Oscar the cat was famous during World War II for having lived on both British and German warships, as well as escaping death three times when they were sunk.

Cats have always been considered indispensable animals on ships since ancient times, because they are both weapons to catch mice and pets to help the crew relieve stress. During World War II, many cats became famous as “mascots” on warships of other countries’ navies. One of them is Oscar, a cat who served on warships of both sides and survived three warships being sunk, according to War History.

This cat’s “military career” began when a Nazi sailor brought it onto the battleship Bismack. On May 18, 1941, Bismack left the port of Gdynia, Poland to conduct Operation Rheinubung, to prevent the Allies from supplying Britain. The mission of this battleship is to lock down the British escort fleet, helping the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen attack transport ships.

On May 27, 1941, the battleship Bismarck fiercely fought a group of British warships and was sunk. Of the 2,200 crew members, only 115 people and the cat survived. A few hours later, the British destroyer HMS Cossack discovered the cat clinging to a piece of debris floating at sea and picked it up on board. Not knowing the cat’s real name, British sailors called it Oscar.

Because more and more transport ships were sunk by Germany, the British navy decided to increase escort ships to ensure security. The transport ships will be escorted by light cruisers, destroyers and an aircraft carrier. A few months later, Oscar and HMS Cossack joined the escort force in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.

On October 24, 1941, the Cossack ship left Gibraltar port for Liverpool with the escort group HG-75. Later that day, the German submarine U-563 suddenly attacked the British battleship formation. HMS Cossack was hit by a torpedo, damaging her and killing 159 sailors. The survivors were later rescued by the destroyer HMS Legion.

Attempts to tow the Cossack to Gibraltar for repairs failed due to bad weather. On October 27, HMS Cossack sank while west of Gibraltar. Oscar the cat was rescued and brought to this territory. After learning about its adventures, British officers gave Oscar the nickname “Unsinkable Sam”.

Oscar was then taken aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, a ship that had had a lot of luck having survived many previous campaigns. This aircraft carrier and the destroyer HMS Cossack both participated in the battle to destroy the German battleship Bismarck.

On November 13, 1941, HMS Ark Royal was attacked by the German submarine U-81. The torpedo caused a large hole in the British aircraft carrier and it sank a day later about 48 km east of Gibraltar. The entire crew and Oscar the cat jumped into the sea and were rescued by a patrol boat.

After the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal was sunk, Oscar the cat was not put on any other warship. It lived in the Gibraltar governor’s office before being brought back to England.

Oscar the cat died in 1955 and was portrayed by artist Georgina Shaw-Baker, displayed in his honor at the British National Maritime Museum.