Unsinkable Sam is a legendary ship's cat said to have survived the sinking of three warships during World War II—the German battleship Bismarck, then two British vessels, HMS Cossack and HMS Ark Royal—each time reportedly found clinging to floating debris.
The Cat Who Survived Three Sinking Warships
In the chaos of World War II's naval battles, one unlikely survivor became a legend. Unsinkable Sam—a black and white patched cat—allegedly cheated death not once, not twice, but three times as warships sank beneath him.
His story begins aboard the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941. When British forces sent the feared vessel to the bottom of the Atlantic, killing over 2,000 sailors, a bedraggled cat was supposedly found hours later, clinging to a floating board. British sailors from HMS Cossack plucked him from the water and adopted him as their own mascot.
From German to British Service
The rescued feline, initially called "Oscar," settled into life aboard the Cossack. But his bad luck—or remarkable survival instincts—struck again in October 1941. A German torpedo tore into the destroyer west of Gibraltar. The ship limped toward port but sank during the tow, taking 159 crew members with her.
Oscar survived again. Sailors began calling him "Unsinkable Sam."
Third Time's the Charm
Sam's next posting was the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal—ironically, one of the very ships that had helped sink his first home, the Bismarck. The carrier had survived multiple attacks and earned a reputation for durability.
That reputation ended on November 14, 1941. Another German torpedo struck, and despite efforts to save her, the Ark Royal capsized and sank. Sam was found clinging to wreckage once more, described as "angry but unharmed."
Legend or Truth?
Here's where the story gets murky. While Unsinkable Sam became a beloved piece of naval folklore, historians have found no definitive documentation proving the cat existed or made this incredible journey. The tale may have grown from separate ship's cats conflated into one legendary survivor, or it might be maritime myth-making at its finest.
What we do know:
- All three ships definitely sank in 1941
- Ship's cats were common on naval vessels
- A painting titled "Oscar, the Bismarck's Cat" exists at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich
- No ship's logs or official records confirm the cat's transfers
After the Ark Royal's sinking, Sam supposedly retired to a seaman's home in Belfast, then the Home for Sailors in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he lived peacefully until 1955.
Why the Legend Endures
Whether literally true or not, Unsinkable Sam represents something powerful—the stubborn will to survive against impossible odds. In a war that saw thousands of ships sink and millions die, the image of a soggy cat paddling toward yet another rescue ship captures a strange kind of hope.
The story spread through the Royal Navy and beyond, becoming one of WWII's most beloved animal tales. True or embellished, Unsinkable Sam earned his place in maritime legend as the cat who simply refused to drown.