Into Thin Air: The Kobenhavn Mystery 

What do you think happened to København?

as a dane who has known about this ship's story for quite some time, this is the first time i have actually seen someone talk about it on youtube. Keep up the good work Mike

"The Land God Made in Anger" is, unequivocally, the coolest thing anywhere could ever be known as. I am in genuine awe of whoever came up with that name. That goes hard.

My dad was Danish and started working at the East Asiatic Company in 1957. He used to keep a little framed print of that oil painting of the København by Danish Artist Peder Christian Pedersen in his office. Every year at the company Christmas parties, the company would toast her and her crew with a glass of Akvavit. Thank you for continuing the tradition. I can hear my Dad's spirit saying "Skål!"

Thank you for telling the story of "København" - my grandfarther would have approved. My Grandfather applied to be on the doomed voyage a trainee. In the end he was rejected and assigned to "Danmark" instead. Thereby he survived and went on to be a cargo skipper during WWII, surviving that too he went on to become captain on passagerships instead.

Very respectfully done. No sensationalism to get ratings. Mainstream TV types should learn from this.

My great grandfather, who sailed around both Capes under sail talked about Kopenhagen. I was sitting in his lap looking at Gordon Grant's magnificent History of Sailing Ships at the end was an incredible pen and ink of the Kopenhagen, he pointed to the rear mast and the giant Spanker...it was to big the wind could take it and turn it over, he also talked about the icebergs he encountered sailing in the big. German barques out of Bremen ...years later l had the joy of being an assistant to the Rev. Frederick V. Jensen his grandfather was a Danish oceanliner captain ...who echoed my great grandfather... as always Mark you were magnificent...

It always struck me how the Skeleton Coast is inhospitable and cruel and one of the worst places to be. Yet in the same time, it's so beautiful and scenic.

Excellent story. It boggles the mind how many ships have gone missing, never to be found, in just the last century alone. Sailors are truly under appreciated. The conditions they have to endure just to get the things we need to us across the world's oceans are something to be admired. RIP to all those who died in this terrible tragedy.

I had no idea the Kobenhavn was so advanced for her time. She looks amazing and her story is so strange. Your channel's really out done itself again. I love how you're able to utilize visual aids to help us follow along with what your talking about. A lot of youtubers can't do that and it really hurts their popularity. But you're compelling presentations are what got me into ocean liners in the first place.

As a Dane i just want to tell you that you pronounce København beautifully!

I'd be surprised if it was ice at 40 degrees south. I worked in the Southern Ocean for over 12 years often past 50 degrees south. The ship would be at sea over 90% of each year. The most common spot we were at was between 49 and 50 degrees south near the Auckland Islands over 400 km south of NZ (about 250 nm). We had very good radar etc. No icebergs down there. However, in my second to last year at sea we saw icebergs much further north at 44 degrees south. It was off the east coast of NZ's south island during the late 2000s. If I remember correctly a large ice sheet had broken off Antarctica sending a swarm of them north. The only time we ever had iceberg watches. It hitting ice is not impossible between 40 and 50 degrees south, but extremely rare, i.e., once every few decades or so. Perhaps they went past 50 degrees where the likelihood increases? My money would be on a storm. The wave heights and winds can get crazy high, e.g., Well over 20 meters and a steady 100 knots gusting even higher. We would face weather like that several times per year. We were only 75 meters length, but had lots of beam and were very stable, so the ship coped. In those conditions we did what is called dodging. Every hatch and porthole dogged tight, anything that can move lashed down, and the captain just punches into the waves for a day or two until it passes. Fun at first, but the novelty wears off. Bad weather is far more tiring than 84 hours per week of hard work. P.S. Ice conditions might be a bit different south of Argentina, because the Antarctic Peninsular extends quite far north from there, which could result in more ice, although people I know who have worked there never mentioned it.

Again friend Mike, you present this story in a most factual and respectful manner. This is the exact way these fine brave seamen should be remembered. These were a special breed of sailors. And they should be honored and remembered as you have presented them here.

You really made an effort to pronounce København properly and my Nordic pride is beaming with joy! God Jul alla mina danska grannar!!

My Grandfather who was Swedish use to be a sailor on sailing ships around Cape Horn and between Australia and New Zealand. You can go on one of his ships as it has been preserved. The James Craig. Which is at the Maritime museum in Sydney. I carry on the tradition by being a Naval Architect.

Not only do I like your respect for historical facts and as much objectivity as is possible, but you have a great respect for tragedy. Merry Christmas from a fellow Aussie

My great granddad was on that ship, bound to sail to Australia, it was a fine ship he use too tell about it, he was so hmm lucky, that he had to get to a acute emergency, and had to sign off the ship, just a day before they had to sail out to hold the time plan, so he could not manage to get back in time, so he had to sign out of his contract. But when he heard about the rumours at first and later on,when the rumours set out too bre teal, he was sure that somebody has interveine, and he Thanks God for letting him be in live. It was so good to hear that real story, because there was so many rumors, why the ship was gone. Thak you.

It's crazy how you manage to get out so many high quality videos so regularly, keep up the good work 👍

There is a similar story. This time with a German four masted barque Admiral Karpfanger, which was originally built for Belgian owner as l'Avenir in Bremerhaven in 1908. She vanished in March of 1938 with the whole 60 crew members. No trace of that tragedy has ever been found...

My Grandfather served his time and worked at Ramage and Fergusson from 1914 to the mid 1920s. He installed the Marconi wireless equipment om the Kobenhavn. He told me the masts were steel and at he could not put his arms around the main mast at the top.

I have close friends of my family and, some relatives, lost at sea. The B.F. (Bernier et frère) was one of them. It sank in may 1952, in the St-Lawrence estuary. The ship was found (by luck) while Canadian Hydrographic Service was scanning the sea floor, in 2006. Some older folks, still talk about it because, everybody knew everyone, at Les Méchins (Homeport of the B.F.)

My father worked for the danish maritime authorities for many, many years, inspecting ships for safety. He eventually became part of the danish maritime accident investigation board, where he took part in the difficult work of establishing proper cause and determining culpability when accidents had happened at sea, up to an including loss of life and ship. It has greatly affected him, emotionally, and he has seen truly monstrous and horrible things as part of this job, but needless to say, I'm practically bursting with pride at him doing that kind of incredibly important work. The loss of "København" was something he told me about when I was still just a child. How it remained a complete mystery, just as the loss of "Hans Hedtoft" was. Even though this happened before his time ... in this case before he was even born ... he felt tremendous sadness at it, and great empathy towards not only those who died, but those who were left behind, at home, without any answers, as well. This was a human tragedy of dreadful proportions. Thank you for telling this story so respectfully, sir. It is greatly appreciated.

As a Dane, its rare to see anyone talk about our ships. Thank you Mike for making this video.

Mike, you have become a Master Storyteller. Sailing ships have always looked so elegant and graceful but required the skill of many sailors working together as a team. Again, top-notch narration and information. Merry Christmas

This is my favorite channel bar none. I find maritime history fascinating in and of itself, but history is so much more than facts and figures. Mike's interpretation, narration, and artistic production truly bring these stories to life.

Enjoyable and daily? Who is this amazing man?

Nicely done. You mentions wooden masts, however, she had riveted steel (or iron) masts. Some, if not all, her yards were of riveted construction as well. Her plans are available in the Lloyd’s archive online.

The subject of the Kobenhavn's disappearance has always been an interesting one. A huge number of sailing ships in the latter days of sail were lost, very many without trace. Even at the very end of sail after WW1, very few carried radio and having big, un-subdivided cargo carrying hulls they were very vulnerable if their cargoes shifted or if the sea broached the hatch covers. Between 1919 and 1929 when the Kobenhavn was lost about 65 square rigged ships were lost, some without trace. Still, with her watertight compartments and radio equipment, the Kobenhavn's disappearance is much harder to explain, even if she was in ballast. According to Harold Underhill, in his book "Sail Training and Cadet ships", she carried 1245 tons of water ballast in tanks and left for Adelaide with an additional 700 tons of sand ballast as there was was some thought that she was a bit tender with only her water ballast. We will never know, but a very sudden, catastrophic accident seems to be the answer. Underhill suggests a Pampero off the coast of South America, may have thrown her on her beam ends shifting the sand ballast but, more probably it was a collision with ice which , if she was sailing quickly at 14-15 knots, would indeed be catastrophic. Thanks for an interesting topic.

A proud seafaring nation, these maritime disasters are never mentioned in Denmark. The SS Norge catastrophe of 1904, precursor of the Titanic. The København disappearing almost without a trace. Black holes in our collective memory. Testaments to the power of suppression.

Its fantastic to see someone explain these lesser known tragedies. Thank you for all you do Mike!🎉

Thank you very much for this great video! I would like to contribute some further information: Her top speed (fully laden, under sail alone) probably will have been in the order of 15-16 knots, not just 9. Her average speed will have been around 6-7 knots, with the occasional use of the diesel in light airs. The Potosi of Hamburg (also a five-mast barque, but somewhat larger) could do 16-17 knots under favourable conditions, but did not have any means of auxiliary propulsion and therefore not a propeller which induces drag when not in operation (even if it is a feathering propeller like in Köbenhavn). The masts and yards of Köbenhavn were not made of wood, but of steel and her entire rigging is said to have weighed 242 tons in total. The usual arragement for the time and a vessel of this size was spanker gaff(s) and sometimes also the royal yards made of wood, but all other spars made of steel plates riveted together. In the case of the spike bowsprit there were usually four, in the lower masts and topmasts three angled steel profiles for further reinforcement. By the way, there were seven five-masted squareriggers, of which six were barques (France, 3784 GRT - 1890-1901; Maria Rickmers, 3822 GRT - 1891-1892 (?-posted missing); Potosi, 4027 GRT - 1895-1925; R. C. Rickmers, 5548 GRT - 1906-1917; France, 5633 GRT - 1911-1922 and Köbenhavn, 3901 GRT - 1921-1928 (?-posted missing), but one was a fullrigger - the Preussen, 5081 GRT - 1902-1910. Ballast: Köbenhavn was one of the few sailing ships that had water ballast in deep tanks but no double bottom ballast cells (the same arragement as in the barque Rickmer Rickmers, which is preserved in Hamburg, Germany), which were accessible via hatch No. 3 (out of five cargo hatches in total, she had two hatches between main and middle mast, but none between mizzen and jigger mast) and according to the book "Sail Training and Cadet Ships" by Harold A. Underhill she had 1245 tons of water (i.e. full capacity) and 700 tons of sand as ballast on her final voyage. A few plans of her are included in the book "The Last Of The Windjammers -Volume II" by Basil Lubbock. My guess regarding the circumstances of her loss is that she probably struck ice while running down eastern longitude before the wind in the southern ocean - possibly in heavy weather and/or at night - and sprung aleak. Ice had been reported in the southern ocean by other vessels. Due to the almost empty cargo holds, the inrush of water would most likely have been both intense and quick. Her compartmentation was still basic and apart from the collision, engine room and after peak bulkhead and her deep tank(s) I have been unable to find further watertight bulkheads on the plans. A severe leak in the forepeak and/or forward hold would have pushed her bow down, raising the rudder more or less completely out of the water, making it useless and the ship uncontrollable (Potosi at least once became almost unmanageable in ballast and high seas due to this effect and this already without a leak). Broaching to would have been unavoidable and she would have capsized, her hatches stove in and sunk. The entire process would have taken only a few minutes, therefore too quick for the wireless to be of any help. In spite of this sad story Merry Christmas to everyone!

What a beauty she was! But the ocean decides who she sends home, and who she keeps for herself. She takes life, she gives life. I have mad respect for those who put out to sea. I keep you all in my prayers, I wish you calm seas and good fortune 🌹⚓

RIP to the great crew. Thanks for covering this piece of history.

Fun fact: Earth is an oceanliner in the sea of stars

Fantastic video, Mike. A story on the ill-fated cargo-passenger ship Hans Hedhoft lost on her maiden voyage in 1959 would also make for an interesting video.

I've never heard of this case, thank you so much for covering it and sharing with us!

Mike, what a magnificent video! Several months ago, u made a video of a handful of maritime mysteries. I commented on that great video and suggested 2 others for u to look at, 1 of them being "København", my countrys greatest maritime mystery. A month or 2 later u made another video with another handful of maritime mysteries incl. "København". I dont know, if it was by my suggestion, or if u already had it planned, but it was a real treat! I never expected, that u would return to "København" and give her the full Mike Brady treatment in a ½ hour video, but its the best Christmas present, I could imagine. Thank you so much ❤❤ Fun fact: A replacement for "København" was built and christened "Danmark" in 1932, tho smaller with only 3 masts. She is owned by the Danish state and still sets sail every year for a training cruise. As does the privately owned training ship "Georg Stage", built, owned and operated by the Georg Stage Memorial Foundation, which was built in 1934, also 3 masts. Both have ofc been upgraded with modern safety equipment, but in large part it is still the same training onboard as 90 years ago, when they were built. They still learn to tie the various knots, tho they have gps, they learn to navigate without it, they have washers and dryers, but they also learn to wash their clothes in sea water etc. I had the pleasure of seeing "Danmark" set out on a cruise many years ago, b4 I ever heard of "København", and I still remember, how beautiful "Danmark" is in her own right, and yet she seems like a faint echo compared to the magnificent "København".

Yet again, an absolutely riveting story, and truly one for the ages- so many young lives, vanished from the face of the earth, with no memorial to mark their passing. "For Smith, our brother, Only son of loving mother, The ocean lifted, stirred, Leaving no word"

We all appreciate how much time you spent making amazing videos for us. I thank you so much.

Very well done, as usual. As a kid, my father (sea captain) told me the story, and having been in the Danish merciant navy myselves, this story hits home. And your pronaunciation of København is spot on!

I grew up just south of Copenhagen ( København ) and one of our neighbors were a fisherman who in his youth was a cadet on København, but luckily for him he jumped off the ship in Buenos Aires. Thank you for telling so soberly the story of the tragedy.

As a child I read a book about ships vanishing, the one about Kobernhavn was my favorite... but until I recently I couldn't find any videos about it. I am happy to watch any new ones =)

it’s always a good day when you upload Mike!! thank you for such brilliant content, really been loving the videos recently!! ❤️

I have never heard of this ship before, so this was very fascinating

this is probably the saddest story so far, those poor kids & what a beautiful ship

As an American, I’ve never heard of this ship, but it is absolutely WILD to me that the bones found on the Skeleton Coast have been lost and likely destroyed! You’d think they would have been buried.

Thank you for sharing the story of the København and her crew. Some of the largest icebergs in the world come from the Antarctic. I would like to believe that whatever happened to those men, it was quick and that they did not suffer.

I don't have a particular interest in ships but your videos get me SO interested. You are one of the rare producers who can do this. I've watched several of your videos. They really are superior to just about everything on mainstream tv. I appreciate it!

Fascinating story. I have been living in Denmark for almost twenty years and have never heard about this before. Great ship, great video!

Very compelling story, well written and told. Plus, I love a good mystery albeit a tragic one.

I don't remember if you have made a video about Hans Hedtoft, a ship that vanished too. that ship sank somewhere south of Greenland, carrying passengers and a cargo of documents from the archives in Greenland. and do not forget Jutlandia the hospitalship from the Korean wars, she was also a "ØK" ship.

As a dane i can say you nailed København

Excellent presentation. Your channel is one of the few real gems on RU-vid these days. Quality content like this is a welcome addition to my library.

They need to find out who was videotaping this ship and ask them when and where these were taken. A few of them look like drone shots

Very fine history. I think the tragedy is fairly well known to ship disaster nerds. However, you provide some excellent background that was all new information to me. This is an excellent tribute to an ocean trader pioneer and the cadets who built the Norwegian seagoing tradition.

I think we can all agree Mike Brady is just about due for a feature length creation for his fans. The quality and content, of his videos, are impeccable!

if the ship was loaded with weight ( sand) wouldn't it become unbalanced if the ship was in a storm due to rain and sea water entering the ship and getting the sand wet? Also you can never rule out a rouge wave. Considering the damage one can do to a modern ship what chance would a ship like the Kobenhavn have.

The Danes have stuck to the training ship tradition. The Danmaark, a three masted, steel hull cadet training ship was in the Atlantic when Denmark was overrun by the Nazis. Rather than submit to the Nazis, her captain sailed her up the Potomac River and surrendered her to a Washington police officer! She was used during WWII as a Coast Guard training ship, in Long Island Sound. My father actually spent a few weeks aboard while udergoing officer training. She was re-patriated post-war and is still a training ship. She was the inspiration for the U.S. Coast Guard to obtain and use the tall ship Eagle as a training vessel. Whenever there is a tall ship gathering in an American port, the Eagle leads the way, and the Danmaark is honored by being placed second!

Mike Brady: Master storyteller. Yet another fantastic production, sir!

Mike, you should make a vid about the FIRST White Star ship that also hit an ice burg while returning from Australia. ROYAL STANDARD. First steamship of the company. Hit an iceberg on 24 April 1864. would make a fascinating video about her survival and a great tie in to the history of Ocean Liners! :)

Enjoyed this video.

I'm on a OLD binge right now. Love it!❤

your videos are extremely impressive. low key, concise, always informative and entertaining

I am totally calling you, the best channel in RU-vid!

Well this was certainly an interesting choice of holiday video to watch in advance of my 21st birthday tomorrow and Christmas the day after. I've been on sailing ships before. They are absolutely majestic beasts, and I harbor a great deal of respect for the men who've sailed them. But it's stories like these that remind me that, if faced with the choice of joining a large ship with sails or an even larger ship with engines (steam, diesel, nuclear, whatever) for an extended period of time over a stretch of ocean, 99.999999% of the time, I'm sticking with the powered vessel. I'm not too thrilled by the idea of the ship I'm on quite literally being at the mercy of the elements because it's powered by the elements. May the crew of the Kobenhavn, wherever they are, rest in peace. Merry Christmas in advance.

Hey. Idea for a video series. Most people tend to think of ocean liners as these super luxurious vessels with all of these amazing appointments. And while the richness of appointments of ships like the Mauretania, Olympic, and the like cannot be denied they were definitely lacking in what many of us today would consider basic comforts like private bathrooms for instance. I would love to see you do a series on the evolution of 1st, 2nd, & 3rd classes showing how the standards in the classes changed over the decades in terms of both luxury, comfort, and the type of passenger they carried and what those passengers expected.

Another superbly researched and produced video, so poignantly delivered.

Well produced. While I enjoy the Titanic stories, I am so glad you cover other ocean going stories.

Absolute bombardment of uploads and I couldn’t be happier. These are candy to listen to at work

this somehow reminds me of the pamir, a german 4 masted windjammer, that sank in a hurricane while returning from buenos aires in 1957. although in contrast to this story a distress signal was received which resulted in the single biggest search for a ship up to that point with dozens of ships looking for survivors. might also make for a fascinating video

Another solid documentary from OD. Never heard of this ship before until now.

This channel just keeps getting better and better. Keep up the good work Mike. Have yourself a wonderful Christmas as well.

This reminds me of a question I’ve had for a while, which I’d love to see you address some time. What was the last commercial or military vessel to use sails as regular propulsion? So many of the early steamers and warships had masts, but were they ever used? At what point did they simply stop altogether?

Another great story. I enjoy your stories as they are historical and entertaining. I like the fact that you don't use generic photos or videos in your presentations but use animation done by your own company. Keep them coming. Since you talk about sailing ships I would like to see you do a video on the various types of ships and the mast types.

An excellent video, as are all the one sof yours I have seen. I am now a subscriber. But could I point out to you that your map at 21 minutes shows the Skeleton Coast in completely the wrong place! You have shown it North of The Congo, running past Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and almost up to Senegal, i.e. West Africa. It is in fact on the South West African coast, mainly in Namibia, which is next door to the Republic of South Africa.

Great but chilling story. One minor comment on the map shown at 21.02 it labels the coast of the Gulf of Guinea as the Shelton Coast which is actually on the north coast of Namibia just south of Angola.

She looks seriously top heavy. A very creepy story. Thank you for letting us know about the Danish Navy. The tale about this ship in particular is very appreciated.

The production quality of this video is amazing! Also love this style of video

Beautifully done , but oh so sad . As a Gold Star family member , it pretty much haunts you all your life that your family member cannot be brought home and given a respectful ceremony ...

I first heard about this vanishing in a book in a chapter entitled "The Disquieting Fate of training ships" I want to recommend the entire book and all others written by this author. It's called SHIPS THAT DID NOT RETURN by Robert De La Croix. It and his other books are long out of print but can be found. If you love maritime tales I would argue that De La Croix is the finest author ever to put pen to paper in this genre. Highly recommend!

We're being so spoiled at the moment 🎉

Wonderful video as usual, Mike. Thank you for your hard work.

Thank you for this documenary. As a former Danish sailor cadet serving on another tallship, the 3 mast full rigged 77m Danmark, build in 1932, we all knew the myth. Lost at sea without a trace. But I still remember thinking of them and speak about København, when crossing the atlanic in high seas, with waves breaking over the deck as a routine, and everything closed airtight. I never heard of the bones found, that was new to me. May they rest in peace.

A great and sad story well-told Mike! Thanks for telling it! And a Merry Christmas to you and yours!

This video really held my attention. It was very, very well-done Mike. Thank you!

Thank you for this interesting video on the København. I was familiar with this story from my Dad, who was a Dane born in Argentina. He loved sailing ships and we were able to visit my cousin Søren when he served on the crew of the tall training ship Danmark in 1977.

That’s one of the things that is often missed when discussing the transition from sail to steam: steamships were a lot safer than sailing ships. Sailing ships might be more elegant and graceful, but they’re much more exposed to the effects of the weather and their ability to maneuver is heavily restricted by the direction of the wind and the need to trim the sails. IIRC: a sailing vessel stood something like a 1/200 chance of not returning when it left port. For an early steamship, the number was closer to 1/1000, and insurance companies took note. The reason that sailing ships made such good training ships is that they’re a lot less forgiving than steamships. To navigate one well, you have to be a very good sailor and be well aware of the effects of wind and tide, and training on one therefore forces the cadets to become better sailors. However, it also means that if a sailing ship gets into trouble, there’s a lot less margin for error.

Product, presentation, and personality can be summed up in one word: class. Proud to be your friend Mike Brady!

Happy holidays to you Mike. Thx for the content. 🙌🏿

This is why I love this channel. Great history and stories...

What an awesome tale! So well researched and told without any sensationalism. A movie about this story could rival the Titanic! Thanks Mike. Superb effort.

You are so easy to listen to, so well spoken, entertaining, I could go on!!

Such a beautiful ship. Thank you for the wonderful video. Such high quality. So well presented.

You captivated my interest, that is why I subscribed. I'm 61 years of age, so very critical, of what I watch. Let's hope you continue, to provide, good info, as you have. I'm sure there's, more sea, revelations like your doing. Good work.

This channel just keeps better and better, great show.....Loved it.

Having worked on the Skeleton Coast, this story resonates. Mike, your productions just get better and better. This surpasses History Channel quality 👍. Happy Christmas to you and all at OLD.

A long time ago I read Eric Newby's wonderful book "The Last Grain Race" and have been fascinated by tales of the final days of sail ever since. And also, a lot of years ago I even went aboard Danmark (along with thousands of others ) when she came here (Boston) as part of one or another of the Tall Ships confabs. But somehow I was completely unaware of Kovenhavn and her story until just now. Thank you for making this really excellent video. I've come to look forward to and enjoy every posting to Ocean Liner Design. .

What a beautifully made video! I absolutely enjoyed it. Had to get out my time life "The Clipper" Book which I found on coincidence about a year ago and enjoyed so much and of course had to stop the video many times to look into google earth and wikipedia along watching. a big thank you and my compliments of course. I whish you merry christmas which should be now for you while I still have to wait for tomorrow. Looking forward for more!

Hey Mike, have you ever thought about doing a blueprint like style drawing? There are many of these of Titanic but there are none of the Vaterland, Normandie etc. Maybe that's a market gap?

You cover this very delicately and sympathetically period thank you for all your hard work