German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
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 German Auxiliary Cruiser Pinguin, disguised as the Greek MV Knossos, sunk 1941 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Merchant vessel |
| Name: | Kandelfels |
| Owner: | Hansa |
| Builder: | AG Weser |
| Launched: | 1936 |
| Christened: | Kandelfels |
| Fate: | Requisition by Kriegsmarine, 1939 |
| Career |  |
| Namesake: | Penguin |
| Builder: | DeSchiMAG, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 5 |
| Acquired: | 1939 |
| Recommissioned: | 6 February 1940 |
| Renamed: | Pinguin, 1939 |
| Reclassified: | Auxilliary cruiser, 1940 |
| Nickname: | HSK-5 Schiff 33 Raider F |
| Fate: | sunk, Indian Ocean, 8 May 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 17,600 (7,766 gross register tons (GRT)) |
| Length: | 155 m |
| Beam: | 18.7 m |
| Draught: | 8.7 m |
| Propulsion: | 2x6cyl Diesel;7600HP |
| Speed: | 17 knot |
| Range: | 60,000nm@12k |
| Endurance: | 207 days |
| Complement: | 401 |
| Armament: | 6x150mm, 1x75mm, 1xII 37mm, 2xII 20mm, 2xTT, 300mines |
| Aircraft carried: | 2xHe114B;later 1xAr196A-1 |
The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser (Hilfskreuzer) which served as a commerce raider in World War II. The Pinguin was known to the German Navy as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. She was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F.
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[edit] Early history
Formerly a freighter named Kandelfels, she was built by AG Weser in 1936, and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line, Bremen. In the winter of 1939/40 she was requisitioned by the KM and converted to a war ship by DeSchiMAG, Bremen. Her main armament was taken from the obsolete battleship Schlesien.
[edit] Raider voyage
Pinguin was one of the first wave of raiders sent out by the German navy, sailing on the 15 June 1940 under the command of FK (later KzS) Ernst-Felix Krüder.
Slipping through the Denmark Straits, Pinguin made for her patrol area in the Southern Ocean.
In 10 ½ months at sea she accounted for 28 ships, totalling 136,000 tons (GRT).
Her most successful coup was the capture, on 14 January 1941, of the Norwegian whaling fleet in Antarctica, totalling three factory ships and 11 whalers. These were sent back as prizes to Europe, arriving in Bordeaux, occupied France, in March 1941. One of the whalers was retained as an auxiliary raider, being re-named Adjutant.
[edit] Fate
On 8 May 1941, Pinguin was sunk by HMS Cornwall. She was the first auxiliary cruiser of the German Navy to be sunk. 532 persons, among them 200 prisoners, were lost with the ship. HMS Cornwall managed to rescue 60 crew members and 22 prisoners who were originally the crew of the 32 merchant ships the raider had either sunk or captured.
[edit] Fast facts
- Commander: Kapitän zur See (Captain) Ernst-Felix Krüder (Knights Cross with Oak Leaves)
- Wartime Crew: 420
- Sail date: 22 June 1940
- Ship Number: 33
- HSK Number: V
- British Admiralty Letter: F
- Builder: Weser Werk, Bremen
- Launched: 1936
- Ships Sunk or Captured: 32 ships
- Tonnage Sunk: 154,710 gross register tons (GRT)
- Days at Sea: 320
- Tons/Day: (average) 483
- Sistership: Atlantis
[edit] Raiding career
| 1940-07-31 | Domingo de Larrinaga | 5,358 GRT | |
| 1940-08-27 | Filefjell | 6,901 GRT | |
| 1940-08-27 | British Commander | 5,008 GRT | |
| 1940-08-27 | Morviken | 7,616 GRT | |
| 1940-09-12 | Benavon | 5,872 GRT | |
| 1940-09-16 | Nordvard | 4,111 GRT | Prize; to Bordeaux |
| 1940-10-07 | Storstad | 8,998 GRT | Prize; Auxiliary minelayer Passat |
| 1940-11-19 | Nowshera | 7,920 GRT | |
| 1940-11-20 | Maimoa | 10,123 GRT | |
| 1940-11-21 | Port Brisbane | 8,739 GRT | |
| 1940-11-30 | Port Wellington | 8,303 GRT | |
| 1941-01-14 | Ole Wegger | 12,201 GRT | Prize |
| 1941-01-14 | 4 whale-catchers Pol 7-10 | app 300 GRT each | Prizes; Pol 9 rechristened as auxiliary raider Adjutant |
| 1941-01-14 | Solglimt | 12,246 GRT | Prize |
| 1941-01-14 | Pelagos | 12,083 GRT | Prize |
| 1941-01-14 | 7 whale-catchers Star 14, 19-24 | app 300 GRT each | Prizes |
| 1941-04-25 | Empire Light | 6,828 GRT | |
| 1941-04-28 | Clan Buchanan | 7,266 GRT | |
| 1941-05-07 | British Emperor | 3,663 GRT |
Sunk by mines from Pinguin and Passat
| Nimbin | 1,052 GRT |
| Millimumul | 287 GRT |
| Cambridge | 10,846 GRT |
| City of Rayville | 5,883 GRT |
[edit] References
- Paul Schmalenbach (1977). German Raiders 1895–1945. ISBN 0 85059 351 4.
- August Karl Muggenthaler (1977). German Raiders of World War II. ISBN 0 7091 6683 4.
- Stephen Roskill (1954). The War at Sea 1939–1945 Volume I.
- H J Brennecke (1954). Ghost Cruiser HK33.
[edit] External links
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