Vahsel Bay is a bay about 7 miles wide in the western part of the Luitpold Coast

Luitpold Coast

Luitpold Coast is that portion of the coast of Coats Land extending from the vicinity of Hayes Glacier, at 27° 54' W, to 36° W, which is regarded as the east limit of the Filchner Ice Shelf. It was discovered by Wilhelm Filchner, leader of the German Antarctic Expedition, 1911-12, and named for...

, Antarctica.

This bay receives the flow of the Schweitzer Glacier

Schweitzer Glacier

Schweitzer Glacier is a glacier which drains west along the north side of Littlewood Nunataks into Vahsel Bay. The Lerchenfeld Glacier, trending west-northwestward, coalesces with the lower portion of this glacier. Discovered by the German Antarctic Expedition, 1911-12, under Wilhelm Filchner. He...

 and Lerchenfeld Glacier

Lerchenfeld Glacier

Lerchenfeld Glacier is a glacier flowing in a west-northwesterly direction between Bertrab Nunatak and Littlewood Nunataks. It coalesces with the southern flank of Schweitzer Glacier before the combined flow discharges into the head of Vahsel Bay...

. It was discovered by the German Antarctic Expedition of 1911–1912, led by Wilhelm Filchner

Wilhelm Filchner

Wilhelm Filchner was a German explorer.At the age of 21, he participated in his first expedition, which led him to Russia. Two years later, he travelled alone and on horseback through the Pamir Mountains, from Osh to Murgabh to the upper Wakhan to Tashkurgan and back...

. Upon discovery Filchner named the bay for Captain Richard Vahsel of the expedition ship Deutschland, who died during the course of the expedition, reputedly of Syphilis. Filchner later renamed the bay Herzog Ernst Bucht after large portions of the surrounding ice broke away forming a much larger bay, but later explorers have retained the name Vahsel Bay.