How a WWII Cat Survived 3 Ship Sinkings: The Story of Unsinkable Sam
The British destroyer HMS Cossack found Sam floating on a board hours later, and they promptly scooped him up and welcomed him aboard. Sam had officially switched sides to the Allied forces.
servicemen saved in 1939 — was the only survivor of HMS Cossack, earning him the nickname “Unsinkable Sam.” The group in Gibraltar was from the HMS Ark Royal crew, and of course, they loaded Sam aboard when it was time to launch. But as Sam’s luck would have it, a torpedo struck the HMS Ark Royal just a month later, leaving him once again clinging to a floating plank near a boat launch back in Gibraltar. Luckily, Sam’s boating days were over, and he was honorably transferred to the position of “mouse hunter” in the building of the governor-general in Gibraltar. Eventually, the British restationed their favorite floating feline to a “home for sailors” in Belfast, where he lived for the rest of his days until his peaceful passing in 1955.
You’ve heard the saying, “Cats have nine lives,” and while there are countless tales of cats falling from trees or high-above windows, one cat put this theory to the test, earning himself the name “Unsinkable Sam.”
Now on the right side of history, Sam lived with the British crew for the next few months as they performed convoy escort duties — until a torpedo struck the HMS Cossack in October 1941, killing all 139 members aboard. Except for Sam. Once again, Sam clung to a wooden plank and floated safely to the nearby shore of Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory. British service members who
Sam’s original name was “Oscar,” and his
legacy began aboard the Bismarck, one of the two first-class Nazi battleships
in World War II. The Bismarck (with Sam) was launched on Feb. 14, 1939, and soon
after engaged in battle with The Prince of Wales, an Allied battleship. The Nazi ship was severely damaged in this battle and ultimately sunk. Only 118 of the 2,200 crew members survived, plus Sam.
Sam’s story may not officially prove cats have nine lives, but it makes at least three seem likely!
found him ashore put two and two together and realized the cat — the very one their fellow
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