German auxiliary cruiser Michel

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Michel

Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	Danziger Werft
Launched:	April, 1939
Commissioned:	September 7, 1941
Fate:	Sunk on October 17, 1943 by U.S submarine USS Tarpon east of Yokohama.
General Characteristics
Displacement:	10,900 tons full load
Length:	132 m
Beam:	16.8 m
Draught:	7.4 m
Propulsion:	2 MAN 8-cyl. Diesel, one shaft, 6,650 shp (4.889 MW)
Speed:	16 knots
Range:	34000 nmi at 10 knots
Complement:	395 (incl. 18 officers), 5 prize-officers
Armament (1939):	6 × 15cm L/45 C13 (taken from AMC Widder), 1 x 10,5 cm L/45, 2 x 3.7 cm, 4 x 2 cm, 6 x 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (2 twins overwater, 2 mounted singles underwater) + the small torpedoboat LS 4 Esau
Aircraft:	2 Arado Ar 196 A-2

Michel (HSK-9) was an auxiliary cruiser of the German navy which operated as a merchant raider during World War II. Built by Danziger Werft in Danzig 1938/39 as the freighter Bielsko for the Gdynia-Americe-Line, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine at the outbreak of World War II and converted into the hospital ship Bonn and in summer 1941 as auxiliary cruiser Michel, commissioned on 7 September 1941. Her Royal Navy designation was "Raider H".

Construction and conversion After the AMC (armed merchant cruiser) Widder returned to Germany, her engines were worn out. As replacement for her the hospital ship Bonn was converted as AMC and used the weapons of her precedessor.

1st Raider voyage Although Michel should leave at the end of November 1941 she was firts able to depart in march 1942 due to reconstruction delays. Michel grounded at the attemp to run through the channel and had to return but managed to rechead the atlantic on 20 march after a second try. Thereby on 14/15 march the cruiser and the escorts were repeatedly attacked by british forces - without succes. Michel was to operate in the south atlantic and first sunk the british tanker Patelle (7469 BRT) on 19 april. On 22nd her small topedoboat sunk the US tanker Connecticut (8684 BRT) but on 1 may an attack on the faster british freighter MENELAUS failed. After its warning the Royal Navy sent out the cruisers Shropshire and two AMCs. But Michel sunk the norge freighter Kattegat (4245 BRT) on 20 may. LS 4 Esau discovered the struggled US liberty-ship George Clymer (6800 BRT) and scored two torpedo hits but the freigther refused to go down. The nearby british AMC Alcantara dashed forward and rescued the crew but the ship had to be abandoned. The germans retreated when the british ship came in sight but nevertheless both british and US never saw a ship and though the Clymer was attacked by a submarine.

Reference Erich Gröner: Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 - vol. 3, Bernard & Graefe Verlag Bonn, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4 Zvonimer Freivogel: Deutsche Hilfskreuzer des Zweiten Weltkriegs, Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, ISBN 3-613-02288-5

Nazi German auxiliary cruisers of the Second World War

Kriegsmarine