. But sam never boarded a ship again.

Sam never got on a boat again

The records that Sam was very angry after the third sinking were probably correct, never wanting to board a ship again and spending the rest of the war in a sailors’ home. Finally, yesAs for the critics, even if Sam and Oscar were not the same cat, Oscar survived one shipwreck and Sam survived two, which is quite a feat for a cat!