Preussen was a marvel of a ship. A steel-hulled, five-masted, ship-rigged sailing ship built in 1902 and named after the German kingdom of Prussia.
Until the launch of Royal Clipper in 2000, a sail cruise liner, Preussen was the only five-masted full-rigged ship ever built and carried six square sails on each mast.
Not only did she have a fascinating career at a time when the sun was setting on the great clipper ships, she also had a fascinating and abrupt end in 1910, and ended up wrecked in the English Channel near Dover. Parts of her hull can still be seen today.
To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Frank Scott, a retired naval aviator and qualified square rig ship-master, who commanded various square riggers ranging from 80 to 800 gross tonnes. In his long sail training career Frank served in fourteen square riggers, under seven different national flags.
This podcast goes alongside an animation of the Preussen's rigging plan which can be seen on the Mariner's Mirror Pod's YouTube Channel.
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