Unsinkable Sam (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Unsinkable Sam (also known as Oscar) was the nickname of a ship's cat who saw service in both the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy during the Second World War, serving on board three vessels and surviving the sinking of all three.The black and white patched cat had been owned by an unknown crewman of the German battleship Bismarck. He was on board the ship on 18 May 1941 when it set sail on Operation Rhein bung, Bismarck's first and only mission. Bismarck was sunk after a fierce sea-battle on 27 May, from which only 115 from its crew of over 2,200 survived. Hours later, Oscar was found floating on a board and picked from the water, the only survivor to be rescued by the homeward-bound British destroyer HMS Cossack. Unaware of what his name had been on Bismarck, the crew of Cossack named their new mascot "Oscar."