(Redirected from Armed merchant cruiser)'Armed Merchantmen' has come to mean merchant ships taken over by their nation's navies, equipped with guns, and then used for military purposes. However in the days of sail,
piracy and
privateers many merchantmen, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade would be routinely armed. The most famous of this ilk being the
East Indiamen which were known to be able to defeat regular warships in battle.
20th Century
These were used in both World Wars by both
Germany and the
United Kingdom. Whilst the British used armed passenger liners for protecting their shipping, the German approach was to use them to attack enemy shipping.
Armed merchant cruisers
The Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMC) of the British Navy were employed for
convoy protection against enemy warships. They were found to be of limited usefulness because they lacked the armour and ranging systems of a warship, and many were converted into troopships.
One famous AMC of World War I was the British
RMS ''Carmania'' which, after a heated battle which caused heavy damage on both sides, succeeding in sinking the German auxiliary cruiser ''
Cap Trafalgar'' near the Brazilian island of
Trinidade in 1914.
[1]
Auxiliary cruiser
The German practice was to arm merchantmen with hidden weapons and use them as
commerce raiders. An auxiliary cruiser - ''Hilfskreuzer'' or ''Handels-Stör-Kreuzer'' (HSK) - usually approached her target under a false flag with guns concealed, and sometimes with her appearance altered with fake funnels and masts and often a fake paint job. The victim was thus engaged at point-blank range and had no chance to escape. In the First World War, the
Imperial German Navy initially used fast passenger ships (such as past holders of the
Blue Riband for fastest North Atlantic crossings), but they made obvious and easy targets because of their very familiar silhouettes. The Germans therefore soon moved on to using captured and refitted
Allied vessels, but principally only modified transport ships. These were slower but less recognizable. In both world wars, these ships were found to be vulnerable to attack, and were withdrawn before the war ended. Many were sunk after being caught by regular warships - an unequal battle since auxiliary cruisers had poor fire control and no armor. There were, however, a few success stories. The
''Kaiser Wilhelm der Große'' was a former passenger liner that sank two freighters in 1914 before being caught by
HMS ''Highflyer''. Her sister ship, the
''Kronprinz Wilhelm'', had a legendary journey, sinking or capturing a total of 15 ships in 1914 and 1915, before finally running out of supplies and having to put into port in
Virginia, where she was interned by the Americans and eventually converted into a
US Navy troop transport (as the renamed USS ''Von Steuben''). The most famous German commerce raider of WWI probably was
SMS ''Seeadler'', a sailing ship commanded by the legendary Count
Luckner.
The concept was revived in the
Second World War. In one incident, the German
''Kormoran'' (ex-merchantman ''Steiermark'') managed to surprise and sink the Australian light cruiser
HMAS ''Sydney'', which approached too close, though the ''Kormoran'' herself was also sunk in the engagement. This was the only occasion in history when an armed merchantman managed to sink a modern warship; in most cases auxiliary cruiser raiders tried to avoid detection.
In World War II, the German Navy operated ten very successful auxiliary cruisers which ranged in tonnage from 3,860 - 9,400; typically these vessels were equipped with:
★ Floatplanes
★ 15 cm guns
★ Smaller armaments (typically hidden away behind specially designed and hinged bulwarks, or beneath fake deckhouses and/or skylights)
★ Torpedoes
★ Mines
To preserve their cover, these ships flew the flags of neutral or occasionally Allied nations. They were re-fuelled and provisioned by special supply ships and from Japanese island bases, or they simply reprovisioned themselves from
prizes they had taken.
To counter the effectiveness of these disguises the Allies introduced the
check-mate system in 1942 to identify individual ships on a one-by-one basis with the
Admiralty in London.
During World War II German auxiliary cruisers are believed to have either sunk or captured some 800,000 tons of Allied shipping.
Compare to the
Q-ship, which was a disguised merchantman for anti-submarine operations.
Others
The
CAM Ship (from catapult armed merchantman) was a British merchantman fitted with a catapult that could launch, but not recover, a single fighter aircraft.
The
Merchant aircraft carrier or 'MAC' was a British or Dutch cargo ship with a flight deck that could carry a small number of aircraft.
CAM and MAC ships remained as civilian ships operated by civilian crews, with
Fleet Air Arm or
Royal Netherlands Navy "air parties".
Ship lists
Spanish-American War
''American auxiliary cruisers of the Spanish-American War''
★
''Badger'' (ex-''Yumuri'')
★
''Buffalo'' (ex-''El Cid'')
★
''Dixie'' (ex-''El Rio'')
★
''Harvard'' (ex-''New York'',
ex-''City of New York'')
★
''Panther'' (ex-''Austin'')
★
''Peoria''
★
''Prairie'' (ex-''El Sol'')
★
''Resolute'' (ex-''Yorktown'')
★
''St. Louis''
★
''Saint Paul''
★
''Yale'' (ex-''Paris'')
★
''Yankee'' (ex-''El Norte'')
★
''Yosemite'' (ex-''El Sud'')
Russo-Japanese War
''Japanese merchant cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War''
★
''America Maru''
★
''Bingo Maru''
★
''Hong Kong Maru''
★
''Kasuga Maru''
★
''Kumano Maru''
★
''Nikkō Maru''
★
''Nippon Maru''
★
''Saikyo Maru''
★
''Shinano Maru''
★
''Taichu Maru''
★
''Tainan Maru''
★
''Yobo'' (ex-''Yobo Maru'')
''Russian merchant cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War''
Note: This listing is incomplete.
★
''Zabiaka''
★
''Lena''
★
''Ural''
World War I
''Allied merchant cruisers of World War I''
Note: This listing is incomplete.
'
Royal Navy'
★
''Alcantara'' (lost on
29 February 1916)
★
''Almanzora''
★
''Alsatian''
★
''Ambrose''
★
''Andes''
★
''Arlanza''
★
''Avenger'' (ex-''Aotearoa'', lost on
14 June 1917)
★
''Aquitainia'' 6 August 1914, Noted in my grandfather's discharge book as "Armed Merchant Cruiser"
★
''Bayano'' (lost on
11 March 1915)
★
''Berrida''
★
''Calgarian'' (lost on
1 March 1918)
★
''Calyx'' (ex-''Calypso'')
★
''Caribbean''
★
''Caronia''
★
''Carmania''
★
''Cedric''
★
''Celtic''
★
''Changuinola''
★
''City of London''
★
''Clan MacNaughton'' (lost on
3 February 1915)
★
''Columbella''
★
''Digby'' (to
France as ''Artois'' on
24 November 1915)
★
''Ebro''
★
''Edinburgh Castle''
★
''Empress of Asia''
★
''Empress of Britain''
★
''Empress of Japan''
★
''Empress of Russia''
★
''Eskimo''
★
''Gloucestershire''
★
''Hilary'' (lost on
25 May 1917)
★
''Hildebrand''
★
''Himalaya''
★
''India'' (lost on
8 August 1915)
★
''Kildonan Castle''
★
''Kinfaus Castle''
★
''Laconia''
★
''Laurentic'' (lost on
23 January 1917)
★
RMS Lusitania {lost 7 May 1915}
★
''Macedonia''
★
''Mantua''
★
''Marmora'' (lost on
23 July 1918)
★
''Moldavia'' (lost on
23 May 1918)
★
''Morea''
★
''Motagua''
★
''Oceanic'' (lost on
8 September 1914)
★
''Ophir''
★
''Orama'' (lost on
19 October 1917)
★
''Orbita''
★
''Orcoma''
★ Orduna (sank a U-Boat by gunfire: see http://www.shawsavillships.co.uk/orduna_1.htm)
★
''Oropesa'' (to
France as ''Champagne'' on
2 December 1915)
★
''Orotava''
★
''Orvieto''
★
''Otranto'' (survived the
Battle of Coronel, stranded on
Islay after collision with steamship S.S. ''Kashmir'' on
6 October 1918)
★
''Otway'' (lost on
23 July 1917)
★
''Patia'' (lost on
13 June 1918)
★
''Patnea''
★
''Patuca''
★
''Scotia''
★
''Teutonic''
★
''Victorian''
★
''Viknor'' (ex-''Viking'', lost on
13 January 1915)
★
''Virginian''
'
French Navy'
★
''Artois'' (ex-Royal Navy ''Digby'')
★
''Champagne'' (ex-Royal Navy ''Oropesa'', lost on
9 October 1917)
''German auxiliary cruisers of World War I''
★
SMS ''Ayesha''
★
SMS ''Berlin''
★
SMS ''Cap Trafalgar'' which used the alias
''Carmania''; the Trafalgar was sunk by the
''Carmania'' which used the alias
SMS ''Cap Trafalgar''!
★
SMS ''Geier''
★
SMS ''Greif''
★
SMS ''Iltis''
★
SS ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Große''
★
SMS ''Königin Luise''
★
SMS ''Kronprinz Wilhelm''
★
SMS ''Leopard''
★
SMS ''Meteor''
★
SMS ''Möwe''
★
SMS ''Prinz Eitel Friedrich''
★
SMS ''Seeadler''
★
SMS ''Seelöwe''
★
SMS ''Vineta''
★
SMS ''Wolf''
★
SMS ''Wolf II''
World War II
''Allied merchant cruisers of World War II''
The Armed merchant cruisers were made by requisitioning whatever ships seemed useful and then providing them with guns and other equipment. They ranged from 6,000 tons to 22,000 tons. The armament varied but six 6-inch guns with 3-inch guns as secondary was usual.
From 1941 many served as troopships.
'
Royal Australian Navy'
★
''Manoora''
★
''Westralia''
'
Royal New Zealand Navy'
★
''Monowai''
'
Royal Canadian Navy'
★
''Prince David''
★
''Prince Henry''
★
''Prince Robert''
'
Royal Navy'
★
''Alaunia''
★
''Alcantara''
★
''Andania'' (lost on
16 June 1940)
★
''Antenor''
★
''Antonia''
★
''Arawa''
★
''Ascania''
★
''Asturias''
★
''Aurania''
★
''Ausonia''
★
''Bulolo''
★
''California''
★
''Canton''
★
''Carinthia'' (lost on
6 June 1940)
★
''Carnarvon Castle''
★
''Carthage''
★
''Cathay''
★
''Cheshire''
★
''Chitral''
★
''Cilicia''
★
''Circassia''
★
''Comorin'' (lost on
6 April 1941)
★
''Corfu''
★
''Derbyshire''
★
''Dunnottar Castle''
★
''Dunvegan Castle'' (lost on
27 August 1940)
★
''Esperance Bay''
★
''Forfar'' (lost on
2 December 1940)
★
''Hector'' (lost on
5 April 1942 during the Japanese
Indian Ocean raid)
★
''Jervis Bay'' (lost on
5 November 1940 in an engagement against German heavy cruiser
Admiral Scheer)
★
''Kanimbla''
★
''Laconia''
★
''Laurentic'' (lost on
3 November 1940)
★
''Letitia''
★
''Maloja''
★
''Montclare''
★
''Mooltan''
★
''Moreton Bay''
★
''Patroclus'' (lost on
4 November 1940)
★
''Pretoria Castle'' (converted to the escort carrier HMS ''Pretoria Castle'')
★
''Queen of Bermuda''
★
''Rajputana'' (lost on
13 April 1941)
★
''Ranchi''
★
''Ranpura''
★
''Rawalpindi'' (lost on
23 November 1939)
★
''Salopian'' (lost on
13 May 1941)
★
''Scotstoun'' (lost on
13 June 1940)
★
''Transylvania'' (lost on
10 August 1940)
★
''Voltaire'' (lost on
4 April 1941)
★
''Wolfe''
★
''Worcestershire''
'
Marine Nationale'
French auxiliary Cruisers were armed with 138mm,152mm or 150mm guns, 75 and 37mm
AA guns and 13,2mm or 8mm AA HMG
★
''Aramis'' (X01)
★
''Ville D'Alger'' (X03)
★
''Cap des Palmes'' (X03)
★
''Ville d'Oran'' (X05)
★
''El Mansour'' (X06)
★
''Victor Scoelcher'' (X07) (lost on
06 may 1942)
★
''Colombie'' (X10)
★
''Charles Plumier'' (X11)
★
''Djenné'' (X13)
★
''El Kantara'' (X16)
★
''El Djezair'' (X17)
★
''Eridan'' (X18)
★
''Barfleur'' (X19)
★
''Quercy'' (X20)
★
''Esterel'' (X21)
★
''Mexique'' (X22) (lost on
19 june 1940)
''German auxiliary cruiser raiders of World War II''
At the outbreak of war, the German Navy (''
Kriegsmarine'') requisitioned a number of fast merchantmen and immediately sent them into naval shipyards. These ships had been built with extra strong decks to facilitate the installation of military equipment, but this was the only difference between them and other merchantmen of the period. Indeed, no precise plans had been drawn up for the conversion of these ships into warships, and consequently the conversion process was painfully long. Compared to the diversity of British auxiliary cruisers, the ''Hilfskreuzer'' were standardized insofar as possible. The ships themselves averaged approximately 7,000 tons. Armament usually consisted of six 15cm (5.9") guns, between two and six torpedo tubes, and an assortment of 40mm, 37mm, and 20 mm automatic weapons. Most raiders carried an
Arado Ar-196 seaplane for reconnaissance. ''
Kormoran'', ''Komet'', and ''Michel'' were also equipped with small motor torpedo boats. In addition to armament, increased fuel, water, and coal storage had to be provided for as well. Furthermore, the raiders could not abandon the crews of their captures, so space had to be provided for prisoners. The first ''Hilfskreuzer'' got under way in March
1940, shortly before the Norwegian campaign.
★
''Orion'' (HSK-1)
★
''Atlantis'' (HSK-2)
★
''Widder'' (HSK-3)
★
''Thor'' (HSK-4)
★
''Pinguin'' (HSK-5)
★
''Stier'' (HSK-6)
★
''Komet'' (HSK-7)
★
''Kormoran'' (HSK-8)
★
''Michel'' (HSK-9)
★
''Coronel'' (HSK-10)
★
''Hansa'' (HSK-11)
''Japanese armed merchant cruisers of World War II''
See
Japanese raiders in Indian Ocean Campaign and
List of Japanese Auxiliary Cruiser Commerce Raiders.
Japan converted fourteen merchant ships to "armed merchant cruisers." But, by the end of
1943, five had been sunk and seven had been reconverted to merchant ships.
★
''Aikoku Maru''
★
''Akagi Maru ''
★
''Asaka Maru''
★
''Awata Maru''
★
''Bangkok Maru''
★
''Gokoku Maru''
★
''Hokoku Maru''
★
''Kinryu Maru''
★
''Kiyozumi Maru''
★
''Kongo Maru''
★
''Noshiro Maru''
★
''Saigon Maru''
★
''Ukishima Maru''
''Italian armed merchant cruisers of World War II''
Unlike the Germans and the Japanese, none of the armed merchant cruisers of the Italian Royal Navy (''
Regia Marina'') managed to sink any Allied merchant ships.
★ ''
Ramb I'' (lost on
27 February 1941)
★ ''
Ramb II'' (chartered by the Japanese as the ''Calitea II'' and lost
12 January 1945)
★ ''
Ramb III'' - Converted into an escort vessel and never served as an armed merchant cruiser
★ ''
Ramb IV'' - Converted into a hospital ship and never served as an armed merchant cruiser
★ ''
Eritrea'' - Never served as an armed merchant cruiser
See also
★
False flag operation
★
Q-Ship
★
Merchant raider
References
★ ''The Oxford Companion to World War II'' (2005) ISBN -X
★
Alfred Niezychowski, ''The Cruise of the Kronprinz Wilhelm'', 1928, published by Doubleday
External links
★
Hilfskreuzer page
★
Maritimequest ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'' fact sheet and photo gallery for the German liner
★
Personal account of Lt. Surgeon J. Robart who served on the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Ranpura in World War II
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