Unsinkable Sam is a cat who served in both the navy of Nazi Germany and the Royal Navy of the UK during World War 2. He gained fame for reportedly surviving the sinking of three ships.
He was reported to have belonged to a sailor onboard the German battleship Bismarck.
However, on May 18, 1941, during its inaugural mission, the Bismarck fell victim to Allied forces. Among the 2,100 crew members, only 115 men and one feline companion survived.
The HMS Cossack scooped up the cat and gave him the name Oscar.
In the ensuing months, Oscar remained aboard the ship until it was struck by torpedoes from a German U-boat, resulting in the loss of 159 crew members.
Remarkably, Oscar survived and was eventually brought ashore at Gibraltar by the remaining survivors.
Oscar was soon transferred to the HMS Ark Royal, where he was given the name "Unsinkable Sam."
Following several close calls, the vessel had acquired a reputation for being a "fortunate ship."
Nonetheless, on November 14, 1941, the Ark Royal's luck ran out when it was torpedoed by a U-boat, leading to its capsizing and subsequent sinking.
Oscar was found clinging to a piece of wood and was described as "angry but quite unharmed."
The sinking of the Ark Royal ended Sam's career at sea, and he lived out his remaining years in Belfast with a seaman until 1955.
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In total 30 people were injured and a 73-year-old British man was killed.
The incident happened after the plane fell a whopping 6000 feet.
“Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” a passenger said.
“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.”