Oscar, later known as "Unsinkable Sam," was a black-and-white cat originally aboard the German battleship Bismarck. When the Bismarck was sunk on May 27, 1941, Oscar was found floating on a board by British sailors from HMS Cossack and was taken aboard.
Five months later, HMS Cossack was torpedoed by U-563 west of Gibraltar and sank, killing 159 crew members. Oscar survived again, rescued from the water. He was then transferred to HMS Ark Royal, a famous aircraft carrier. In November 1941, Ark Royal was torpedoed by U-81, also near Gibraltar, and sank. Oscar was once again recovered from the wreckage, reportedly found clinging to a floating plank and described as "angry but quite unharmed."
After surviving three warships going down, the Royal Navy decided Oscar had used up enough of his nine lives at sea. He was retired to dry land, living out the rest of his days at the Home for Sailors in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he died peacefully in 1955.