- German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
The German
auxiliary cruiser "Atlantis" (HSK 2), known to theKriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to theRoyal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German "Hilfskreuzer" (auxiliary cruiser, or merchant or commerce raider) of theKriegsmarine , which, duringWorld War II , travelled more than 161,000 km in 602 days, and sank or captured 22ship s totaling 144,384ton s. "Atlantis" was sunk onNovember 21 ,1941 .She was commanded by Kapitän zur See Bernhard Rogge, who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Such commerce raiders do not usually engage other warships, but rather seek to sink enemy shipping, similar to the work done by
submarine s.Early history
Formerly a
freighter named "Goldenfels", she was built byBremer Vulkan in 1937, and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line,Bremen . In late 1939 she was requisitioned by the KM and converted to a war ship byDeSchiMAG , Bremen. and was commissioned as the commerce raider "Atlantis" in November 1939. [cite book|date=1955 (2nd printing)|title=Ship 16: The Story of the Secret German Raider Atlantis|author=Ulrich Mohr as told to Arthur V. Sellwood|publisher=T. Werner Laurie Ltd., London|pages=p6-7]Design of Atlantis
This ship was 155 m long and displaced 17600 tons. She had a single funnel amidships. She had a crew of 349 (21 officers and 328 enlisted troops) and a
Scottish terrier , Ferry, as a mascot. The cruiser carried a dummy funnel, variable-height masts, and was well supplied with paint, canvas, and materials for further altering her appearance, including costumes for the crew and flags. "Atlantis" was capable of being modified to 26 differentsilhouette s.Weapons and Aircraft
The ship carried one or two Heinkel He-114B
seaplane s, four waterlinetorpedo tubes, and a 92-mine compartment. The ship was also equipped with six 150 mm guns, one 75 mm gun on the bow, and two twin-37 mm guns and four 20 mm automatic cannons; all of which were hidden, mostly behind pivotable false deck structures. A phony crane anddeckhouse on the aft section hid four of the 150 mm guns.Engines
"Atlantis" had dual, 6-cylinder
engine s, which powered a singlepropeller . Top speed was 16 knots (30 km/h).General characteristics
"From Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946"
*Displacement: 17,600 tons, (7862gross register tonnage )
*Length: 155 m
*Beam: 18.7 m
*Draught: 8.7 m
*Machinery: 1 shaft , 2 -6 cylinder MAN diesels, Convert|7600|hp|kW|-1|abbr=on
*Speed: convert|17|kn|km/h|0
*Armament
**6 x 150 mm guns
**1 x 75 mm gun
**2 x 2 x 37 mm guns
**4 x 20 mm guns
**4 x 533 mm torpedo tubes
**92 mines
** 2 float planes
*Crew: 349-351History of Atlantis
"Atlantis", "Krim" and "Kasii Maru"
In 1939, "Atlantis" was part of the
Hansa Line under the name "Goldenfels". In 1939, she became the command of "Kapitän"Bernhard Rogge . Commissioned in mid-December, she was the first of nine or ten merchant ships armed by theThird Reich for the purposes of seeking out and engaging enemy cargo vessels. "Atlantis" was delayed by ice until31 March 1940 , when the formerbattleship "Hessen" was sent to act as anicebreaker clearing the way for "Atlantis", "Orion", and "Widder"."Atlantis" headed past the
North Sea minefields, betweenNorway and Britain, across theArctic Circle , and after passing betweenIceland andGreenland , headed south. By this time, "Atlantis" was pretending to be a Soviet vessel named "Krim" by flying theSoviet naval ensign , displaying ahammer and sickle on the bridge, and having Russian and English warnings on the stern, "Keep clear of propellors". The Soviet Union was neutral at the time.After crossing the equator, on 24/25 April, she "became" the
Japan ese vessel "Kasii Maru". The ship now displayed a large K upon a red-topped funnel, identification of theKokusai Line . She also hadrising sun symbols on the gun flaps and Japanese characters (copied from a magazine) on the aft hull."City of Exeter"
On
May 2 she met the British passenger liner "City of Exeter ". Rogge, unwilling to cause massivenoncombatant casualties, informed his officers, "there will be no attack.". Once the ships had parted, "Exeter"'s Master radioed his suspicions about the "Japanese cruiser" to theRoyal Navy .The radio code "QQQQ" was used, which indicated an armed surface raider. [http://www.gordonmumford.com/radio-02.htm, url retrieved 2008-09-04.]"The Scientist"
On
May 3 , "Atlantis" met a Britishfreighter , "The Scientist", which was carryingore andjute . The Germans raised theirbattle flag and displayed signal pennants stating, "Stop or I fire! Don't use your radio!" The 75 mm gun fired a warning shot. The British immediately began transmitting their alarm signal, "QQQ...QQQ...Unidentified merchantman has ordered me to stop," and the Germans began transmitting so as to jam the signals."The Scientist" turned to flee, and on the second
salvo from "Atlantis", flames exploded from the ship, followed by a cloud of dust and then white steam from theboiler s. A British sailor was killed and the remaining 77 were taken asprisoners of war . After failing to sink the ship with demolition charges, guns and atorpedo were used to finish off "The Scientist".Cape Agulhas
Continuing to sail south, "Atlantis" passed the
Cape of Good Hope , reachingCape Agulhas onMay 10 , here she discharged her load of 92 horned contactnaval mine s. Then she headed into theIndian Ocean . Intercepting a Britishradio message warning about "a raider disguised as Japanese", they adopted a new disguise, that of "Abbekerk", a Dutch vessel."Tirranna", "City of Baghdad", and the "Kemmendine"
On
June 10 , "Atlantis" stopped the Norwegian motor ship "Tirranna" with 30 salvos of fire after a 3 hour chase. [cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RnY-AAAAIAAJ|date=1956|title=Ship 16: The Story of the Secret German Raider Atlantis|author=Arthur V. Sellwood, Ulrich Mohr|publisher=John Day Co|pages=p79-80] Five members of that ship's crew were killed, others were wounded. Filled with supplies forAustralia n troops in theMiddle East , "Tirranna" was captured and sent to Germany.On
July 11 , the liner "City of Baghdad " was fired upon at a range of 1.2 km. A boarding party discovered a copy of "Broadcasting for Allied Merchant Ships ", which contained communications codes. "City of Baghdad", like "Atlantis", was a formerHansa Line r, having been captured by the British duringWorld War I .At 10:09, on
July 13 , "Atlantis" opened fire on a cargo ship, "Kemmendine", which was heading toBurma . Filled withwhiskey , "Kemmendine" was quickly ablaze and a boarding crew returned with only twostuffed animal s. Lifeboats were taken aboard which carriedwomen andchildren ."Talleyrand" and "King City"
In August, "Atlantis" sank "Talleyrand", the sister ship of "Tirranna". Then she encountered "King City", carrying
coal , which was mistaken for a BritishQ-Ship due to its erratic maneuvering, which was caused by mechanical difficulties. Three shells destroyed thebridge , killing fourmerchant cadet s and acabin boy . Another sailor died on theoperating table aboard "Atlantis"."Athelking", "Benarty", "Commissaire Ramel", "Durmitor", "Teddy", and "Ole Jacob"
In September "Atlantis" sank "
Athelking ", "Benarty ", and "Commissaire Ramel ". All of these were sunk only after supplies, documents, and POWs were taken. In October theYugoslavia n steamer "Durmitor" was taken and was loaded with documents and 260 POWs, lacking sufficient fuel the steamer resorted tosail s and drifted towards Italian-controlledMogadishu . In the second week of November, "Teddy " and "Ole Jacob " were seized."Automedon" and her Secret Cargo
At about 0700 on
November 11 , "Atlantis" encountered the cargo ship "Automedon" northwest ofSumatra . As soon as the Germans fired a warning shot, Automedon began transmitting, "RRR...", the signal for "raider". From a distance of more than 1.5 km, 28 shells are believed to have hit the bridge. The captain and all the officers were killed.The Germans boarded the cargoship and axed into the captain's
safe . They then blasted open a nearbystrongroom and discovered 15 bags of mail marked, "Safe hand. By British Master only." This mail included a whole shipment ofTop Secret mail for theBritish Far East Command , new code tables, a British War Cabinet report on British forces, the defences ofSingapore , information regardingAustralia andNew Zealand , and an appraisal of theEmpire of Japan 's intentions. "Automedon" was sunk at 1507.The documents, POWs, and 10,000 tons of aviation fuel were sent to
Japan , aboard "Ole Jacob". The mail reached the Germanembassy inTokyo , onDecember 5 , and was then hand-carried toBerlin via theTrans-Siberian railway . A copy was given to the Japanese and it is sometimes argued that this played a prominent part in the Japanese decision to initiate what it referred to as the, "Greater East Asia War ". Rogge was rewarded with an ornatekatana Samurai sword .Kerguelen and Africa
During the
Christmas period, "Atlantis" was atKerguelen Island , in theIndian Ocean . There they did maintenance and replenished their water supplies. The crew suffered its first fatality when a sailor fell while painting the funnel. He was buried in what is sometimes referred to as "the most southerly German soldier's grave".citequoteIn late January 1941, off the eastern coast of
Africa , "Atlantis" sank the British ship "Mandasor" and captured "Speybank". Then, on2 February , the Norwegian tanker "Ketty Brövig" was relieved of her fuel. The fuel was used not only for the German raider, but also to refuel the German cruiser ("Kreuzer") "Admiral Scheer " and, on29 March the Italiansubmarine "Perla". The "Perla" was making its way from the port ofMassawa inItalian East Africa , around theCape of Good Hope , and toBordeaux inFrance ."Zamzam"
By April, "Atlantis" had returned to the Atlantic where, on
April 17 , "Kapitän" Rogge, understandably mistaking theEgypt ian liner "Zamzam " for a British liner being used as a troop carrier or Q-ship, as she was in fact the former Bibby Liner "Leicestershire", opened fire at 8.4 km. The second salvo hit and thewireless room was destroyed. 202 people were captured, including missionaries, ambulance drivers, "Fortune Magazine " editorCharles J.V. Murphy , and "Life Magazine " photographerDavid E. Scherman . The Germans allowed Scherman to take photographs, and although hisfilm was seized when they returned toEurope aboard a Germanblockade runner , he did manage to smuggle four rolls back toNew York . It is generally believed that his photos later helped the British identify and destroy "Atlantis". Murphy's account of the incident, as well as photos by Scherman, were in theJune 23 issue of "Life".Post "Bismarck"
After the "Bismarck" was sunk, the North Atlantic was swarming with British warships. As a result, Rogge decided to abandon the original plan to return to Germany, and instead returned to the
Pacific . [cite book|date=1955 (2nd printing)|title=Ship 16: The Story of the Secret German Raider Atlantis|author=Ulrich Mohr as told to Arthur V. Sellwood|publisher=T. Werner Laurie Ltd., London|pages=p185-7] En route, "Atlantis" encountered and sank the British ships, "Rabaul", "Trafalgar", "Tottenham", and "Balzac". OnSeptember 10 , east ofNew Zealand , "Atlantis" captured the Norwegian motor vessel "Silvaplana"."Atlantis" then patrolled the South Pacific, [cite web|url=http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy-pt1.html|title=Part 1 — Royal New Zealand Navy|publisher=New Zealand Electronic Text Centre] initially in
French Polynesia between theTubuai Islands andTuamotu Archipelago . Without the knowledge of French authorities, the Germans landed onVanavana Island and traded with the inhabitants. They then hunted Allied shipping in the area betweenPitcairn and Henderson Islands, with a landing being made on the latter, uninhabited island. The seaplane from "Atlantis" made several fruitless reconnaissance flights. On19 October , "Atlantis" headed back to the Atlantic, and rounded Cape Horn ten days later.U-68, U-126, and HMS "Devonshire"
On
October 18 , Rogge was ordered to rendezvous with the submarine
U-68, 800 km south ofSt. Helena and refuel her, then he was to refuel U-126 at a location north ofAscension Island . They met with U-68 onNovember 13 . OnNovember 21 or 22, "Atlantis" rendezvoused with U-126 and "Kapitänleutnant" Ernst Bauer came aboard to take a bath. It was around this time that Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Mohr, Rogge's adjutant, awoke from a recurringnightmare about a three-funnelled British cruiser. [cite book|date=1955 (2nd printing)|title=Ship 16: The Story of the Secret German Raider Atlantis|author=Ulrich Mohr as told to Arthur V. Sellwood|publisher=T. Werner Laurie Ltd., London|pages=p208]At 0816, the
foremast lookout shouted "Feindlicher Kreuzer in Sicht!" ("Enemy cruiser in sight!"). This was the British County classheavy cruiser HMS "Devonshire". The "Counties" were distinctive of their three funnels.unk and Sunk Again
U-126 dived, leaving her captain behind. From 14 to 15 km away, outside the range of "Atlantis"'s 150 mm guns, "Devonshire" opened fire. There is dispute as to whether Rogge ordered his ship to move at full speed and emit smoke, or ordered it to stop. It is believed that they were, at this time, posing as the Greek ship "Polyphemus" and had begun to transmit the British code "RRR", not realising that recent Allied orders had changed this procedure, and the RRR signal should now be sent as "RRRR".
After 20-30 seconds, 8-in (200 mm) shells began to arrive at their target. The first salvo missed, but the second and third salvos slammed into the ship. Seven sailors were killed as the crew abandoned ship, Rogge was the last off. Ammunition exploded and the bow rose, then the ship sank.
"Devonshire" left the area and the German submarine resurfaced and picked up 300 Germans and a wounded American prisoner, whom it began carrying or towing to
Brazil (1500 km west). Two days later the refueling ship "Python" arrived and took on the sailors. OnDecember 1 , while refueling two submarines, the third of the British cruisers seeking the raiders, HMS "Dorsetshire", appeared. The U-boats dived immediately. The crew of the "Python" scuttled her so the "Dorsetshire" departed and it was left to the U-boats to recover the crew. Eventually, by means of various German and Italian submarines Rogge's crew was brought back to Germany.References
* Seki, Eiji. (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=u5KgAAAACAAJ&dq=Mrs.+Ferguson%27s+Tea-set,+Japan,+and+the+Second+World+War&client=firefox-a "Mrs. Ferguson's Tea-Set, Japan and the Second World War: The Global Consequences Following Germany's Sinking of the SS Automedon in 1940."] London:
Global Oriental . 10-ISBN 1-905-24628-5; 13- ISBN 978-1-905-24628-1 (cloth) [reprinted byUniversity of Hawaii Press , Honolulu, 2007 -- [http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/cart/shopcore/?db_name=uhpress&page=shop/flypage&product_id=4475&PHPSESSID=75b7d372eb6f6c4d747ec0a150c42ead previously announced as "Sinking of the SS Automedon and the Role of the Japanese Navy: A New Interpretation"] .]
* [http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/atlantis.html Hilfskreuzer Atlantis]Further reading
*Duffy, James P. "Hitler's Secret Pirate Fleet: The Deadliest Ships of World War II" Praeger Trade, 2001, ISBN 0275966852.
*Hoyt, Edwin Palmer "Raider 16" World Publishing, 1970.
*Mohr, Ulrich And A. V. Sellwood "Ship 16: the Story of the Secret German Raider Atlantis" John Day, New York, 1956.
*Muggenthaler, August Karl "German raiders of World War II" Prentice-Hall, 1977, ISBN 0133540278.
*Rogge, Bernhard "The German Raider Atlantis" Ballantine, 1956.
*Schmalenbach, Paul "German raiders: A history of auxiliary cruisers of the German Navy, 1895-1945" Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN 0870218247.
*Slavick, Joseph P. "The Cruise of the German Raider Atlantis" Naval Institute Press, 2003, ISBN 1557505373.
*Woodward, David "The secret raiders;: The story of the German armed merchant raiders in the Second World War" W.W. Norton, 1955.
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