_River_Scheldt_AS.1968.001.1545.jpg) Santa Cruz 1938–1939 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Germany | |
| Name | Santa Cruz |
| Operator | Oldenburg Portuguese Line (OPDR) |
| Builder | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Laid down | 1938 |
| Launched | 16 March 1938 |
| Home port | Hamburg |
| Fate | Requisitioned byKriegsmarine, 1939 |
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | Thor |
| Namesake | Thor |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine |
| Yard number | 4 |
| Acquired | Requisitioned, 1939 |
| Recommissioned | March 1940 |
| Renamed | Thor, 1940 |
| Reclassified | Auxiliary cruiser, 1940 |
| Nickname(s) |
|
| Fate | Destroyed by fire inYokohama, Japan, 30 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 3,862 GRT |
| Displacement | 9,200 GRT |
| Length | 122 m (400 ft) |
| Beam | 16.7 m (55 ft) |
| Propulsion | Oil fired steam turbine |
| Speed | 17knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Range | 40,000 nmi (74,000 km; 46,000 mi) |
| Complement | 349 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1 Arado Ar 196 A-1 |
Thor (HSK 4,Schiff 10 orRaider E) was aGermanauxiliary cruiser of theKriegsmarine in theSecond World War, intended for service as acommerce raider. The ship was named after the Germanic deityThor, known to theKriegsmarine asSchiff 10 and to the British as Raider E.
Thor began its first cruise on 6 June 1940 with CaptainOtto Kähler and returned via theBay of Biscay on 23 April 1941, having spent 329 days at sea and sank or taken asprize twelve ships of 96,547 GRT. After a refit,Thor began its second cruise with a new captainGünther Gumprich. After colliding with and sinking a Swedish ore carrier and a period in dock for repairs,Thor sailed on 30 November 1941.
Thor docked at Yokohama on 9 October 1942, having sunk or captured ten ships of 55,587 GRT on a voyage of 328 days. On 30 November, the tankerUckermark docked next toThor and soon afterwards began to explode and setThor on fire. Gumbrich rallied the survivors and took on the raiderMichel with a composite crew.
Muchel sank another three ships, then while hunting in the Pacific,Michel was torpedoed byUSS Tarpon.Michel sank with the loss of Gumbrich and 262 men. Some survivors were taken back to Germany byDoggerbank, a blockade-runner that was mistakenly sunk near theCanary Islands byU-43 with only one survivor.
Auxiliary cruisers (raiders) were, for a small outlay in crews and material, a means of oceanic operations for theKriegsmarine that couldforce the Allies into considerable counter-measures, divert ships and aircraft and inflict considerable attrition on merchant ships through sinking or capture. TheSeekriegsleitung (Naval War Staff) used the experience of theFirst World War to convert ships into disguised auxiliary cruisers, with fairly heavy gun- and torpedo-armament and from 1942 radar. High cruising speeds of 14–18 kn (26–33 km/h; 16–21 mph) and long endurance were necessary. SKL planned to use wireless to direct raiders to different areas and to give a running commentary on circumstances by passing on wireless intelligence.[1]
SKL strategy was to tie down and disrupt Allied sea operations, rather than obtain a high number of sinkings at the risk of the loss of raiders. Ship captains were directed to make surprise appearances, to force the Allies to divert many ships for trade protection. Tankers and supply ships were to fuel, provision and supply the raiders by exploiting the inability of the Admiralty to maintain a continuous watch over the oceans. Merchant ships, were to be takensilently by preventing them from sending distress signals. Raiders were to transfer captured merchant crews to the supply ships.[1]
Each ship would need a crew of 284 men, six 150 mm (5.9 in)-guns, four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, four torpedo tubes, provision for 400 mines, two seaplanes and some ships carried a light, fast E-boat for mining harbour entrances and surprise night attacks against merchant ships. The ships needed to be at sea for yearlong cruises of 40,000 nmi (74,000 km; 46,000 mi). The first raider was to sail in November 1939 but it took until 31 March 1940 before it sailed and July before the first wave had completed their departures. By March 1941 the seven raiders in action had sunk or taken 80 ships of494,291gross register tons (GRT).[2]
The GermanBeobachtungsdienst (B-Dienst, Observation Service) of theKriegsmarineMarinenachrichtendienst (MND, Naval Intelligence Service) had broken several Admiralty codes and cyphers by 1939, which were used to helpKriegsmarine ships elude British forces and provide opportunities for surprise attacks. In 1941,B-Dienst read signals from the Commander in Chief Western Approaches informing convoys of areas patrolled by U-boats, enabling the submarines to move into "safe" zones.[3]B-Dienst broke Naval Cypher No 3 in February 1942 and by March was reading up to 80 per cent of the traffic, which continued until 15 December 1943. By coincidence, the British could not read theShark cypher and had no information to send in Cypher No 3 which might compromise Ultra.[4]
Thecargo shipSanta Cruz (3,863 GRT, 5,170 DWT) was 400.4 ft (122.0 m) long, with a beam of 54.6 ft (16.6 m), a draught of 23.4 ft (7.1 m) and a speed of 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph). The ship was built byDeutsche Werft, Hamburg, (DWH) in 1938 and was owned and operated by the Oldenburg Portuguese Line (OPDR)Hamburg.[5] In the winter of 1939–1940 theKriegsmarine requisitioned the ship and had DWH convert it into an auxiliary warship by DWH. The ship was commissioned as theHilfskreuzer (commerce raider)Thor on 15 March 1940.[6]
Pre-war thinking at theAdmiralty under-estimated the threat from U-boats and expected that the principal weapon of theKriegsmarine would be the commerce raider. Between the wars the Admiralty and theRoyal Air Force had never agreed about the control of maritime aircraft or grasped the role and effectiveness of aircraft over the seas, their strategy and tactics or their design and armament. In 1939 the Germans could only reach the high seas via theScotland–Iceland gap or theDenmark Strait between Iceland andGreenland. The Admiralty revived theNorthern Patrol to interceptBlockade runners and detect the passage of GermanDeutschland-classcruisers (pocket battleships) that had been built as commerce raiders.[7][a] In late 1940 the Operational Intelligence Centre created a sub-section to concentrate onarmed merchant raiders to collect information that a raider was at sea based on ship disappearances, survivor reports on the appearances of raiders, their tactics and armaments, the presence of mines and the analysis of times and distances to infer the number of raiders.[9]
As the presence of a raider was established it received a code letter, beginning with Raider A. It was discovered that the Germans named the ships and gave them a number (Thor [Raider E] wasSchiff 10). From May 1941 a supplement of the Weekly Intelligence Report listed raiders, their size, speed, armament, captain, drawings or photographs their characteristics, tactics and a digest of their cruises. The wireless signal QQQQ was established for attacks by merchant raiders to go with RRR for attack by any ship and SSS for submarine attack. In May 1941 the cruiserHMS Cornwall intercepted a distress message from a tanker in theIndian Ocean that led to the sinking of Raider F (PinguinSchiff 33) that had been at sea for close to a year, sank or took asPrize of war 17 ships and 11 whalers of 136,000 GRT. The seven raiders at sea between April 1940 and November 1941 sank or took as prizes 87 ships of over 600,000 GRT.[10]
Thor (CaptainOtto Kähler) began its first cruise on 6 June 1940, altered to look like the Russian freighterOrsk fromOdessa.[11] The ship was escorted into theNorth Sea by destroyers, minesweepers and aircraft. The British and French were evacuating troops fromHarstad in the north ofNorway, with a lot of ships in the area. As the ship sailed northwards, the weather deteriorated, enveloping the ship in fog and snow, despite themidnight sun and it passed unseen.Thor/Orsk passed through the Denmark Strait and reached the North Atlantic on 16 June. On 22 June, Kähler reported to Berlin thatThor was west of theAzores and had changed disguise to the neutralVir a Jugoslavian ship fromSplit.[12]
On 1 July,Thor/Vir, met the 9,289 GRT Dutch cargo shipKertosono, which was carrying a cargo ofpetrol,timber,asphalt and agricultural machinery. Kähler decided to send it under aprize crew toLorient in France, where it arrived on 12 July.[13] On 7 July, just south of theEquator,Thor encounteredDelambre, a British 7,030 GRT freighter carrying hides and cotton to Britain.Delambre turned away leading to a stern chase and whenThor had closed the range to about 8,000 yd (7,300 m) severalbroadsides, were fired, the third of which hitDelambre and stopped it. A boarding party took the crew of 44 and a passenger prisoner andscuttled the ship with demolition charges.[14]
Two days later on 9 July,Thor intercepted the Belgian freighterBruges, bound for Freetown with 7,000 long tons (7,100 t) of wheat.Bruges was scuttled and its crew of 44 was taken aboardThor. On 14 July,Thor stoppedGracefield, another British freighter, carrying 7,000 long tons (7,100 t) of wheat and bran from Montevideo. The 36-man crew was taken prisoner and two torpedoes were fired at the ship, one hit and the other circled the ship until it ran out of fuel; the ship was sunk by gunfire.[15]
On 16 JulyThor spotted a large plume of smoke from the British freighterWendover (5,489 GRT) carrying coal toBuenos Aires.Thor approached by hiding in the smoke plume and opened fire without warning, asWendover was seen to have two guns at the stern.Wendover was hit by several shells and set on fire. The wireless operator began sending "QQQQ" and a crewman was seen running towards the guns at the stern. Another salvo hit the wireless cabin, killed the operator and with the fires spreading, the captain stopped the ship. Kahler sent a boarding party over that set demolition charges.Wendovercapsized when the charges detonated, then was finished off by gunfire. Two members of the crew were killed in the attack, 37 were taken prisoner, two of whom were mortally wounded and died on boardThor, being buried at sea.[16]
The Dutch freighterTela, carrying 5,451 long tons (5,538 t) of grain to Britain was intercepted on 17 July,Thor firing ashot across its bow and it stopped without sending distress signals. The crew of 33 men abandoned ship and were taken aboardThor, the ship being sunk with demolition charges. In just over two weeksThor had sunk six ships of 35,201 GRT and taken 194 prisoners. For ten daysThor stayed in the south Atlantic off theBrazilian coast. The prisoners were roused at6:00 a.m. for roll call at6:00 a.m. then after breakfast, shifts of 60–70 came on deck for sun, exercise and fresh air.[17]
On 28 July,Thor encountered a grey-painted ship that was hard to identify and eavesdropped on a wireless message reportingThor and calling for help. The ship was thearmed merchant cruiserHMSAlcantara, with a main armament of eightBL 6-inch Mk XII naval guns (150 mm) two 3-inch guns and sundry anti-aircraft guns. AdmiralHenry Harwood, the commander of the South American Division,North America and West Indies Station, had reacted to the number of overdue ships and Admiralty signals intelligence that raiders were operating in the South Atlantic. Using reports of survivors, Harwood inferred that a raider was moving southwards and sentAlcantara to search for it. At about9:00 a.m. on 28 July, offArgentina, on a clear day with a calm sea, lookouts onAlcantara spotted a strange ship that turned away at high speed, arousing the suspicions of the captain,James Ingham.[18]
Alcantara was capable of 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph), 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) faster thanThor and at about2:00 p.m., when the range was about 17,350 yd (15,860 m) Kähler decided to try to inflict enough damage onAlcantara to escape.Thor gained three early hits onAlcantara, one between the bridge and funnel, a second aft and a third on the waterline that caused flooding in the engine room, forcingAlcantara to reduce speed.Alacantara replied with its 6-inch guns but was out-ranged by about 2,000 yd (1,800 m) and facing the sun, making it harder to aim. After the fire control system was damaged, the gunners had to fire independently. Despite the difficulties,Thor was hit several times, one shell passing unexploded through the hull and damaging a shell hoist; another shell hit the boat deck and put the torpedo fire control system out of action. Using its reserveW/T,Alcantara sent "Enemy approximately 8,000 tons, speed 19 knots, armament four 5.9-inch guns".Thor turned away fromAlcantara, that had lost speed due to the shell-damage and instead of fighting on,Thor escaped under a smokescreen and changed disguise once out of sight.[19]
After the battle withAlcantara, the crew ofThor repaired the damage, cleaned boilers and changed their disguise.Thor rendezvoused with the supply shipSS Rekum on 25 August and then returned to Brazilian waters. Two weeks later, on 8 September, the YugoslavSS Federico Glavic was stopped but allowed to proceed unmolested, as a neutral. On 26 September the Arado float plane thatThor carried, discovered the Norwegian whale-oil tankerSS Kosmos (17,801 GRT) that was carrying over 17,000 long tons (17,000 t) ofwhale oil.[20]Kosmos would have been a highly valuable prize but the fact that she was short of fuel, slow and easily recognisable, meant that taking it as a prize was impractical and Kähler ordered it sunk by gunfire.[21]
On 8 OctoberThor caught the 8,715 GRT British reeferNatia.Thor achieved a direct hit, which stoppedNatia, though she continued wireless transmissions.Thor hitNatia seven or eight more times with gunfire and a torpedo that tore open its side. Another 35 rounds were fired before she sank. One crewman was killed and 84 crew (one mortally wounded) were taken aboardThor, bringing its total of prisoners to 368.[22] Most of the prisoners were transferred to the supply shipRio Grande in mid November.[23]
On 5 December, at5:30 a.m., south-east ofRio de Janeiro,Thor encountered another armed merchant cruiser,HMSCarnarvon Castle (20,062 GRT) armed with eight 6-inch guns, four on each side, two3-inch anti-aircraft guns and various light weapons. Three of the four 15 cm (5.91 in) guns onThor were aft and Kähler decided to forceCarnarvon Castle into a stern chase. At7:01 a.m.Carnarvon Castle fired a shot that fell 300 yd (270 m) short,Thor raised the German ensign and began a turning engagement, both ships trying to manoeuvre to get the sun in the opponent's eyes, that lasted for about half an hour at a range of 7,000–8,000 yd (6,400–7,300 m).Thor made as much smoke as possible and fired two torpedoes that missed. The gunners onThor obtained five hits, started three fires and knocked out the fire control system, leaving the British gun crews to fire independently.[21]
Thor was a much smaller target and received no hits. At8:05 a.m. having been hit eight times,Carnarvon Castle turned away, dropped smoke floats and headed forMontevideo inUruguay for repairs, with six crew killed and 32 wounded.Thor suffered several gun-jammings through overheating but these could be repaired asThor sailed south at speed, to avoid British ships that Kähler expected to join the search. Over 67 per cent of the ammunition for the main guns had been fired and much fuel expended, replenished byEurofeld on 21 December.[21] A search to findThor by the cruisersHMS Cumberland,Enterprise andNewcastle failed.[24]Thor was ordered to rendezvous with theGerman pocket battleship Admiral Scheer to transfer men for prize crews for whalers taken as prizes byPinguin. The ships met on 25 December with the British reefer shipDuquesa, a prize taken byAdmiral Scheer and the tankerNordmark.[25]
In FebruaryThor was fuelled by the tankerMV Eurofeld and again in March byMV Alsterufer, then rendezvoused with ten whalers captured byPinguin.[26] Early in MarchThor was to the south-west of theCape Verde islands to intercept ships avoiding U-boats to the east of the islands. On 25 MarchThor interceptedBritannia, an 8,800 GRT British passenger ship. After scoring several hits on the ship, Kähler allowed time for it to be abandoned, intending to sink the ship and recover the passengers and crew. The wireless operator informed him of a signal from another ship intended forBritannia and that the ship was about 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) distant and on the way. Kähler estimated he had four or five hours to escape, time that was needed to rescue the survivors. When the lifeboats and rubber rafts were away fromBritannia, shells were fired into the liner's hull at the waterline,Britannia sinking in flames.[27]
Kähler expected that the British warship would arrive soon and rescue them and did not want survivors clearly seeingThor to give a description to the Royal Navy. Kähler spoke to the crew who did not want people left behind in a shark zone. Kähler sent a signal to SKL that five hundred people were adrift, hoping that his message would be broadcast in clear and be picked up by other vessels but the message was not sent, only one man was picked up byThor. One of the lifeboats sailed for 23 days over 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) and reachedSao Luis in Brazil. The Spanish vesselsSS Cabo de Hornos,SS Raranga andSS Bachi, passing through by coincidence, rescued 331 people. On 29 March Kähler received a message fromCabo de Hornos that it had rescued 79 people fromBritannia and that hundreds of people might be adrift. The supposed cruiser that sent the message was never identified and 195 people died in the disaster. On the same dayThor stopped the 5,045 GRT SwedishMV Trollenholm. Though neutral, the ship had been chartered by the British to take coal from Newcastle to Port Said. The 31 crewmen were quickly transferred toThor and the freighter was sunk with demolition charges.[28]
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On the return journey to Germany, just after dawn,Thor, under a Greek flag, encounteredHMS Voltaire (13,302 GRT) an armed merchant cruiser, about 900 nmi (1,700 km; 1,000 mi) west of Cape Verde.Voltaire carried eight 6 in (150 mm) and three 3 in (76 mm) guns.Thor approached head-on and to AAA signals (a demand for a ship captain to identify his ship) fromVoltaire fired a warning shot. The first salvo fromThor hitVoltaire in the generator and wireless cabin, rendering it unable to transmit signals.Voltaire replied but with the electrical circuits out of action its guns had to be worked individually.Voltaire managed a hit onThor, disabling the wireless aerial.Voltaire's obsolete guns overheated and had to cease firing, at which pointVoltaire was at 7,000 yd (6,400 m) circling at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) ablaze and with a jammed rudder.[29]
At a range of 2,000 yd (1,800 m)Thor prepared to launch torpedoes but men could be seen jumping into the water,Thor ceased fire and men on the poop deck waved improvised white flags. Kähler laid off at 4,000 yd (3,700 m) and began taking on survivors. The Germans in their boats stood ready to fend off sharks with rifles and machine-guns. Having disabled the wireless onVoltaire, Kähler felt safe to concentrate on the rescue for five hours. The captain and 196 men were rescued out of the 296 crew; the ship sank at 14°25′N, 40°40′W.[29]Thor sailed north-west and transferred 170 prisoners to the tankerIll on 14 April.[30] On 16 April, on the return voyage to Germany,Thor encountered the Swedishore carrierSir Ernest Cassel (7,738 GRT). Two warning shots were fired, the ship stopped and the crew was taken aboardThor; demolition charges were used to scuttle the ship at 32°N, 35°W.[31] On 23 AprilThor reached theBay of Biscay, having spent 329 days at sea, sinking or capturing twelve ships of 96,547 GRT.[32]
WhenThor refitted, newer guns and a radar set were installed. A new captain,Kapitän zur SeeGünther Gumprich took nearly fifty of the crew from the first cruise.[33][b]Thor collided in fog withBothnia (1,343 GRT) a Swedish ore carrier, that sank quickly but with no casualties;Thor returned to dry dock inKiel for repairs to its bow. The second cruise recommenced on 30 November 1941 andThor sailed along the French coast.[34] Storms delayed its passage through the Bay of Biscay until 14 January when it entered the Atlantic and turned south forAntarctica looking for whalers.Thor was to relieveKormoran (HSK 8, Raider G to the British) in the Indian Ocean.[33]
Thor voyaged into theSouthern Ocean and crossed theAntarctic Circle on 25 February. The area was searched with the Arado for the whaling fleet. Wireless transmissions suggested that whalers were operating in the vicinity but nothing was found. After a few daysThor turned north towards the South Atlantic shipping lanes. In the twilight of 23 March, lookouts spotted smoke, thought to beRegensburg that was due to rendezvous withThor but it turned out to be the Greek freighterPagasitikos (3,490 GRT). To save the crew, the captain stopped as ordered and did not send a sighting report, Thirty-two men and a woman were taken prisoner and the ship sunk with a torpedo. On 24 MarchRegensburg appeared about 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) west of the Orange River andThor replenished;Regensburg then circledThor for the radar operators to practice. On 28 March,Thor chased a ship for three hours, after lookouts saw masts on the horizon but the ship was too fast to catch up and the Arado was not used.[35]
Late in the morning of 30 March, about 700 nmi (1,300 km; 810 mi) south-west ofSt Helena, the Arado crew reported that a British ship was steaming parallel toThor over starboard horizon. Gumprich increased speed on a converging course with the British freighterWellpark (4,470 GRT) carrying military equipment fromSt John's toAlexandria. The crew ofWellpark were unawares until1:00 p.m. whenThor drew near. The captain ordered a close watch to be kept on the ship as it converged and tried to identify it. Just after3:00 p.m. the Arado took off and theWellpark captain ordered the anti-aircraft gunners to action stations on the12-pounder gun. The Arado trailing a wire with hooks flew close and the pilot opened fire with its two20 mm cannon; theWellpark gunners replying. After hitting the bridge, the Arado dragged its line across the aerial mast, taking away the aerial. The Arado crew and the ship gunners continued to exchange fire untilThor came close enough to use its guns, penetratingWellpark just above the waterline and near the boiler room.Wellpark came to a stop after fifteen minutes, seven men having been killed; once the 41 survivors were taken prisoner, the ship was sunk by gunfire.[36]
On 1 AprilThor intercepted the British 4,565 GRTWillesden about 475 nmi (880 km; 547 mi) west south-west of St Helena, from New York bound for Alexandria. Gumprich stalked the ship for twelve hours and then the Arado demolished the wireless aerials with itsgrapnel and dropped two bombs. The gunners onThor fired 128 shells that set fire to the deck cargo of oil drums and destroyed the bridge.Willesden returned fire but managed only six shells; with one dead and six wounded (four mortally) the ship was abandoned and 42 of the crew were taken prisoner.Thor sank the ship with a torpedo. On 3 April the Norwegian freighterAust (5,630 GRT) fell victim to the same tactics and was unable to send a wireless signal before being hit by gunfire and brought to a stop by the crew, that abandoned the vessel. A boarding party inspected the ship and sank it by demolition charge, taking the crew prisoner.[37] From 23 March to 9 April,Thor sank five ships of 23,623 GRT).[38]
On 10 AprilThor detected the 4,840 GRT Britishtramp steamerKirkpool, bound for Montevideo from Durban, on the radar set, installed during the refit. Having followed the ship all day in poor visibility, with night falling, Gumprich closed in and opened fire with the 15 cm (5.91 in) guns. The second salvo obtained three hits and setKirkpool's bridge and wheelhouse on fire. With the helm unattended, the ship veered, in what fromThor looked like a ramming attempt. With the ship on fire, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship andKirkpool sank as the crew jumped overboard. Sixteen men were lost even thoughThor lingered for three hours looking for survivors, helped by the red lights on new life jackets being issued to British merchant ship crews; 30 men were rescued, includingKirkpool's captain,chief engineer andfirst officer. The ship was sunk with a torpedo. Soon afterwards,Thor was ordered into the Indian Ocean by SKL, with a warning to be aware of Japanese submarines operating in the area. SKL hoped that the raider could continue its run of success, obtained in under a month, with attacks near theCape of Good Hope shipping lanes; five ships had been sunk for a total of 23,176 GRT.[39]
On 10 May the Arado sighted a ship but uncertain of its identity, took photographs, becauseThor was due to rendezvous with a tanker andMichel, another raider, was operating in the area. The photographs were inconclusive and the Arado was sent back. The new photographs still precluded identification and Gumprich decided not to attack. Soon after this sightingThor received orders to move into the Indian Ocean, having sunk five ships. On 22 April,Thor entered the Indian Ocean, naval headquarters having arranged an area in the south-east Indian Ocean forThor with the Japanese, to keep away from Japanese submarines operating off the east African coast. Sailing eastwards,Thor had no sightings until 4 May but this was the supply shipMV Regensburg that transferred supplies and took on 162 prisoners.[40]
On 10 May, the Arado crew spotted a big ship 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) off the west of Australia,the 7,130 GRT Australianocean linerNankin, en route to Bombay with 350 passengers and crew. The Arado was spotted and the crew began practising lifeboat drills. At2:35 p.m. the Arado was spotted again on the port side and Captain Stratford ordered a turn to starboard to avoid a torpedo attack,Thor being on the starboard side of the ship. The Arado strafedNankin as it overflew with its grappling line out but missed the wireless aerial. Stratford ordered best speed to try to outrun the ship and had the crew prepare to scuttleNankin in case the other ship was faster. The Arado came round for another strafing and grappling run and was met by return fire from the ship's machine-gun and small-arms fire from the passengers (23 were army and navy personnel and armed) and crew.[41]
The wireless officer was sending continuous distress signals thatThor found difficult to jam, because the operator onNankin kept changing frequency. At2:38 p.m.Thor came into range and from 13,000 yd (12,000 m) opened fire with three its 15 cm (5.91 in) guns, that fell short. The stern gun ofNankin returned fire and during a stern chase neither side managed a hit for 22 minutes, both crews over-firing their boilers for maximum speed as the Arado kept trying to bring down the aerial and the armed personnel onNankin tried to shoot it down. At3:00 p.m.Thor managed to hitNankin several times and blew a hole in the hull.[41] Stratford realised that this was the end, ordered the crew to cease fire and sounded the abandon ship alarm. The last wireless signal was,
Nankin abandoning ship Latitude 26 degrees 43' South, 89 degrees 47' East.[41]
and the crew dropped the confidential books and records over the side inside a perforated box and tried to scuttleNankin.Thor rescued the crew and passengers from their lifeboats. A prize crew boardedNankin and managed to repair the ship's engines that the attempt to scuttle had not severely damaged. The hole inNankin was repaired and frozen food, wool and wireless equipment taken aboardThor, some of which were put aboardRegensburg when it arrived, along with the prisoners.[42] The supply ship andNankin (nowLeuthen) sailed to Japanese-held ports.Nankin was carrying secret papers from the New Zealand Combined Intelligence Centre in Wellington to the C-in-C, Eastern Fleet in Colombo.[43] This information revealed that the Allies were reading some Japanese radio codes but its transfer to Japan was delayed until the beginning of July.[44]
There were no encounters for a month and then on 14 JuneThor got a radar contact at about 10,000 yd (4.9 nmi). On a converging course,Thor was able to approach to within 1,800 yd (1,600 m),Thor attacked what turned out to be the 6,310 GRT Dutch Shell tankerOlivia. It was too dark for the Arado and Gumprich tried to put the wireless transmitter out of action with gunfire but the bombardment killed most of the crew and turned the ship into "a floating wall of flame". The steering was damaged and the ship began to circle. The third officer, three Dutch and eight Chinese crewmen were able to lower a boat but searchers fromThor was able to find only one man, J. D. Fischer, in the water. The lifeboat drifted for weeks before the boat capsized in the breakers offMadagascar; one Dutch and seven Chinese mariners died before reaching land on 13 July.[45] On 19 June,Thor intercepted the Norwegian oil tankerHerborg (7,894 GRT). The Arado disabled the wireless aerial as warning shots fromThor broughtHerborg to a stop, with only one 3-inch gunHerborg was no match for the raider. The captain ordered the ship stopped and the crew to abandon ship. The crew was taken aboardThor and a prize crew took the renamedHohenfriedburg to Japan, arriving on 7 July. On 4 JulyThor stopped another Norwegian oil tanker, the 5,895 GRTMadrono, in the same manner asHerborg. The renamedRossbach was taken to Japan by a prize crew, arriving on 5 August. .[46][c]
On 20 July, the Britishreefer shipIndus was attacked and Captain Bryan ordered that the ship be turned away fromThor at full speed, firing its stern gun. At3:00 p.m. after firing two rounds, the stern gun was hit by a shell fromThor, killing the chief gunner and destroying the gun.[48] The wireless operator onIndus sent distress signals, that were replied to by shore stations until another shell fromThor hit the bridge, set it ablaze, killed him and knocked out the wireless. Most of the crew came on deck, only to be killed in the shell explosions. When the ship slowed and the wireless stopped transmitting, Gumbrich ceased fire.Indus was burning so badly that a party was not put aboard; 49 survivors were rescued but about half of the crew had been killed by the bombardment and the fire.Thor transferred its prisoners to the blockade runnerTannenfels and made for theYokohama in Japan,viaBatavia (now Jakarta) in the Japanese-occupiedDutch East Indies.[34]
Thor reached Yokohama on 9 October 1942 and Gumbrich made energetic representations to the Japanese authorities to work quickly on a refit. Much of the work was complete when on 30 November, the tankerUckermark entered harbour and docked next toThor. At about2:00 p.m. an explosion withinUckermark was heard, soon followed by more explosions. The third explosion was so big that the bridge was blown into the air and landed onThor, spreading the fire as crewmen leapt overboard and swam away from the fire that was spreading on the water.
Nankin/Leuthen and the Japanese freighter,Unkai Maru 3, also caught fire. Gumprich was in a motorboat and rescued as many men as possible until forced to retreat before the flames. The four ships were destroyed in the fire and thirteen crew ofThor and 53 ofUckermarck were killed, along with an unknown number of Chinese and Japanese dockworkers. On its second cruise,Thor had sunk or took asprize, ten ships of 55,587 GRT on a voyage of 328 days; the total for both cruises was 22 ships of 152,134 GRT.[49]
The captain ofMichel,Kapitän zur SeeHelmuth von Ruckteschell had asked to be relieved due to ill health and on 1 May 1943,Michel sailed for the Indian Ocean on its second raiding voyage, with Gumbrich as captain. The crew was a composite of survivors fromThor and the crew ofMichel that Gumbrich drilled daily to integrate his survivors with theMichel crew.[50][d] On 14 June 1943, the 7,715 GRTMV Hoegh Silverdawn was spotted by the Arado and caught byMichel late in the evening. In 45 minutesHoegh Silverdawn was sunk at 25°40′S, 92°E, 36 passengers and crew were killed and 22 survived, three having got away on a raft and being picked up by a US merchant ship a week later. Captain E. Waaler, in a lifeboat with another 21 people, survived a journey of 31 days and 2,860 nmi (5,300 km; 3,290 mi) to make landfall in India, two survivors having died during the voyage.[52]
On 17 June,MV Ferncastle, a 9,940 GRT tanker was quickly sunk by four torpedoes at 25°S, 97°E. Eighteen men were killed and nineteen survivors were rescued from the crew of thirty-seven. Some of the crew managed to escape and were rescued by a ship.[53] The next three months were uneventful apart from a near miss with a US cruiser. Gumprich sailed into the Pacific assuming that the escapees would have alerted the Allies.Michel was limited to the fuel it carried because all of the German supply tankers had been sunk and the Japanese were too hard pressed to help. He would soon have to give up the cruise and head back to Japan.Michel was in the vicinity ofEaster Island on 10 September when the tankerMV India (9,977 GRT) was spotted in the afternoon.Michel hung back until dark and attacked without warning. Almost immediately the ship burst into flames so hot that boats fromMichel could not approach to search for survivors and the 38 members of the crew were killed.[54]
During the night of 29/30 September,Michel was suddenly surrounded by ships. Gumprich gradually extricated the ship from the convoy, having been deterred from making an attack by nearby destroyers.[54][e] While heading for Tokyo Bay, on the night of 16 October in bright moonlight, in a calm sea,Michel was spotted by the submarineUSS Tarpon. Commander Thomas L. Wogan mistook the ship for a Japanese freighter and just past midnight, fired four torpedoes two of which hit the ship. Hundreds of men, including all the Norwegian prisoners, were killed in the first minutes as water flooded the hull. Watertight doors were closed andMichel began firing all round, not being able to see the attacker. Several more torpedoes were fired, one hit the stern and another hit the site of the first torpedo impact.Michel, listing to port, began to sink by the stern.[55]
Gumprich gave the order to abandon ship and he was seen on the bridge, directing the evacuation of the wounded. Some survivors reached the shore and several were picked up by passing Japanese boats but the Japanese Navy did little to help; fifteen officers and 248 crewmen were killed. Only after the war did the Allies discover that the ship wasMichel, the last of the German commerce raiders.[56] Some survivors of the ship were sent to France on the blockade runnerDoggerbank and killed when the ship was mistakenly sunk byU-43 on 3 March 1943, 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) west of theCanary Islands, only one of the 365 crew survived.[57][f]
Thor was capable of 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) and completed two voyages, a feat unequalled by the other raiders.Thor sank eighteen ships and took four ships as prizes in 653 days at sea and defeated three Armed Merchant Cruisers of the Royal Navy.[59] In 2001Werner Rahn wrote that in eleven voyages from April 1940 to October 1943, nine auxiliary cruisers sank or took as prizes 138 ships of 857,533 GRT. Twenty-three of the prizes of 128,550 GRT reached Axis ports in France or Japan. The light cruiserHMAS Sydney was sunk and many merchant ships were damaged by mines. The great success (650,000 GRT) achieved until the end of 1941, surprised SKL and was almost double that achieved by conventional warships in the Atlantic. The weakness of theKriegsmarine meant that auxiliary cruisers were an efficient alternative but after their success in the First World War, more use could have been made of them.[60]
Before the war, Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, had wanted a fleet of battleships and aircraft carriers but his plans were overtaken by events. Raeder had to rely on U-boats and armed and camouflaged merchant vessels. In the 1930s theKriegsmarine had paid Central American banana plantations to have fruit ships built by German companies that could quickly be adapted for wartime use. Banana boats were faster than most other merchant ships and because they were small and sat low in the water, they offered a small target. Raider crews raised and lowered masts and funnels and altered their silhouettes with dummy bows and structures. Raider crews pumped fuel from front to back and side to side, exposing parts of the hull above the waterline for painting in different colours. The raiders carried guns large enough to match all but the largest warships, hidden behind the fake structures.[61]
Raiders sailed the oceans, appearing innocuous to other ships. Only when the German naval ensign was run up and the guns were unmasked, too late to flee did the target realise the danger, often the wireless operator had no time to signal a warning. Raiders tried to take ships as prizes and send them home or loot the cargo of food and fuel, before sinking the ship. The raiders usually tried to capture ships with the minimum of trouble and when crews and passengers were captured they were usually well treated. Prisoners ate the same food as the Germans and were allowed on deck for exercise and fresh air. Doctors looked after sick and injured prisoners the same as they did their crews. When taken aboard a raider, prisoners were searched for weapons and confiscated items were listed on a receipt and usually returned when they departed.[61]
| Ship | Sunk | Prize | GRT | Cruises | Fate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thor | 18 | 4 | 152,134 | 2/653 days | Fire | Destroyed in Yokohama Port after adjoining tankerUckermark caught fire |
| Ship | Year | Flag | GRT | Date | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Delambre | 1917 |  Merchant Navy | 7,032 | 7 July 1940 | 04°W, 26°W | |
| SS Bruges | 1904 |  Belgium | 4,983 | 9 July 1940 | 10°59′N, 23°54′W | |
| SS Gracefield | 1928 | Merchant Navy | 4,613 | 14 July 1940 | 13°S, 31°W | |
| SS Wendover | 1928 | Merchant Navy | 5,489 | 16 July 1940 | 23°S, 35°W | 4† 37 pow |
| SS Tela | 1911 |  Netherlands | 3,777 | 17 July 1940 | 12°S, 33°W | 33 pow |
| SS Kosmos | 1929 |  Norway | 17,801 | 26 September 1940 | 00°26′S, 32°01′W | Whaling factory ship |
| SS Natia | 1920 | Merchant Navy | 8,715 | 8 October 1940 | 00°50′N, 32°34′W | Reefer 2† , 84 pow |
| SS Britannia | 1926 | Merchant Navy | 6,800 | 25 Mar 1941 | 07°24′N, 34°03′W | Troopship, 249† , 233 survivors |
| MV Trolleholm | 1922 |  Sweden | 5,047 | 25 March 1941 | — | 0† |
| Ship | Year | Flag | Type | Date | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Voltaire | 1923 |  Royal Navy | Armed merchant cruiser | 2 April 1941 | 14°30′N, 40°30′W | 75†, 197 survivors |
| Ship | Year | Flag | GRT | Date | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Kertosono | 1918 | Netherlands | 9,289 | 1 July 1940 | 12°40′N, 31°22′W | Prize, to Lorient, arr. 12 July |
| Ship | Year | Flag | GRT | Date | Positionn | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Sir Ernest Cassel | 1910 | Sweden | 7,739 | 16 April 1941 | 32N, 35W | 0† |
| SS Pagasitikos | 1914 |  Greece | 3,942 | 23 March 1942 | 31°S, 11°35′W | †0 |
| SS Wellpark | 1938 | Merchant Navy | 4,649 | 28 March 1942 | 25°S, 10°W | 7† , 41 pow |
| SS Willesden | 1925 | Merchant Navy | 4,563 | 1 Apr 1942 | 16°00′S, 16°00′W | 5† , 42 pow |
| SS Aust | 1920 | Norway | 5,626 | 3 Apr 1942 | 20°S, 16°W | Thor, scuttled, all pow[g] |
| SS Kirkpool | 1928 | Merchant Navy | 4,842 | 10 Apr 1942 | 33°S, 07°W | |
| SS Olivia | 1939 | Netherlands | 6,307 | 14 Jun 1942 | 26°S, 77°E | 42†, 6 survivors |
| MV Indus | 1940 | Merchant Navy | 5,187 | 20 July 1942 | 26°44′E, 82°50′E | 23† |
| Ship | Year | Flag | GRT | Date | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Nankin | 1912 |  Australia | 7,131 | 10 May 1942 | 26°43′S,89°56′E | Re-namedLeuthen, to Yokohama |
| MV Herborg | 1931 | Norway | 7,892 | 19 June 1942 | 28°S, 19°E | Tanker, re-namedHohenfriedburg, to Yokohama |
| MV Madrono | 1917 | Norway | 5,894 | 4 August 1942 | 29°50′S, 70°E | Tanker, re-namedRossbach, to Japan |
| Ship | Year | Flag | GRT | Date | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MV Hoegh Silverdawn | 1940 | Norway | 7,715 | 15 June 1943 | 25°40′S, 92°E | General cargo, 36†, 22 surv. |
| MV Ferncastle | 1936 | Merchant Navy | 9,940 | 17 June 1943 | 25°S, 97°E | Tanker, 18†, 19 surv. |
| MV India | 1939 | Norway | 9,977 | 11 September 1943 | Tanker, all 41† |
| Ship | Year | Flag | GRT | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MV Alsterufer | 1939 |  Kriegsmarine | 2,729 | 14 February 1941[69] |
| MV Eurofeld | 1917 | Kriegsmarine | 5,863 | Tanker, 14 February 1941[69] |
| MV Ill | 1928 | Kriegsmarine | 7,603 | Tanker, ex-NorwegianTuricum |
| SS Nordmark | 1930 | Kriegsmarine | 7,750 | Ex-Westerwald, 2 January 1941[69] |
| MV Regensburg | 1927 | Kriegsmarine | 8,063 | |
| SS Rekum | 1919 | Kriegsmarine | 5,540 | Tanker, ex-SSHeron |
| MV Rio Grande | 1939 | Kriegsmarine | 6,062 | |
| MV Spichern | 1935 | Kriegsmarine | 9,323 | Tanker, ex-NorwegianKrossfonn[70] |
| MV Tannenfels | 1938 | Kriegsmarine | 7,840 |
| Ship | Flag | Original name | Schiff No. | Raider | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantis | Kriegsmarine | Goldenfels | 16 | C | |
| Komet | Kriegsmarine | Ems | 45 | B | |
| Kormoran | Kriegsmarine | Steiermark | 41 | G | |
| Michel | Kriegsmarine | Bielskoi | 28 | H | |
| Orion | Kriegsmarine | Kurmark | 36 | A | |
| Pinguin | Kriegsmarine | Kandelfels | 33 | F | |
| Stier | Kriegsmarine | Cairo | 23 | J | |
| Thor | Kriegsmarine | Santa Cruz | 10 | E | Destroyed by fire inYokohama harbour |
| Widder | Kriegsmarine | Neumark | 21 | D |
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