Are there any models available of German auxilary commerce raiders of WW2?
If you mean converted freighters, I’ve never heard of any produced after the old 1950’s Aurora kit.
I’d Like to know if Revellogram has the molds for the Aurora Atlantis Merchant Raider kit…
BTW, Manny.
Did you want something for those British Cruiser kits to shoot at on your display shelf ?[:D]
H-P Models has Kormoran and Pinguin in 1/700 resin. Pacific Front Hobbies lists them in their catalog. You should try looking through it some time. WS
The German raider KORMORAN, would make an impressive model. Launched in 1938 as the STEIERMARK for the Hamburg-Amerika Line, she was twice as big as the KOMET. Refit as a raider in 1940, the KORMORAN sank 11 ships and captured one, an impressive record after only 350 days at sea before she was scuttled on November 19, 1941, after engaging the Australian light crusier HMAS SYDNEY.
Her armament was 6, 150mm guns, one from the WW I battle cruiser SEYDLITZ, 6 torpedo tubes and 2 army anti-tanks guns which Captain Theodor Detmers managed to sweet talk from friendly contacts. The raider was equiped with 2 Arado scout float planes.
On March 12, 2008, the wreckage of the KORMORAN was discovered NW of Perth, Australia., as well as her adversary, the HMAS SYDNEY, which sank with all hands during her engagement with the KORMORAN.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers [8-|]
Manstein’s revenge - the internet is a wonderful thing.
In my opinion, this is one of the most fascinating naval engagements of all time:
Battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
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Battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran |
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Part of World War II |
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Date |
19 November 1941 |
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Location |
Off the coast of Western Australia |
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Result |
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[show]v · d · e |
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German surface raiders – Nauru – HMAS Sydney–Kormoran – Darwin – Sydney & Newcastle – AHS Centaur – Convoy GP55 – Indian Ocean raid – U-862 |
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[show]v · d · e |
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East Africa – Action of 27 February 1941 – Action of 8 May 1941 – Sydney and Kormoran – Andaman Islands (Homfreyganj Massacre) – Christmas Island – First Indian Ocean Raid – Easter Sunday Raid – Cocos Islands – Madagascar – Réunion – Action of 14 February 1944 –- Second Indian Ocean Raid |
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The battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran(I) was a single ship action between the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney, with Captain Joseph Burnett commanding, and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, under Fregattenkapitän (Commander) Theodor Detmers. The half-hour long engagement occurred after the two ships encountered each other off the coast of Western Australia on 19 November 1941, and resulted in the ships’ mutual destruction.
When Sydney failed to return to port, air and sea searches for the cruiser were conducted between 24 and 29 November. Three boats and two rafts carrying German survivors were recovered by merchant ships, while another two German boats made landfall north of Carnarvon, Western Australia: 318 of the 399 personnel from Kormoran survived. However, apart from two pieces of debris, no sign was found of Sydney or the 645 aboard; it was the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and the largest Allied warship lost with all hands during World War II. Australian authorities learned of Sydney’s fate from the Germans, who were then placed in prisoner of war camps until the end of the war. The exact location of the two wrecks was unknown until March 2008.
How and why Sydney was defeated by the weaker Kormoran has been the subject of speculation and controversy, with numerous books on the subject, along with government inquiries published in 1999 and 2009. According to the German accounts, which were accepted as truthful by their interrogators and most subsequent commentators, the cruiser sailed too close to the disguised merchant raider, negating the advantages of armour and superior gun range, and was destroyed by heavy fire and a torpedo strike after Kormoran revealed herself. However, some believe that the truth of Sydney’s loss has been the subject of an extensive cover-up, alleging that the Germans did not follow the laws of war, the Japanese were secretly involved, and any Australian survivors were killed in the water to hide this. No evidence has been found to support any of these theories.
## Contents[hide] - 1 Background - 1.1 HMAS Sydney - 1.2 Kormoran - 2 Battle - 2.1 Identification - 2.2 Action - 2.3 Conclusion - 3 Search and rescue - 4 Aftermath - 4.1 Interrogation of survivors - 4.2 Honours and awards - 5 Post-war searches - 5.1 Rediscovery - 6 Analysis - 6.1 Historiography - 6.2 Controversy - 6.2.1 Improper use of flags - 6.2.2 Japanese involvement - 6.2.3 No Sydney survivors - 6.2.4 Sydney not at action stations - 6.3 The Christmas Island corpse - 6.4 Why Burnett approached so close - 7 Memorials - 8 Footnotes - 9 Citations - 10 References - 11 External links |
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[edit] BackgroundSee also: Military history of Australia during World War II and Axis naval activity in Australian waters
[edit] HMAS Sydney
HMAS Sydney was one of three “Modified Leander” or “Perth” class light cruisers of the RAN.[1] Built for the Royal Navy, the cruiser was purchased by the Australian government to replace HMAS Brisbane, and was commissioned into the RAN in September 1935.[2] The cruiser was 562 ft 4 in (171.40 m) long, and displaced 8,940 long tons (9,080 t).[3] Sydney carried eight 6 in (150 mm) guns in four twin turrets (“A” and “B” forward, “X” and “Y” aft) as primary armament.[4] These were supplemented by four 4 in (100 mm) anti-aircraft guns, nine .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, and eight 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes in two quadruple mountings.[5] The cruiser also carried a single Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft.[6]
HMAS Sydney in 1940
Initially assigned to escort and patrol duties in Australian waters, Sydney was sent to the Mediterranean in mid-1940.[7][8] Sydney operated against Italian naval forces for eight months, during which she participated in multiple battles, sank two Italian warships and several merchantmen, and supported convoy operations and shore bombardments.[9] The cruiser was recalled to Australia in early January 1941: the need to rest the ship and her crew, plans to spread combat experience across the RAN fleet, and a desire to reinforce the nation following German raider activity in nearby waters were all factors.[10][11][12] Sydney was assigned to Fremantle, Western Australia, and resumed escort and patrol duties.[13] Command was handed over from Captain John Collins to Captain Joseph Burnett in May 1941.[14]
On 11 November, Sydney departed Fremantle for Singapore with the transport SS Zealandia.[15] The vessels sailed to Sunda Strait, where the troopship was handed over on 17 November to HMS Durban.[15] Sydney then turned for home, and was scheduled to arrive in Fremantle late on 20 November.[15] At the time of the battle, she had a ship’s company of 645: 41 officers, 594 sailors, six Royal Australian Air Force personnel, and four civilian canteen staff.[16]
[edit] Kormoran
During the 1930s, discrepancies between the conventional warship strength of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and other nations caused by the Treaty of Versailles led the German military to recognise that auxiliary cruisers engaged in commerce raiding would be of use during future wars, and that suitable vessels should be identified.[17] The merchant ship Steiermark was one such vessel; she was taken up by the Kriegsmarine at the start of World War II.[17] Renamed Kormoran, she was the largest and newest of nine(II) raiders, referred to as Hilfskreuzers (auxiliary cruisers) or Handelsstörkreuzers (trade disruption cruisers).[18][19]
Thanks Manny !! fantastic reference.The only thing that fascinates me more then these raiders,is the epic cruise and aftermath of the SMS Emden
can’t believe i read all that nice info Manny
Ron
It is a compelling story—would make very cool dio in 700th…I have two books on the action and one has diagrams of the positions of the ships during the fight…based on what I’ve read they came within maybe a quarter of a mile or less of each other…
http://www.navypedia.org/ships/germany/ger_conc_amc2.htm
Another great one, was the Stier vs the SS Stephen Hopkins. Each sunk the other.
Theodor Anton Detmers was born on August 22,1902 at at Witten en Ruhr. He joined the German Navy in 1921 serving on the battleship HANNOVER and ELSAB. In 1930-33, he served as staff officer on the cruiser KOLN, where he visited Australia in 1933. In 1934 Detmers served on torpedo boats and destroyers. Four years later, he participated in Operation Weserubung.
In 1940, Detmers was chosen to command the commercial raider, KORMORAN. After his ship was scuttled, he was picked up at sea and became a prisoner of war with his crew and other German prisoners, notably, members of the Afrika Corps, captured in North Africa and confined at Dhurringile Detention Center. While a prisoner, back in Germany, Detmers was awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, and later the order of Kapitan Zier See. On January 13, 1945, Detmers and other officers tunneled under the prision compound with the intention of making their way to the Australian northern coast, commandering any boat and escaping to Indonesia. The escape was unsuccessful and he was returned back to prision where he suffered a stroke.
In a prison exchange, Detmers, returned to Germany in 1947, then released from British captivity in Munster. Because of his stroke, Detmers was refused a commission in the new West German Navy. In the early 1950s, he married Ursula Reinhardt, daughter of an Evangelical minister and retired to a quiet life. He died on November 4, 1976 at Hamburg-Rahlstedt and given full military honors at his funeral.
Prisoner of War record of Theodor Anton Detmers from the National Archives of Australia
Source information: Wikipedia, the free encylopedia. Courtesy, Crackers Nautical News
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers [8-|]
The “spooky” thing about this action that has raised so many questions over the years is the notion that a commerce raider could defeat a military cruiser and sink her with the loss of every single man on board…only a handful of other military losses have occured with the loss of all hands…I believe that over 75% of the raiders compliment was saved…
If I recall, there was no evidence of a catastrophic explosion?
No explosion----just sank…
Kind of a Bermuda Triangle mystery. Was it in shark infested waters?
Yes…
Manstein, how can you possibly know that?
Well, while I was the German Naval Attache’ in the 30’s I particpated in many cruises on the Zuiho in that area, and based on my experience in those waters off of Australia, there is a fairly large population of Great White and Black-tipped sharks that reside in that general area…
…and Manny did some shark fishing there…
with his teeth.