Meet Unsinkable Sam, also known as Oscar, a remarkable cat who sailed through the waves of history with both the Kriegsmarine (Nazi Germany’s navy) and the Royal Navy during World War II. Legend has it that he was originally a sailor’s companion on the German battleship Bismarck.

In May 1941, tragedy struck when the Bismarck faced Allied forces and sank, leaving only 115 crew members and one fortunate feline alive. The HMS Cossack, a British ship, rescued the resilient cat and dubbed him Oscar. Despite facing peril once more during a torpedo attack, he survived and made it to Gibraltar’s shores.

Oscar’s journey continued aboard the HMS Ark Royal, where he was renamed “Unsinkable Sam.” The irony was evident, considering the Ark Royal had played a role in the Bismarck’s demise. The ship was famed for being a “lucky ship,” but that luck ran dry when a U-boat struck it on November 14, 1941. Yet again, Oscar emerged unscathed, clinging to a piece of wood in the water.

Following the Ark Royal’s sinking, Sam retired from his seafaring days, spending his remaining years in Belfast with a kind seaman until 1955. This feline’s incredible tale of surviving naval battles has captured the hearts of many, immortalizing him as a true sailor cat of history.