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German auxiliary cruiserPinguin

Coordinates:3°30′0″N57°48′0″E / 3.50000°N 57.80000°E /3.50000; 57.80000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World War II German auxiliary cruiser

Pinguin in the Indian Ocean in 1941.
History
Germany
NameKandelfels
OwnerDDG Hansa
BuilderDeutsche Schiff-und Maschinebau A.G. Werk A.G. 'Weser' (Deschimag)
Launched12 November 1936
Completed1937
RenamedSchiff 33/HSK-5
FateRequisitioned byKriegsmarine, 1939
Nazi Germany
NamePinguin
NamesakePenguin
Acquired1939
Recommissioned6 February 1940
ReclassifiedAuxiliary cruiser, 1940
Nickname(s)
  • HSK-5
  • Schiff 33
  • Raider F
FateSunk in the Indian Ocean byHMS Cornwall, 8 May 1941
General characteristics
Type
Displacement17,600 long tons (17,900 t)
Length155 m (509 ft)
Beam18.7 m (61 ft)
Draft8.7 m (29 ft)
Installed power7,600 hp (5,700 kW)
Propulsion2 × 6-cylinderdiesel engines
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range60,000 nmi (110,000 km; 69,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance207 days
Complement401
Armament
Aircraft carried

Pinguin was aGermanauxiliary cruiser (Hilfskreuzer) which served as a commerce raider in theSecond World War. ThePinguin was known to theKriegsmarine asSchiff 33, and designatedHSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the BritishRoyal Navy asRaider F. The namePinguin meanspenguin inGerman.

Background

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German commerce raiding

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At first theKriegsmarine had no plans to use commerce raiders, despite their use in theFirst World War and interwar thought about their use. Armed merchant cruisers of the type used by the British were too big, too hard to disguise and keep supplied with fuel. Ordinary merchant ships were a better prospect, especially those with a long range and were easier to alter to look like neutral and Allied ships to deceive their targets and Allied warships. Planning began soon after the declarations of war and by the end of September a first wave of six ships had been identified.[1]

Each ship would need a crew of 284 men, six 150 mm guns, four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, four torpedo tubes, provision for 400 mines and two seaplanes. The ships needed to be at sea for a year, cruising for 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 the first raider sailed and July before all of the first wave had departed. By March 1941 the seven raiders in action had sunk or taken 80 ships of494,291gross register tons (GRT).[1]

Kandelfels

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Formerly afreighter namedKandelfels, she was completed byAG Weser in 1937 and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line,Bremen.[2] The ship was ofgross register tonnage (7,766 GRT) was 508 ft 6 in (154.99 m) long, 61 ft 4 in (18.69 m) in the beam with a draught of 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m) and a speed of 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph).[2] In the winter of 1939–1940, she was requisitioned by theKriegsmarine and converted to a warship byDeSchiMAG,Bremen. Her main armament of six 5.9-inch guns was taken from the obsoletebattleshipSchlesien and covered by steel shutters fitted with counterweights.[3] The secondary armament consisted of a 75 mm gun, a twin 37 mm anti-aircraft gun and two twin 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. In the holds were 300 mines and twoHeinkel He 114 floatplanes.[4]

Prelude

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North Sea

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Pinguin (Fregattenkapitän (laterKapitän zur See,Ernst-Felix Krüder) was one of the first wave of raiders sent out by theKriegsmarine, sailing fromGotenhafen on 15 June 1940 to operate in theSouthern Ocean and theIndian Ocean.[5] Arriving off the DanishLollard on 17 June and metSperrbrecher IV, a type with a specially-armoured hull designed to set off mines and two torpedo boat escorts. At theKattegatSperrbrecher IV departed and with two minesweepers, the ships entered theNorth Sea with an escort of aDornier 18 flying boat and two fighter aircraft. OffBergen inNorway the torpedo boats departed andPinguin with the minesweepers put in toSørgulen Fjord. The crew disguisedPinguin as the SovietPetschura and then sailed for theNorth Cape in a severe storm. A British submarine surfaced and demanded that the ship identify itself but Krüder ignored them and sailed on; the submarine fired three torpedoes but they missed andPinguin escaped.[6]

Atlantic Ocean

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Photograph of a He 114 floatplane

Krüder headed forJan Mayen, intending to wait for poor weather in theDenmark Strait before attempting to break out into theAtlantic for a rendezvous withU-A near theCape Verde islands. The plan was assisted by the British diversion of ships from theNorthern Patrol to take part in the evacuation of theBritish Expeditionary Force fromDunkirk evacuation which left the Denmark Strait unguarded. The ship reached Jan Mayen on 24 June but the expected fog had not formed. When the ship reachedGreenland the fog returned and then the ship waited for three days for bad weather.[6]

The ship entered the Atlantic on 1 July. After sailing past theAzores, the ship changed disguise to the GreekKassos. On 17 July the rendezvous withU-A took place off theSaint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago and eleven torpedoes were transferred to the U-boat. To conserve fuelU-A was taken in tow, towards Africa until close toFreetown but machinery trouble forcedU-A to return to Germany, sinking four merchant shipsen route with the torpedoes fromPinguin.[6]

Operations

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South Atlantic

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On 31 July, nearAscension Island about 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) off west Africa, a ship was sighted at about9:00 a.m. in clear weather. each other The ship was the British 5,538 GRTSS Domingo de Larrinaga which turned away, transmitted anunknown attacker alert inMorse, "QQQQ"[– – • –] × 4, prepared the stern gun for action and raised the flag. Krüder give chase, trying to jam the wireless calls from the ship and gradually overhauled it, opening fire at a range of 2 nmi (3.7 km; 2.3 mi). Several hits onDomingo de Larrinaga started a fire near the bridge and killed four men; 32 members of the crew took to three lifeboats. The ship was boarded and then sunk by torpedo after a scuttling charge failed to explode.[7]

Indian Ocean

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The Indian Ocean

Pinguin continued south and on 19 August passed theCape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. On 26 August, off the coast ofMadagascar, Krüder sent one of the Heinkel He 114B seaplanes, carrying British markings, to reconnoitre for ships. At12:50 p.m. the Norwegian tankerMV Filefjell (6,901 GRT) carrying 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) of petrol and 500 long tons (510 t) of oil forCape Town was seen. The pilot dropped a message purportedly from a British officer, that a German raider was in the area and ordered the ship to alter course and keep radio silence. The tanker followed the instructions, unknowingly heading forPinguin 140 nmi (260 km; 160 mi) away.[7]

Action of 8 May 1941

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Main article:Action of 8 May 1941

Pinguin was sunk on 8 May 1941 by the Britishheavy cruiserHMS Cornwall. She was the first auxiliary cruiser of theKriegsmarine to suffer this fate.Pinguin exploded when the mines stored on board were hit and detonated; 332 members of the crew and about 200 of the prisoners were killed.Cornwall rescued 60 crew members and 22 prisoners who had been taken from the 28 merchant ships the raider had sunk or captured.

Freighters attacked byPinguin

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Merchant ships sunk or taken asprizes byPinguin[8]
NameFlagGRTTypeNotes
Domingo de LarrinagaUnited Kingdom5,358Freighter31 July 1940, 05°26'S, 18°06'W, torpedoed, 8† 30  (POW)
MV FilefjellNorway6,901Tanker27 August 1940, sunk 34°S, 51°E, 32  (POW)
British CommanderUnited Kingdom5,008Tanker27 August 1940, torpedoed 29°37'S, 45°50'E, 46  (POW)
MorvikenNorway7,616Freighter27 August 1940, 29°S, 51°E, scuttled
BenavonUnited Kingdom5,872Freighter12 September 1940, gunfire, 21†
NordvardNorway4,111Freighter16 September 1940, 30°S, 60°E, 200  (POW) toBordeaux
SS StorstadNorway8,998Tanker7 October 1940,prize.[a]
NowsheraUnited Kingdom7,920Freighter19 November 1940, 30°S, 90°E, scuttled, 113  (POW)
MaimoaUnited Kingdom10,123Freighter20 November 1940, 31°50'S, 100°21'E, scuttled, 87  (POW)
Port BrisbaneUnited Kingdom8,739Freighter21 November 1940, 29°22'S, 96°36'E, torpedoed, 1†
Port WellingtonUnited Kingdom8,303Freighter30 November 1940, 32°10'S, 75°E, gunfire, 82  (POW)
Empire LightUnited Kingdom6,828Freighter25 April 1941, scuttled
Clan BuchananUnited Kingdom7,266Freighter28 April 1941, 05°24'N, 62°46'E, scuttled, 121  (POW)
British EmperorUnited Kingdom3,663Tanker7 May 1941, 08°30'N, 56°25'E, torpedoed, 45  (POW) 8 surv

Norwegian whaling fleet

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The Norwegian whaling fleet captured byPinguin on 14 January 1941.[9]
!NameFlagGRTTypeNotes
Ole WeggerNorway12,201Factory ship14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
PelagosNorway12,083Factory ship14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
SolglimtNorway12,246Supply ship14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
TorlynNorway247Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Pol VIIINorway293Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Pol IXNorway354Whaler14 January 1941, made an auxiliary,Adjutant
Pol XNorway354Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Star XIVNorway247Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Star XIXNorway249Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew, sunk byHMS Scarborough
Star XXNorway249Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Star XXINorway298Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Star XXIINorway303Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Star XXIIINorway357Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew
Star XXIVNorway361Whaler14 January 1941, dispatched to Bordeaux with prize crew, sunk byHMS Scarborough

Ships mined byPinguin andPassat

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Sunk by mines fromPinguin andPassat[10]
NameFlagGRTTypeNotes
SS CambridgeUnited Kingdom10,846Reefer ship7 November 1940, sank, 8 November, 1†, 55 surv
MS City of RayvilleUnited States5,883Freighter9 November 1940, 38°51'S, 143°39'E, 1†, 38 surv[b]
MV NimbinAustralia1,052Freighter5 December 1940, ~7†[12]
FVMillimumulAustralia287Trawler26 March 1941, 7†[13]

Notes

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  1. ^Converted to minelayerPassat,Bass Strait,Bordeaux, 30 crew returned to Norway 1  (POW)
  2. ^First US ship sunk in the war[11]

Footnotes

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  1. ^abStegemann 2015, pp. 349–350.
  2. ^abJordan 2006, p. 66.
  3. ^Edwards 2001, p. 19.
  4. ^Robinson 2016, p. 52.
  5. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 30.
  6. ^abcRobinson 2016, pp. 52–53.
  7. ^abDuffy 2005, pp. 107–108.
  8. ^Jordan 2006, pp. 101, 103, 134, 115, 155, 174, 182, 191, 316, 329, 342, 414, 488, 489, 490, 492, 495, 503, 506, 507, 519, 559, 562, 564, 580.
  9. ^Brice 1981, p. 83.
  10. ^Jordan 2006, pp. 134, 414, 490, 580.
  11. ^Jordan 2006, p. 580.
  12. ^Wrecksite 2024.
  13. ^Wrecksite 2017.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Allen, Tony (2017)."FV Millimumul".wrecksite eu. Retrieved7 February 2025.
  • Brice, Martin (1981).Axis Blockade Runners of World War II. London: B. T. Batsford.ISBN 0-7134-2686-1.
  • Duffy, James P. (2005).Hitler's Secret Pirate Fleet: The Deadliest Ships of World War II. Westport, CT: Praeger.ISBN 0-275-96685-2.
  • Edwards, Bernard (2001).Beware Raiders!: German Surface Raiders in the Second World War. Barnsley: Leo Cooper (Pen & Sword).ISBN 978-1-78337-907-1.
  • Jordan, Roger W. (2006) [1999].The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships (2nd ed.). London: Chatham/Lionel Leventhal.ISBN 978-1-86176-293-1.[1]
  • Maier, Klaus A.; Rohde, Horst; Stegemann, Bernd; Umbreit, Hans (2015) [1991]. Falla, P. S. (ed.).Germany and the Second World War: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe. Vol. II. Translated by McMurry, Dean S.; Osers, Ewald (trans. pbk. Clarendon Press, Oxford ed.). Freiburg im Breisgau: Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt [Research Institute for Military History].ISBN 978-0-19-873834-3.
    • Stegemann, Bernd. "Part VIII The Second Phase of the War at Sea (until the Spring of 1941)". InMaier et al. (2015).
  • Robinson, Stephen (2016).False Flags: Disguised German Raiders of World War II. Wollombi, New South Wales: Exisle.ISBN 978-1-92-533515-6.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972].Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham.ISBN 978-1-86176-257-3.
  • Vleggeert, Nico (2024)."MV Nimbin".wrecksite eu. Retrieved7 February 2025.

Further reading

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  • Brennecke, H. J. (1974) [1954].Ghost Cruiser HK33. London: Futura.ISBN 978-0-86-007137-2.
  • Forczyk, Robert (2010).German Commerce Raider vs. British Cruiser: The Atlantic and the Pacific 1941. Oxford: Osprey.ISBN 978-1-84603-918-8.
  • Ivanov, Lyubomir; Ivanova, Nusha (2022). "Whaling period".The World of Antarctica. Wilmington, DE: Generis. pp. 91–94.ISBN 979-8-88676-403-1.
  • Muggenthaler, August Karl (1977).German Raiders of World War II. London: Pan.ISBN 0-7091-6683-4.
  • Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954].Butler, J. R. M. (ed.).The Defensive. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series: The War at Sea 1939–1945. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO.OCLC 881709135.
  • Schmalenbach, Paul (1977).German Raiders: A History of Auxiliary Cruisers of the German Navy, 1895–1945. Cambridge: P. Stephens.ISBN 978-0-85-059351-8.
  • Talbot-Booth, E.C. (1940) [1936].Merchant Ships. London:Sampson Low, Marston & Co.OCLC 154106663.

External links

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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1941
Shipwrecks
Other incidents

3°30′0″N57°48′0″E / 3.50000°N 57.80000°E /3.50000; 57.80000

  1. ^Jordan 2006, p. 472.
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