German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
World War II German auxiliary cruiser
Pinguin in the Indian Ocean in 1941.
History
Germany
Name Kandelfels
Owner DDG Hansa
Builder Deschimag A.G. Weser
Launched 12 November 1936
Fate Requisitioned by Kriegsmarine , 1939
Nazi Germany
Name Pinguin
Namesake Penguin
Builder Deschimag A.G. Weser , Bremen
Yard number 5
Acquired 1939
Recommissioned 6 February 1940
Reclassified Auxiliary cruiser , 1940
Nickname(s)
Fate Sunk in the Indian Ocean by HMS Cornwall , 8 May 1941
General characteristics
Displacement 17,600 long tons (17,882 t)
Length 155 m (509 ft)
Beam 18.7 m (61 ft)
Draft 8.7 m (29 ft)
Installed power 7,600 hp (5,700 kW)
Propulsion 2 × 6-cylinder diesel engines
Speed 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range 60,000 nmi (110,000 km; 69,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance 207 days
Complement 401
Armament
Aircraft carried
The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser (Hilfskreuzer ) which served as a commerce raider in World War II . The Pinguin was known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 33 , and designated HSK 5 . The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F . The name Pinguin means penguin in German .
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 Kriegsmarine (KM) and converted to a warship by DeSchiMAG , Bremen . Her main armament was taken from the obsolete battleship Schlesien .
Raider voyage
Pinguin was one of the first wave of raiders sent out by the Kriegsmarine , sailing on 15 June 1940 under the command of Fregattenkapitän (later Kapitän zur See ) Ernst-Felix Krüder .
Slipping through the Denmark Straits , Pinguin made for her patrol area in the Southern Ocean .
In 10½ 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 most 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 and re-named Adjutant .
Adjutant went on to lay mines around New Zealand waters.[ 1]
Fate
On 8 May 1941, Pinguin was sunk in a battle with the British heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall . She was the first auxiliary cruiser of the Kriegsmarine to be sunk in the war. 532 lives, among them 200 prisoners, were lost when Pinguin blew apart when the mines stored on board took a hit and exploded. Cornwall rescued 60 crew members and 22 prisoners who were originally crew of the 28 merchant ships the raider had either sunk or captured.
Ships sunk or captured by Pinguin
Date
Name
Displacement
Fate
Type
Nationality
Notes
31 July 1940
Domingo de Larrinaga
5,358 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by torpedo
27 August 1940
Filefjell
6,901 GRT
Sunk
Tanker
Norway
Sunk by explosive charges
27 August 1940
British Commander
5,008 GRT
Sunk
Tanker
United Kingdom
Sunk by torpedo
27 August 1940
Morviken
7,616 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
Norway
Sunk by explosive charges
12 September 1940
Benavon
5,872 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by gunfire, 21 dead
16 September 1940
Nordvard
4,111 GRT
Captured
Freighter
Norway
Valuable cargo of wheat, dispatched to Bordeaux with 200 prisoners, safely arrived, later used as a blockade runner
7 October 1940
Storstad
8,998 GRT
Captured
Tanker
Norway
Converted to minelayer, renamed Passat , sent with 100 mines to Bass Strait then dispatched to Bordeaux
19 November 1940
Nowshera
7,920 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by explosive charges, 113 prisoners
20 November 1940
Maimoa
10,123 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Hundreds of tons of frozen meat, butter and eggs transferred to Pinguin , sunk by explosive charges
21 November 1940
Port Brisbane
8,739 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by torpedo
30 November 1940
Port Wellington
8,303 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by gunfire, 82 prisoners including 7 women.
14 January 1941
Ole Wegger
12,201 GRT
Captured
Whaling Factory Ship
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Solglimt
12,246 GRT
Captured
Whaling Supply-ship
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Torlyn
247 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Pol VIII
293 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Pol IX
354 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Converted into auxiliary, renamed Adjutant
14 January 1941
Pol X
354 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Pelagos
12,083 GRT
Captured
Whaling Factory Ship
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Star XIV
247 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Star XIX
249 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Sunk by HMS Scarborough
14 January 1941
Star XX
249 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Star XXI
298 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Star XXII
303 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Star XXIII
357 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Dispatched to Bordeaux
14 January 1941
Star XXIV
361 GRT
Captured
Whaler
Norway
Sunk by HMS Scarborough
25 April 1941
Empire Light
6,828 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by explosive charges
28 April 1941
Clan Buchanan
7,266 GRT
Sunk
Freighter
United Kingdom
Sunk by explosive charges
7 May 1941
British Emperor
3,663 GRT
Sunk
Tanker
United Kingdom
Sunk by torpedo, prisoners taken aboard
Notes
^ First US merchantman sunk by enemy action in World War II.
References
Bibliography
Brennecke, H J (1954). Ghost Cruiser HK33 .
Duffy, James P (2005). Hitler's Secret Pirate Fleet: The Deadliest Ships of World War II . University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-6652-9 .
Muggenthaler, August Karl (1977). German Raiders of World War II . ISBN 0-7091-6683-4 .
Roskill, Stephen (1954). The War at Sea 1939–1945 . Vol. I.
Schmalenbach, Paul (1977). German Raiders 1895–1945 . ISBN 0-85059-351-4 .
Talbot-Booth, E.C. (1940) [1936]. Merchant Ships . London: Sampson Low , Marston & Co.
Ivanov, Lyubomir and Ivanova, Nusha. Whaling period. In: The World of Antarctica . Generis Publishing, 2022. pp. 91–94. ISBN 979-8-88676-403-1
External links
External links
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1941
Shipwrecks
1 May: Nerissa
2 May: HMS Jersey , Kwinana
4 May: Giuseppe La Farina , Malakand
7 May: HMS Hurricane
8 May: Pinguin
10 May: Empire Caribou , Ramb III , U-110
12 May: HMS Ladybird
13 May: HMS Salopian , Somersby
14 May: HMNZS Puriri
15 May: Leon
16 May: Archangel
20 May: Cockaponset
21 May: HMS Juno , Robin Moor
22 May: Fiji , HMS Gloucester , HMS Greyhound , HMS York
23 May: HMS Kashmir , HMS Kelly
24 May: HMS Hood
25 May: Conte Rosso , HMS Grimsby
27 May: Bismarck
28 May: HMS Mashona
29 May: HMS Hereward , HMS Imperial
Unknown date: HMS Undaunted
Other incidents
3°30′0″N 57°48′0″E / 3.50000°N 57.80000°E / 3.50000; 57.80000