In fact, the Flying Dutchman was a Danish ship called Copenhagen, which disappeared from radar in 1928 somewhere in the south Atlantic Ocean. Already 90 years have passed, but the ship has not been declared dead. There are still those who believe that he can only be declared missing, but no more. It is worth figuring out why.
The five-mast "Copenhagen" is popularly nicknamed the Danish "Titanic" and "The Flying Dane". He has an interesting history of construction - the first project was suddenly transformed into a barge for transporting oil (by the way, this ship also disappeared). Only in 1921 the future "Flying Dane" was built, originally intended for the transportation of grain. However, then the ship became a training cargo ship - novice sailors could gain experience in the service, but their entire pay consisted of three meals a day and clothing. Even then, the barque was named "Titanic": not because of the impending fate, but because of its enormous size.
The first voyage of the ship became around the world - it circled the whole world in 404 days. Training on the Flying Dane has become very prestigious. As a result, young sailors began to predominate in number, and 62 midshipmen were sent on the last voyage of the ship, led by only 17 officers. The ship lived only seven years, during which it made as many as nine long voyages. During these voyages, the Flying Dane was able to visit all continents. Many of those who set off on that fateful voyage believed that they had drawn a "lucky ticket", having got a place for themselves on the ship.
On this final voyage, the ship was to transport cement to Buenos Aires. The ship reached Argentina without any problems. Then the ship was supposed to arrive in Australia. But did not arrive. The navigation instruments on the ship were in perfect order.
So, the Flying Dane never arrived in Melbourne - the ship owner began to panic. A search ship was sent, but the ship was never found. Even the Royal Navy of Great Britain was unable to help. After about a year, Copenhagen was removed from Lloyd's British Foreign Shipping Register.
The ship received its name "Flying Dane" later, in 1931. Some fishermen began to tell stories that they saw a ghost ship that looked like the missing Copenhagen. What happened to the ship remains a mystery. The only evidence that was found on Bouvet Island is the diary of one of those midshipmen who appeared on the last voyage of the ship. He tells that the ship collided with an iceberg and sank, and the crew had to escape on boats. However, this document cannot be considered 100% authentic. A piece of a board was also found on which was written "Kobenhavn". It is possible that it was a wreck from one of the lifeboats. The surviving members of the team who moored to Bouvet Island could die there - the island is not suitable for life. Almost all the time the island is covered with snow, only moss and lichen grow here.
In 1935, several human skeletons were found in one South African desert. The surviving buttons from the clothes were in the shape of an anchor - just such as were worn by cadets in Denmark. This find further confirmed the opinion that the ship sank. But still the final point in the history of "Copenhagen" has not been set.
ZHURENKOVA EKATERINA
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