After the sinking of the Bismarck, the crew of the British destroyer HMS Cossack was searching the area for survivors. This is when they spotted Sam floating on a makeshift wooden plank amidst the floating debris.
The resilient cat caught the attention of the sailors and they adopted him into their ranks. They gave him the name “Oscar” which is the designation for the letter “O “in the International Code of Signals.
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Not much is known about Sam before this time. However, it is believed that he was owned by an unknown crewman onboard the Bismarck.
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Unfortunately, Sam’s luck was about to take another turn. On October 23, 1941, the HMS Cossack was torpedoed by a German U-boat while on convoy duty in the North Atlantic.
As the HMS Cossack slowly sank, the crew, including Sam, was transferred to The HMS Ark Royal before the Cossack finally succumbed to its injuries and sank.
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Less than a month later, on November 14, 1941, the Ark Royal was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat.
Now familiar with the drill, Sam found a piece of driftwood and clung to it until he was rescued by the British destroyer HMS Legion and brought to safety.
After his 3rd and final rescue, the Royal Navy realized that Sam had had enough of the war and was granted retirement.
Wiki gives a better bit of info on Sam’s final years.
He was transferred first to the offices of the Governor of Gibraltar and then sent back to the United Kingdom, where he saw out the remainder of the war living in a seaman's home in Belfast called the "Home for Sailors".Sam died in 1955. A pastel portrait of Sam by the artist Georgina Shaw-Baker (1860–1951) is in the possession of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
Sailors like their cats … and other friends. I think they deserve it, especially Sam.
Grandpa Scoobs’ after action report on the loss of his destroyer MEREDITH DD-726 off Normandy contains a humorous episode - after the DD got hit by something (mine/glide bomb?) early on the morning of 8 June, the ship appeared on the verge of breaking in half and the abandon ship order was given. Amid the hustle one sailor ran below decks shouting that he had to save “Lucky”, and soon emerged carrying a black cat! This was first indication Grandpa Scoobs had that his crew had violated his “no pets” policy and snuck one aboard - Lucky made it ashore but his final fate is unknown.
US Marines love their mascots too. My unit in Vietnam adopted a small dog we called Mouse. One of our staff sergeants tripped over her while he was running to a bunker during a rocket attack. He stopped, picked her up, and brought her along. She refused to leave, and she was just a puppy, so we kept her. Named Avenger J. Mouse. We were the Wake Island Avengers, VMA-211. Sweet pooch, well behaved. and somehow she was smuggled back to Japan when the war ended. I imagine she lived a life of luxury afterward.
Grandpa Scoobs’ after action report on the loss of his destroyer MEREDITH DD-726 off Normandy contains a humorous episode - after the DD got hit by something (mine/glide bomb?) early on the morning of 8 June, the ship appeared on the verge of breaking in half and the abandon ship order was given. Amid the hustle one sailor ran below decks shouting that he had to save “Lucky”, and soon emerged carrying a black cat! This was first indication Grandpa Scoobs had that his crew had violated his “no pets” policy and snuck one aboard - Lucky made it ashore but his final fate is unknown.
US Marines love their mascots too. My unit in Vietnam adopted a small dog we called Mouse. One of our staff sergeants tripped over her while he was running to a bunker during a rocket attack. He stopped, picked her up, and brought her along. She refused to leave, and she was just a puppy, so we kept her. Named Avenger J. Mouse. We were the Wake Island Avengers, VMA-211. Sweet pooch, well behaved. and somehow she was smuggled back to Japan when the war ended. I imagine she lived a life of luxury afterward.