KG_Jag
11-06-2005, 01:44 PM
From the Shrapnel Games 11/05 news letter:
The German Navy (the Kriegsmarine) in the Second World War is probably best remembered first for the u-boat war, and second for the surface raiders like Bismarck and Tirpitz. What is rarely remembered is Germany's fleet of pirate ships, the Hilfskreuzers.
Hilfskreuzers, meaning auxiliary cruisers, were a motley group of nine merchant ships converted to the role of commerce raider. While there were only nine, between them they accounted for 142 ships captured or sunk during the course of the war, quite an impressive feat.
The idea behind the Hilfskreuzers (from here on out referred to as HK) originated in World War One (although technically commerce raiders have been around since man first sent goods via the open sea), when several German commerce raiders made a good showing of themselves against the British and French. One problem though with the early HKs was a byproduct of the era; they needed lots of coal to operate, which meant the need to resupply quite a bit. Since at the time Germany had a number of available colonies, this was not as problematic as it could be, but it still highlighted one major issue with the HK program.
The ultimate solution was to change the type of craft. The original HKs tended to be passenger liners, while the next generation were freighters, often using oil. Because of this the second generation could stay at sea for months, using captured enemy vessels to resupply their perishables.
When the Second World War broke out the Kriegsmarine decided that using HKs would be too risky in this "modern" war. Germany had no colonies to provide safe refuge, aircraft were a much, much larger threat, and in general the war strategy was geared more towards traditional surface raiders and the submarine arm. Because of this only five HKs were put out to sea in the opening year of the war, but by late 1940 the rest of the HKs were made available.
And what exactly was a HK? Typically they were freighters with either diesel turbines or boiler turbines, depending on their age. They were crewed with between 350 and 400 men, all volunteers. Living the life of a HK crew member was not easy. You could be at sea for up to two years, forced to live on whatever you could capture, and always be in danger of being executed for piracy if captured, instead of being treated as a POW. Even if treated as a POW because of the special circumstances of the type of vessel the crew were never treated the same as regular navy crew. As an example, one captured crew was in an Australian prison for over two years past war's end.
HK commanders needed to be bold, independent thinkers. They had to survive on their wits alone, with no hope of back-up or rescue if they got in over their heads. Since the Third Reich tended to like their high ranking commanders to walk the line, HK commanders tended to be considered unfit for regular navy duty. Considering the string of HK victories, all were obviously brilliant tacticians, and they must have been good with morale. Even spending years at sea, often with scores of prisoners from captured vessels, no HK crew ever mutinied.
In terms of weaponry the HKs carried six 150mm guns (usually from the turn of the century), always disguised with parititions. They also mounted several torpedo tubes, several 37mm and 75mm guns, mines, and two Arado seaplanes (one of which was carried unassembled). Additionally, two HKs carried an E-Boat (analogous to the US PT-Boat). The crew, often needing to board the targets, were also well armed.
Tactics were varied, often depending on the time of the war. In the early period HKs could approach a target, flash a signal for them to not use their radio, and then hopefully simply board and capture her.
Sometimes a little gunfire was needed to convince the captains to stop their ships, but in the end they would comply, since they had no real defense.
As the war progressed the Allies instructed their ships to not halt for anyone, and to immediately radio if contact was made. At this point the HK's seaplane took on an important role. Whereas before the HK would simply troll for victims, now the seaplane would be the one looking for targets. Once found the seaplane would then attempt to snag the ship's radio wires, and then strafe the decks. After that it would land nearby to keep a watch on the target, while its parent HK finally approached to capture the vessel.
Yet still this tactic became more difficult to achieve, as once an enemy seaplane was spotted the ship would radio the report and head off at full steam. At this point the HKs began to attack at night, which is ultimately when they ended up with the best successes.
It should also be noted that the HKs were masters of the art of disguise. Acting as lone wolves, ensuring that the Allies did not detect what they truly were was an important aspect of shipboard life. To this end the vessels themselves often featured many interesting components, such as hiding the weapons behind drop-down wooden walls, or the ability to alter the look of the decks themselves. Crew often had to dress up as women, or members of the clergy, whenever an aircraft was spotted.
The reign of the HKs only lasted until 1942. Many were sunk, and by that point the war was beginning to turn for the Germans.
U-boats got top priority, and soon the Kriegsmarine had turned away from most other strategies. Yet though they only lasted until '42 the Hilfskreuzers proved to be, ton for ton, one of the most lethal weapons the Germany Navy fielded.
The nine Hilfskreuzers, and their ultimate fates are listed below.
Atlantis: Sunk by the British
Komet: Sunk by the British off the coast of France
Kormoran: Sunk by the Australians
Michel: Sunk by a US sub, off the coast of Japan
Orion: Returned to Germany
Pinquin: Sunk by the British
Stier: Sunk by US Q-ship*
Thor: Destroyed by fire in a Japanese port
Widder: Returned to Germany
*Q-ships were disguised merchant ships employed by the Allies for submarine hunting. While sounding similar to the role of the HK, Q-ships were more defensive in nature, while HKs were meant as offensive weapons.
The German Navy (the Kriegsmarine) in the Second World War is probably best remembered first for the u-boat war, and second for the surface raiders like Bismarck and Tirpitz. What is rarely remembered is Germany's fleet of pirate ships, the Hilfskreuzers.
Hilfskreuzers, meaning auxiliary cruisers, were a motley group of nine merchant ships converted to the role of commerce raider. While there were only nine, between them they accounted for 142 ships captured or sunk during the course of the war, quite an impressive feat.
The idea behind the Hilfskreuzers (from here on out referred to as HK) originated in World War One (although technically commerce raiders have been around since man first sent goods via the open sea), when several German commerce raiders made a good showing of themselves against the British and French. One problem though with the early HKs was a byproduct of the era; they needed lots of coal to operate, which meant the need to resupply quite a bit. Since at the time Germany had a number of available colonies, this was not as problematic as it could be, but it still highlighted one major issue with the HK program.
The ultimate solution was to change the type of craft. The original HKs tended to be passenger liners, while the next generation were freighters, often using oil. Because of this the second generation could stay at sea for months, using captured enemy vessels to resupply their perishables.
When the Second World War broke out the Kriegsmarine decided that using HKs would be too risky in this "modern" war. Germany had no colonies to provide safe refuge, aircraft were a much, much larger threat, and in general the war strategy was geared more towards traditional surface raiders and the submarine arm. Because of this only five HKs were put out to sea in the opening year of the war, but by late 1940 the rest of the HKs were made available.
And what exactly was a HK? Typically they were freighters with either diesel turbines or boiler turbines, depending on their age. They were crewed with between 350 and 400 men, all volunteers. Living the life of a HK crew member was not easy. You could be at sea for up to two years, forced to live on whatever you could capture, and always be in danger of being executed for piracy if captured, instead of being treated as a POW. Even if treated as a POW because of the special circumstances of the type of vessel the crew were never treated the same as regular navy crew. As an example, one captured crew was in an Australian prison for over two years past war's end.
HK commanders needed to be bold, independent thinkers. They had to survive on their wits alone, with no hope of back-up or rescue if they got in over their heads. Since the Third Reich tended to like their high ranking commanders to walk the line, HK commanders tended to be considered unfit for regular navy duty. Considering the string of HK victories, all were obviously brilliant tacticians, and they must have been good with morale. Even spending years at sea, often with scores of prisoners from captured vessels, no HK crew ever mutinied.
In terms of weaponry the HKs carried six 150mm guns (usually from the turn of the century), always disguised with parititions. They also mounted several torpedo tubes, several 37mm and 75mm guns, mines, and two Arado seaplanes (one of which was carried unassembled). Additionally, two HKs carried an E-Boat (analogous to the US PT-Boat). The crew, often needing to board the targets, were also well armed.
Tactics were varied, often depending on the time of the war. In the early period HKs could approach a target, flash a signal for them to not use their radio, and then hopefully simply board and capture her.
Sometimes a little gunfire was needed to convince the captains to stop their ships, but in the end they would comply, since they had no real defense.
As the war progressed the Allies instructed their ships to not halt for anyone, and to immediately radio if contact was made. At this point the HK's seaplane took on an important role. Whereas before the HK would simply troll for victims, now the seaplane would be the one looking for targets. Once found the seaplane would then attempt to snag the ship's radio wires, and then strafe the decks. After that it would land nearby to keep a watch on the target, while its parent HK finally approached to capture the vessel.
Yet still this tactic became more difficult to achieve, as once an enemy seaplane was spotted the ship would radio the report and head off at full steam. At this point the HKs began to attack at night, which is ultimately when they ended up with the best successes.
It should also be noted that the HKs were masters of the art of disguise. Acting as lone wolves, ensuring that the Allies did not detect what they truly were was an important aspect of shipboard life. To this end the vessels themselves often featured many interesting components, such as hiding the weapons behind drop-down wooden walls, or the ability to alter the look of the decks themselves. Crew often had to dress up as women, or members of the clergy, whenever an aircraft was spotted.
The reign of the HKs only lasted until 1942. Many were sunk, and by that point the war was beginning to turn for the Germans.
U-boats got top priority, and soon the Kriegsmarine had turned away from most other strategies. Yet though they only lasted until '42 the Hilfskreuzers proved to be, ton for ton, one of the most lethal weapons the Germany Navy fielded.
The nine Hilfskreuzers, and their ultimate fates are listed below.
Atlantis: Sunk by the British
Komet: Sunk by the British off the coast of France
Kormoran: Sunk by the Australians
Michel: Sunk by a US sub, off the coast of Japan
Orion: Returned to Germany
Pinquin: Sunk by the British
Stier: Sunk by US Q-ship*
Thor: Destroyed by fire in a Japanese port
Widder: Returned to Germany
*Q-ships were disguised merchant ships employed by the Allies for submarine hunting. While sounding similar to the role of the HK, Q-ships were more defensive in nature, while HKs were meant as offensive weapons.