Perhaps the most successful commerce raider aside from the Alabama and Florida was the C.S.S. During World War I, the British Royal Navy deployed Q-ships to combat German U-boats. I thoroughly enjoyed this very readable account of two German commerce-raiders in the early years of WW2. Please note that the content of this book … The most famous[citation needed] captain of a German merchant raider, Felix von Luckner, used the sailing ship SMS Seeadler for his voyage (1916–1917). Their process was intangible: When a raider spotted a merchant ship, the former was closing up to be at firing range, compared the name of the ship to Lloyd’s register to identify her as Belligerent or neutral. Two banks of torpedo tubes were hidden in the sides, above the waterline, but the other two were submarine. Requisitioned, armed, equipped and put into service in September 1939. During World War I, Imperial Germany put several commerce raiders to sea in an effort to disrupt the shipping routes on which Great Britain relied. Ended in an unequal duel against the British heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire in the South Atlantic, November 23, 1941. By Jon Guttman . 1st phase of German commerce warfare: Liners Eventually raiders also sometimes attacked military vessels. 0 Reviews. Sunk by RAF in Swinemünde April 4, 1945. Known by British intelligence as “Raider E”. Pages in category "World War II commerce raiders" The following 13 pages are in this category, out of 13 total. During the Great War, Germany employed several ways to disrupt British trade and counter the Blockade, using a number of privateers: The Möwe, Wolf, Greif, Wolf II, Geier, Leopard, Iltis, and Seeadler (a tall ship). They ships were generally recent, powerful and fast, roomy and adaptable (and equipped) to fake numerous identities. Rain squalls, high winds and … Formerly the bulk carrier Steiermark, it was rebuilt in Kiel in 1938-39, and completed in 1940 under the name of Schiff 41, and a profile resembling Viacheslev Molotov and Japanese Satiko and Kinka Maru (above). Most of these vessels were in the 8,000–10,000 long tons (8,100–10,200 t) range. The “Hilfskreuzer” (auxiliary cruisers, generally complemented by “HSK”- Handels Stör Kreuzer, commerce raiders) were one of the trump cards of Admiral Raeder in his strategy. After merchant warfare operations in the Baltic Sea, she was converted into a mine layer and was planned to be used during Operation Sea Lion. English: German Auxiliary cruisers, Commerce raiders or Merchant raiders were civilian ships, often passenger ships, which were fairly heavily armed during World War II to become warships for convoy escort or attacking other merchant ships. Submarine patrolling in the Pacific. Survived the war and became the British repair ship Ulysses. Kormoran sank the Australian cruiser Sydney in one of the most well-known episodes involving merchant raiders during World War II. If it was bound for neutral ports, the cargo could resume its journey unmolested, otherwise the process was repeated, crew evacuated and the ship sunk. In 1939, facing a lack of ships to launch an effective commerce war, the concept was reactivated with new ships converted, even more heavily armed than in teh first world war. By megaphone, the raider’s captain then intimated his fellow counterpart to stop, while unveiling its artillery and true flag. The first of these were primarily warships. No radar was provided so she carried Arado 196 for advanced long range recognition, and a single torpedo craft LS3, able to launch two aviation torpedoes. Q-ships were warships posing as merchant ships so as to lure U-boats to attack them; their mission of destroying enemy warships differed significantly from the raider objective of disrupting enemy trade. Ran aground on a sandbar near Bergen and was scrapped in situ in 1955. These are stories to be told. In 1939, facing a lack of ships to launch an effective commerce war, the concept was reactivated with new ships converted, even more heavily armed than in teh first world war. One the right are some of these Ships and their stories. German Raiders - Only 11 months before German attacked Russia, “Komet” sailed for the Pacific through the North East Passage across the top of Siberia with the aid of Russian icebreakers. Christened the Sea King, she made several runs to the Far East, until … Requisitioned, armed, equipped and returned into service in November 1939; Covers: Freighter MS Goldenfels, Norwegian Knute Nelson, Soviet freighter SS Kim, Japanese Kasii Maru, Dutch Abbekerk. The concept of commerce raiding was centuries old at least. Such procedure did not include capture but annihilation of the opposing ship, often after allowing the crew to evacuate, by means of 150 mm reformed guns and torpedo tubes. With the ability to change their own ship's profile and, therefore, their own apparent identity, these nine were Germany's secret commerce raiders of the high seas during WW2. The principle was to deter potential “predators”. Their armament was obsolete (old cannons salvaged from cruisers of the Hochseeflotte), but their crews were hand-picked and the best in the German Navy. KMS Widder Launched in 1930 in Kiel. Its 150 mm guns came from the battleship Schliesen. The successful cruise of converted merchant ship "Pinguin"is described in parallel with the much less successful raiding activities of the heavy cruiser "Hipper". Support Naval Encyclopedia, get your poster or wallpaper now ! The Germans used a sailing ship at this stage of the war because coal-fired ships had limited access to fuel outside of territories held by the Central Powers due to international regulations concerning refueling of combat ships in neutral countries. A German merchant raider emblazoned with … Just as during the First World War, the German navy turned for use as auxiliary cruisers a number of recent, massive and fast freighters. They were pirates in the true and historic sense of the word and were even more successful than Germany's best U-Boats. The German Imperial Navy, before the outbreak of World war one, requested that the major German Ocean Liner and shipping companies. Ships typologies and fleets studies. Blueprint of the Pinguin, same class as the Atlantis. These vessels were faster than regular merchant vessels, which was important for a warship. Her cruise in the Pacific lasted 350 days, during which she sank or captured 11 ships, to be eventually tracked down and sunk by the Australian cruiser Sydney (also lost), following a bloody close quarter duel. Two Allied Submarines Acting as “Commerce Raiders” in the Pacific. Upload media: Instance of: Wikimedia list article: Authority control Q1203095. The U.S. Navy decided the best defense was a good offense and planned to build a small fleet of large cruisers, or CBs, to chase them down Japanese commerce raiders. Germany sent out two waves of six surface raiders each during World War II. Americans had even achieved significant successes raiding British commerce in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. KMS Thor, South Atlantic 1940 Launched in 1939 in Hamburg as SS Santa Cruz. The commerce raiders were military ships in the form of light cruisers. Tied to the supply ship KMS Uckermark in Yokohama November 30, 1942 but exlosed for still unclear reasons. 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