In general, Australian laws may not be followed, the main thing is to report this in small print. Pirates of the Kaiser. German raiders of World War I Kormoran auxiliary cruiser

Frigate-Captain Theodor Detmers lowered his binoculars in thought. Their enemy - strong, fast and deadly - slowly ripped up the Pacific waves with a sharp bow some one and a half kilometers from his ship. Confident in his strength, the enemy nonchalantly approached the one whom the commander of the Australian cruiser Sydney mistook for the harmless Dutch merchant Straat Malacca. The cruiser blinked insistently and demandingly with a searchlight: "Show me your secret call sign." The stock of tricks and tricks is over. The word was for the guns.


From cargo ship to raiders

Lost as a result of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles that followed it, almost all merchant navy, Germany had to rebuild it. By the beginning of World War II, the German merchant fleet reached 4.5 million gross tons and was relatively young - a large number of ships and vessels were built in the 30s. Thanks to the widespread use of Diesel engines, the Germans managed to create ships with a long cruising range and autonomy. On September 15, 1938, in Kiel, the ship Stirmark was launched from the stocks of the Germanienwerft shipyard, which belonged to the Krupp concern. He and the same type "Ostmark" were built by order of the company "HAPAG" for long-term commercial transportation. Shtirmark was a large ship with a displacement of 19 thousand tons, equipped with diesel engines with a total capacity of 16 thousand hp.

The ship failed to start a career as a peaceful cargo ship. The readiness of the completed "Shtirmark" coincided with the aggravation political environment in Europe and the beginning of the war. The Naval Department had views of a capacious ship with a long cruising range and mobilized it. At first, it was thought to be used as a transport, but then the "Shtirmarka" was found more effective application. It was decided to convert it into an auxiliary cruiser, since it had all the data for this role. The newest dry cargo ship received the index "auxiliary vessel 41". Soon "ship 41" was transferred to Hamburg, to the Deutsche Wert plant, where it took the vacant place after the auxiliary cruiser "Thor". In all related documentation, the future raider began to be referred to as "auxiliary cruiser No. 8" or "HSK-8".


Theodor Detmers, commander of the Kormoran

On July 17, 1940, the 37-year-old Corvette Captain Theodor Detmers was appointed its commander. He was the youngest auxiliary cruiser commander. He entered the Navy at the age of 19 - at first he served on old training ships. After receiving the officer rank of lieutenant, he stepped on the deck of the cruiser Cologne. The further way passed on destroyers. In 1935, Detmers was given command of the old G-11; in 1938, the corvette captain arrived at a new duty station, on the newest destroyer Hermann Schomann (Z-7). He met the war by commanding this ship. Soon "Hermann Schoeman" stood up for repairs, and its commander received a new assignment to the auxiliary cruiser preparing for the campaign. The HSK-8 was hurriedly prepared - it did not receive some of the weapons and equipment planned for installation. Unlike its predecessors, the raider had to be equipped with a radar, but due to technical difficulties (the equipment often broke down), the installation was abandoned. New 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns were not installed - they took the old ones. Sea trials were successfully carried out in mid-September. On October 9, 1940, an auxiliary cruiser named Kormoran officially became part of the Kriegsmarine. Detmers later recalled that for a long time he could not decide on a name for his ship. In this, he was unexpectedly helped by Gunther Gumprich, the future commander of the auxiliary cruiser Thor. Even when the Kormoran was standing at the wall of the shipyard, Detmers met with Rukteshel, the commander of the Vidder, who had just returned from the campaign, with whom he discussed plans for a breakthrough into the Atlantic. It was decided that the Cormoran would break through the most dangerous, but also the shortest place - the Dover Canal. In winter, the Danish Strait, according to the Germans, was clogged with ice. However, a radiogram soon arrived from the trawler "Sachsen", a weather scout located in these latitudes. The trawler reported that there was a lot of ice, but it was possible to pass through it. The breakthrough plan was changed in favor of a passage through the Danish Strait.

In November 1940, the raider moved to Gotenhafen, where the final fine-tuning and retrofitting was carried out. On November 20, Grand Admiral Raeder visited the ship and was pleased with what he saw. "Kormoran" as a whole was ready for the campaign, however, the mechanics were concerned about the completely untested power plant. It took time to complete all the tests, and Detmers did not want to wait. The Kormoran's final armament was six 150 mm guns, two 37 mm guns, and four single-gun 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. Two twin-tube 533-mm torpedo tubes were installed. Additional armament included two Arado 196 seaplanes and an LS-3 type torpedo boat. Taking advantage large size"Kormoran", 360 anchor mines and 30 magnetic mines for the boat were loaded onto it. The raider was ordered to operate in the Indian Ocean, in African and Australian waters. The reserve area is the Pacific Ocean. As an additional task, the Kormoran was tasked with supplying German submarines located in the southern latitudes with new torpedoes and other means of supply. The raider received 28 torpedoes in the hold, a large number of shells, medicines and provisions intended for transfer to submarines.

To the Atlantic

On the way to the Danish Strait, the raider encountered bad weather. On December 8 he arrived in Stavanger. December 9, replenishing supplies for the last time, went to sea. On the 11th, Kormoran was disguised as the Soviet motor ship Vyacheslav Molotov, but the fears were unnecessary - no one found the raider. Having withstood a fierce storm, during which the 19,000-strong ship rocked heavily, on December 13, the auxiliary cruiser got out into the Atlantic. The storm subsided, visibility improved - and on December 18 the first smoke of an unknown vessel was seen. However, the raider had not yet reached his "hunting" area, and the stranger got away with impunity. Soon the command changed their instructions and allowed Detmers to act immediately. The raider was moving south - according to the calculations of the mechanics of their own fuel reserves at rational use should have been enough for at least 7 months of the campaign. At first, Kormoran had no luck with the search for prey: only one Spanish cargo ship and an American ship were noticed from it. On December 29, an attempt was made to lift a reconnaissance aircraft into the air, but due to the pitching, the Arado floats were damaged.

The account was finally opened on January 6, 1941. As an initiative, the Greek steamer Antonis was stopped, carrying coal on a British freight. After the appropriate procedures, having removed the team and 7 live sheep, as well as several machine guns and cartridges for them, "Antonis" was sunk. The next time luck smiled on the Germans on 18 January. Just before dark, an unknown steamer was seen from the raider, which was moving in an anti-submarine zigzag. Detmers knew that the British Admiralty ordered civil courts to act like this, a directive that had recently been captured by the Atlantis raider. Having approached a distance of 4 miles, the Germans first fired flares, and then, when the steamer, which turned out to be a tanker, did not react, they opened fire. The Briton (and there was no doubt that it was him) broadcast the RRR signal. The third salvo covered the target, and the radio fell silent. As the Kormoran approached, a cannon suddenly rumbled from the tanker, firing four shots, after which the raider resumed fire and set fire to the stern of his victim. From the British Union - that was the name of the unlucky tanker - they began to lower the boats. The surviving part of the crew was rescued, and the ship was sent to the bottom. Detmers was in a hurry to leave the area as soon as possible - the alarm raised by British Union promised unpleasant meetings. The Australian auxiliary cruiser Arua was in full swing to the place of the tanker's death, he managed to fish out eight more British from the water, who shed light on the events that took place here. In British documents, the as yet unknown large raider was named "Raider G".

The command ordered Detmers, who caused a stir, to go south to meet with the Nordmark supply ship, transfer all torpedoes and supplies for submarines to it, and then head to the Indian Ocean. The Nordmark was in fact an integrated supply ship - its pantries, fuel storage and cabins were used by a large number German ships and ships operating or passing through the southern latitudes: the "pocket" battleship "Admiral Scheer", auxiliary cruisers, submarines, blockade breakers and other support vessels.

Between the Cape Verde Islands and the equator, on the afternoon of January 29, a ship resembling a refrigerator was seen from the Kormoran. Pretending to be a "peaceful merchant", the raider waited until the ship came closer, and raised the signal to stop, at the same time Detmers ordered to go full speed. After the stranger did not react in any way, the Germans opened aimed fire to kill. The refrigerator sounded an alarm and stopped. Boats were lowered from it. The Africa Star was indeed carrying 5,700 tons of frozen meat from Argentina to the UK. Its crew was taken on board, and the Germans were forced to flood the Afrik Star - it was damaged as a result of shelling. The refrigerator was sinking slowly, and a torpedo was launched to speed up the process. As the raider's victim raised the alarm, the Kormoran left the area at full speed. Already at night, the signalmen considered the silhouette, in which the merchant ship was identified. The received order to stop was ignored, and the auxiliary cruiser opened fire, first with lighting, and then with live shells. The enemy first responded from the stern gun, which, however, soon fell silent. The steamer stopped the cars - the boarding party discovered that this was the British ship "Euryloch", heading with 16 dismantled heavy bombers to Egypt. The Eurylochus had veered off course and kept well away from the shore. Enemy radio stations hummed on the air like an angry disturbed beehive, and the Germans again had to spend such a valuable torpedo for a quick massacre of prey.

Taking on board the crew of the Euryloch, the Kormoran moved to rendezvous with the Nordmark in a special area called Andalusia. The meeting took place on February 7th. The company "Nordmark" was a refrigerated vessel "Dukeza", a trophy of "Admiral Scheer". The next day, the raider received 1300 tons of diesel fuel, and 100 beef carcasses and more than 200 thousand eggs were shipped from the refrigerator. 170 prisoners and mail were sent to the Nordmark. On February 9, the reloading was completed, and the Kormoran finally set off for the Indian Ocean. On the way to the Cape of Good Hope, Detmers met with the Penguin raider, who carefully "herded" an entire trophy whaling flotilla. Captain zur see Krüder offered one of the whalers as an errand scout, but his colleague refused. The trophy was not fast enough, in his opinion.

Bad weather prevented the deployment of a mine bank at Walvis Bay (Namibia). On February 18, an accident occurred in the engine room. Due to the failure of the bearings, diesel engines No. 2 and No. 4 failed. Detmers sent an urgent request to Berlin with a request to send at least 700 kg of babbit by submarine or another block breaker for the manufacture of new bearing shells. He was promised to fulfill this request as soon as possible, the trip to the Indian Ocean was temporarily canceled. The raider was ordered to operate in the South Atlantic for the time being and wait for the "package". While specialists in the engine room were making new parts of bearings from available stocks, on February 24, Penguin got in touch with Detmers and offered to transfer 200 kg of babbitt. On February 25, both raiders met - an exchange took place necessary materials and movies to entertain the team. Cormoran, meanwhile, continued to suffer from constant breakdowns in the engine room. The reserves allocated by Penguin should have been enough for the first time. On March 15, a meeting took place with one of the ward submarines, U-105, on which several torpedoes, fuel and provisions were shipped. So far, the raider has had no luck with hunting.


Cormoran refueling submarine

A long break in search of new prey ended on March 22. The Kormoran captured the small English tanker Agnita, which was in ballast. The ship was in a very mediocre condition and was sunk without regret. The most valuable booty was a map of minefields near Freetown indicating a safe passage. Three days later, almost in the same area at 8 am, a tanker was seen moving in ballast to the side South America. He did not respond to the demand to stop - fire was opened. Since the ship appeared to be new, Detmers ordered the ship to be fired more carefully so as not to cause severe damage. After several volleys, the fugitive stopped the cars. The raider's prey was the large (11,000 tons) tanker Canadolight. The ship was almost new, and it was decided to send it to France with the prize lot. The prize successfully reached the mouth of the Gironde on 13 April.

The consumption of fuel and provisions was quite extensive, and Detmers went to new meeting with the supplier "Nordmark". On March 28, the ships met, and the next day two submarines pulled up here. One of them, U-105, handed over the long-awaited babbit to the raider, which, however, turned out to be not so much. Detmers planned a rendezvous with another support vessel, the Rudolf Albrecht, which left Tenerife on March 22. Having replenished fuel, Kormoran met with a new supplier on April 3, but, unfortunately, there was no babbit on it. "Rudolf Albrecht" handed over a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, newspapers, magazines, a live pig and a puppy. After saying goodbye to the tanker, the Kormoran sailed southeast.

On April 9, smoke was seen from the raider astern - some ship was moving along the same course with him. After waiting for the distance to decrease, the Germans threw off their disguise. Once again, the British ignored the order to stop and not use the radio. The Kormoran opened fire, scoring several hits. The cargo ship Craftsman stopped. A great fire broke out in his stern. The boarding party failed to immediately send the Englishman to the bottom - he did not want to sink. It was all about his cargo - a giant anti-submarine network for the harbor of Cape Town. And only after being hit by a torpedo, the recalcitrant Craftsman sank. The next day, the raider radio operators received a radiogram that brought a pleasant one: Detmers was awarded the rank of frigate captain. On April 12, the Germans intercepted the Greek ship Nikolaos D.L., loaded with timber. And again there was no shooting. Taking the prisoners, "Kormoran" planted several 150-mm shells under the waterline into the victim, not counting the previously detonated charges. The Greek was sinking slowly, but Detmers did not waste a torpedo on him, believing that he would sink anyway.

It was time to replenish fuel again, and the Kormoran once again went to the meeting point with the Nordmark. On April 20, a whole group of German ships met in the ocean. In addition to Nordmark and Kormoran, there was another auxiliary cruiser - Atlantis - with the supply ship Alsterufer. Detmers' ship received 300 tons of diesel fuel and two hundred 150-mm shells from the Alsterufer. The work of diesel engines was more or less normalized, and the raider finally received an order to follow to the Indian Ocean, where, after saying goodbye to his compatriots, he headed on April 24.

In the Indian Ocean

In early May, the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The waters of the Indian Ocean met the Kormoran with a strong storm that raged for four whole days. When heading north, the weather began to gradually improve - the raider repainted, disguised as the Japanese ship Sakito Maru. On May 9, it became known about the death of the auxiliary cruiser "Penguin", after which an order was received to meet at the appointed place with the supply ship "Altsertor" and the reconnaissance "Penguin" - the former whaler "Adjutant". The ships met on May 14, and much to the displeasure of Detmers, on the orders of the command, he had to transfer 200 tons of fuel to the Altsertor. The supplier, in turn, replenished the crew of the Kormoran with members of his team in exchange for those who went to France on the Canadolight tanker.

Then the monotonous weekdays dragged on. For almost a month, the Kormoran plowed the Indian Ocean without meeting any targets on its way. On June 5, the camouflage was changed again - now the raider looked like, again, the Japanese Kinka Maru transport. The ship's Arado went on a reconnaissance flight twice, but both times to no avail. Once I met a brightly consecrated ship, which turned out to be American. On another occasion, an unidentified passenger ship was spooked by a smoke-producing plant suddenly working. Seeing that the hunt was not going on, Detmers decided to try his luck in a mine war - 360 mines were still waiting in the wings and were a dangerous and burdensome load. June 19 "Kormoran" entered the waters of the Bay of Bengal, the shores of which abounded major ports. At the exit of them, the Germans planned to set up their mines. First of all, this concerned Rangoon, Madras and Calcutta. However, here the raider was not lucky. When Madras was no more than two hundred miles away, smoke first appeared on the horizon, and then the silhouette of a large ship, similar to an English auxiliary cruiser, began to emerge. This kind of meeting was not part of Detmers' plans, and he began to leave at full speed. For an hour, the unknown pursued the raider, then gradually fell behind, hiding behind the horizon. The Germans were really lucky - it was the British auxiliary cruiser Canton, which mistook them for the Japanese. The minelaying near Calcutta was also canceled - a hurricane raged in the area.

A long streak of bad luck finally ended on the night of June 26, when the watchmen noticed a ship. Traditionally, the Germans demanded to stop and not use the radio. However, the discovered ship continued to follow as if nothing had happened, without trying, however, to go on the air. Having tapped the unheeded orders with a signal searchlight several times in a row, the raider opened fire, achieving almost 30 hits in seven minutes. The ship began to burn intensely, a boat was lowered from it. The Germans stopped firing. When the sailors were taken aboard from the boat, it turned out that the stranger was the Yugoslav cargo ship Velebit, which was sailing in ballast. At the moment of contact, the captain was in the engine room, and the officer on duty did not know (!) Morse code and could not understand what some ship wanted from him. Yugoslav burned intensely, so Detmers did not finish off the mutilated ship and went on. A few hours later, already at noon, smoke was again noticed. Some ship was heading towards Ceylon. Under the cover of a rain squall, the Kormoran crept up to its victim at a distance of 5 miles. Again the Germans demanded to stop and not go on the air. However, the Australian Mariba, carrying almost 5 thousand tons of sugar, did not even think to obey, but immediately broadcast an alarm signal on the radio. The guns of the raider rumbled, and soon the Australian was already sinking, lowering the boats. Having picked up 48 crew members and finished off the victim, Kormoran hastily left the area. The raider went south, into deserted and little-visited waters, where he stayed until July 17. Preventive maintenance of diesel engines and electrical equipment was carried out. Having lost its relevance, the Japanese make-up was changed. Impersonating a neutral Japanese was already too suspicious, and dangerous - at night you would have to go with the lights on. In addition, a neutral vessel did not have to change course abruptly, moving away from approaching any suspicious ship, which could be a British cruiser.

The auxiliary cruiser was disguised as the Dutch merchant Straat Malacca. To increase realism, a wooden model of the gun was installed at the stern. In the new image, "Kormoran" moved towards the island of Sumatra. Swimming in the tropics introduced certain difficulties in the storage of provisions. For almost ten days, the crew, replacing each other, was engaged in sifting the ship's stocks of flour, in which there were a lot of bugs and larvae. Stocks of cereals turned out to be generally unusable. In contrast, long-term storage products in numerous cold stores were well preserved. Continuing to move southeast, on August 13, 200 miles north of Carnarvon (Australia), visual contact was made with an unknown vessel, but Detmers, fearing the presence of warships nearby, ordered not to pursue the stranger. The raider moved back, in the direction of Ceylon.

On August 28, 1941, the Germans saw land for the first time after leaving Norway - it was the top of Mount Boa Boa on the island of Engano, which is located off the southwestern coast of Sumatra. The Indian Ocean was deserted - even seaplane flights did not bring results. Only on September 23 in the evening, the watchmen, to the great joy of the crew languishing from the monotony, discovered the navigation lights of a ship moving in ballast. Although these were signs of a neutral, Detmers decided to examine it. The stopped ship turned out to be the Greek "Stamatios G. Embirikos" with cargo in Colombo. The crew behaved obediently and did not go on the air. Initially, Detmers wanted to use it as an auxiliary minelayer, but the small amount of coal in the Stamatios bunkers made this problematic. After dark, the Greek was sunk by demolition charges.

The raider cruised in the western Indian Ocean until 29 September. The need to replenish supplies forced the Kormoran to meet with the next supply ship. It was Kulmerland, which left Kobe on September 3rd. The rendezvous was to take place at the Marius secret point. Arriving there on October 16, the raider met with a supply waiting for him. The auxiliary cruiser received almost 4 thousand tons of diesel fuel, 225 tons of lubricating oil, a large amount of babbitt and provisions for 6 months of sailing. The prisoners, five sick crew members and mail followed in the opposite direction. Kulmerland parted ways with the raider on October 25, and Kormoran took up another engine repair. When the mechanics reported to Detmers that the machines were in relative order, the frigate captain again went to the Australian coast to set up mine banks off Perth and in Shark Bay. However, the German command reported that a large convoy was leaving Perth under the protection of the heavy cruiser Cornwall, and the Kormoran moved towards Shark Bay.

That same fight

On November 19, 1941, the weather was excellent, visibility was excellent. At about 4 pm, the orderly reported to Detmers, who was in the wardroom, that smoke had been seen on the horizon. The frigate captain who climbed onto the bridge soon determined that this was a warship going to meet the raider. The Australian light cruiser Sydney was returning home after escorting the liner Zeelandia, which was carrying troops to Singapore. Sydney has already distinguished itself in combat operations in the Mediterranean Sea, having sunk the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in the battle off Cape Spada. However, in May 1941, the commander of the light cruiser Captain 1st Rank John Collins, who had extensive combat experience, was replaced by Captain 1st Rank Joseph Barnett, who previously served on the coast. In many ways, this, probably, decided the outcome of the future fight.


Australian light cruiser Sydney

"Sydney" was a full-fledged warship, with a displacement of almost 9 thousand tons and armed with eight 152-mm guns, four 102-mm guns, twelve anti-aircraft machine guns. Torpedo armament consisted of eight 533-mm torpedo tubes. There was a seaplane on board. Detmers did not lose his presence of mind and ordered to turn to the south-west so that the sun would shine directly into the eyes of the Australians. At the same time, the Kormoran went full speed, but soon diesel No. 4 began to act up, and the speed dropped to 14 knots. About an hour after the discovery of the raider, the cruiser approached to a distance of 7 miles on the starboard side and ordered to identify itself with a searchlight. The Kormoran transmitted the correct call sign of the Straat Malacca "RKQI", but at the same time it was raised between the funnel and the foremast so that it was practically invisible from the cruiser approaching from the stern. Sydney then demanded a destination. The Germans replied: "To Batavia", which looked quite plausible. To confuse the pursuers, the raider's radio operators began broadcasting distress signals that the Dutch ship had been attacked by an "unknown warship." Meanwhile, the cruiser was approaching - its bow turrets were aimed at the pseudo-merchant. The Australians periodically transmitted the "IK" signal, which, according to the international code of signals, meant "prepare for a hurricane." In fact, the real "Straat Malacca" should have answered "IIKP" according to the secret code of signals. The Germans preferred to ignore repeated requests.

Finally, the Sydney got tired of this long comedy, and they signaled from it: “Give your secret call sign. Further silence can only worsen the situation.” Game over. Each Allied merchant ship had its own secret code. The Australian cruiser had already practically caught up with the Kormoran and was almost on its traverse, at a distance of just over a kilometer. In response to a request at 5:30 p.m. the raider lowered the Dutch flag and raised the battle flag of the Kriegsmarine. In a record time of six seconds, camouflage shields fell. The first shot fell undershot, and the second salvo of three 150-mm and one 37-mm guns hit the Sydney bridge, destroying its fire control system. Simultaneously with the second salvo, the Germans discharged their torpedo tubes. The main caliber of the cruiser began to respond, but the sun shone in the gunners' eyes, and he lay down with a flight. 20-mm anti-aircraft guns and heavy machine guns were launched, preventing the cruiser's crew from taking their places according to the combat schedule. At such a distance it was difficult to miss, and the Germans put shell after shell into the Sydney. The seaplane was destroyed, then "Kormoran" switched fire to the bow towers of the main caliber - they were soon put out of action. The fired torpedo hit the cruiser's bow ahead of the bow turret. The bow of the Sydney sank heavily into the water. The fire on the raider was carried out by aft towers, which switched to independent aiming. The Australians smeared - nevertheless, three shells hit the Kormoran. The first pierced a pipe, the second damaged an auxiliary boiler and disabled the fire main. A fire started in the engine room. The third shell destroyed the main diesel transformers. The progress of the raider has dropped sharply.


One of the 150 mm Kormoran guns

"Sydney" had a much worse time - the cruiser suddenly turned back on a course. It was seen that the lid of turret B had been thrown into the sea. The Australian passed some hundred meters behind the stern of the raider - he was all engulfed in fires. Obviously, the steering on it was badly damaged or disabled. Opponents exchanged fruitless torpedo salvos, and "Sydney" began to move away at a 10-knot course, moving south. The Kormoran fired at him as long as range allowed. At 18.25 the fight stopped. The position of the raider was critical - the fire was growing. Engine room personnel fought the fire until almost all but one sailor were killed. The fire crept up to the mine hold, where there were almost four hundred mines, which the Kormoran carried with it throughout the campaign, but could not get rid of them.

The frigate captain realized that the ship could no longer be saved, and ordered to put explosive cartridges near the fuel tanks. Life rafts and boats were launched into the water. The first raft to be launched capsized, drowning nearly 40 people. At 24 o'clock, having taken the ship's flag, Detmers was the last to leave the doomed Kormoran. After 10 minutes, explosive cartridges worked, mines detonated - a powerful explosion destroyed the stern of the raider, and at 0 h. 35 min. auxiliary cruiser sank. More than 300 officers and sailors were on the water. 80 people were killed in action and drowned after capsizing the raft. The weather worsened, and life-saving equipment was scattered on the water. Soon a coastal steamer picked up one boat and reported this to the command of the Australian Navy, which immediately began a rescue operation. Soon all the Germans were found, although some had to talk on the rafts for about 6 days.


Tower of the main caliber "Sydney". Photos taken by an Australian expedition that discovered the remains of ships

There was no news about the fate of the Sydney, except for a broken lifeboat thrown ashore two weeks later. The search, which lasted almost 10 days, yielded no results, and the cruiser Sydney was declared dead on November 30, 1941. For many years the mystery of his death remained unsolved. The captured Germans, who were carefully interrogated already on the shore, spoke about the glow of the fire, which they observed in the place where the cruiser, enveloped in flames, had gone. Only in March 2008, a special expedition of the Australian Navy discovered first the Kormoran, and then the Sydney, about 200 miles southwest of Carnarvon. Former opponents lie not far from each other - 20 miles. A layer of water of 2.5 kilometers reliably covered the dead sailors with its cover. What events took place in the compartments and decks of the Australian cruiser engulfed in flames, how did the drama that ended this ship rest at the bottom Pacific Ocean we'll obviously never know.

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Armament

Kormoran HSK-8 (Schiff 41)(rus. "Kormoran" listen)) - German auxiliary cruiser, laid down in 1938 as a merchant ship Steiermark. In less than a year of service, the raider sank 11 ships, in November 1941 he was killed in action with an Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney, inflicting heavy damage on him, which led to the death of the latter.

General information

Kormoran(HSK-8) - the first of the German auxiliary cruisers of the so-called "second wave". The duration of the ship's service turned out to be a little less than a year.

But it was this ship that became the hero of a unique event - in a naval battle, she managed to inflict critical damage on an Australian light cruiser. Sydney. In the history of two world wars, there were no more cases when an armed merchant ship managed to sink an enemy ship of this class.

History of creation

September 15, 1938 in Kiel from the slipway of the factory Germaniawerft launched a large ship Steiermark. In total, the series consisted of two courts, Steiermark and Ostmark designed to work on the Far Eastern routes. After the new ship passed the tests, it was mobilized by the fleet and sent for conversion into a commercial raider.

From others merchant ships Steiermark differed in size, being the largest, and the presence of a diesel-electric power plant. The former bulk carrier received the number of auxiliary vessel 41, and in the documents began to be called "auxiliary cruiser No. 8" (HSK-8). The conversion of the ship to Deutsche Werft in Hamburg began in March 1940, after she left Thor.

On July 17, the commander, Korvettenkapiten Theodor Detmers, was appointed to the cruiser.

Power plant and driving performance

The ship was equipped with four 9-cylinder diesel engines, which allowed the ship to be accelerated to 18 knots.

Armament

After the conversion of the ship was completed, the armament consisted of six 150-mm guns, the guns were carefully hidden behind false hull sheets. Two 37 mm guns were mounted on the superstructure, covered with metal shields, and five single 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, which were located on hydraulic platforms and were hidden in the hull.

Also placed 6 surface and underwater 533-mm torpedo tubes. In addition, two Arado Ar 196 A-1 seaplanes and a high-speed minelayer LS-3 were placed on board.

In the mine compartment were 360 ​​mines of the anchor type EMC and 30 magnetic type TMV for the boat.

In addition, torpedoes for submarines U-37 and U-65 were loaded onto the ship, with which a rendezvous was planned.

Service History

Auxiliary cruiser-raider "Kormoran"

October 10, 1940 Kormoran, disguised as a Sperrbrecher, left Hamburg and headed for Kiel. The next morning, the ship was on fire in the electrical generator compartment, which was eliminated by the fire yards. Thereafter Kormoran went to Gotenhafen - the captain decided not to start repairs, but to spend it while preparing the team for the campaign. Four weeks were spent on repairs, and the ship conducted sea trials along with the newest battleship. Bismarck when the team managed to reach a speed of 18 knots. During the maneuvers, an accident occurred - a torpedo pilot fell overboard and drowned through an open torpedo port.

On November 20, 1940, Grand Admiral Raeder was on the ship with an inspection. In a conversation with him, Detmers said that the power plant needed further testing, however, the captain refused to Raeder's proposal to postpone going to sea. It is worth noting that in the future, engine problems haunted the raider constantly.

On December 3, 1940, the raider went to sea, on December 8 she entered the Norwegian port of Stavanger. December 13 disguised as a Soviet cargo Ship Vyacheslav Molotov went to the Atlantic.

On December 29, 1940, with good visibility, the team tried to launch the aircraft for the first time, but as a result, it received damage from impacts due to pitching.

January 6, 1941 Kormoran located south of the Cape Verde Islands. Observers from the ship noticed a vessel on a collision course, which turned out to be Greek Anthony. Approaching three kilometers, Kormoran demanded to stop and not use the radio. The boarding party found out that the ship was carrying coal. 29 crew members were transferred to Kormoran, as well as 7 sheep, food supplies and several machine guns and ammunition found on board. Then Anthony sunk using demolition charges.

Sailors Kormoran

On January 18, 1941, at the latitude of the Canary Islands, another ship was spotted from a raider. It turned out to be a tanker british union. Kormoran, using the advantage in speed, approached and ordered to stop the ship. But the captain of the tanker did not obey, and at the same time they began to transmit a distress signal from him. FROM Kormoran open fire to kill. The sailors of the tanker were able to fire only 4 return shots. When the team began to leave the ship, the raider stopped firing. Demolition charges could not sink the ship, finished off with torpedoes.

January 29, 1941 Kormoran collided with refrigerator Africa Star. From a distance of about ten kilometers, Kormoran fired a warning shot, demanding to stop and not use the radio. Captain Cooper did not comply with the raider's demands. He turned the ship around and began to pick up speed, simultaneously sending out radio signals of the attack, but the radio operators Kormoran began to clog the air with interference. Detmers gave the order to open fire to kill. Africa Star has stopped. Due to severe damage, the ship had to be sunk. On the same day, another victim appeared - Eurylochus. The captain of which also disobeyed the order to stop. Picking up speed, the ship gave signals of attack and opened fire from the mounted stern gun. FROM Kormoran the artillerymen returned fire. In 10 minutes of a short battle, 67 shells were fired from the raider, while with Eurylochus only 4 that did no harm Kormoran. The boarding party found that the ship was carrying 16 dismantled heavy bombers for the British forces in Egypt. The ship, after being blown up, was again finished off with torpedoes.

Kormoran left the area of ​​events, where urgently, after radio interception were sent HMS Devonshire and HMS Norfolk who did not have time to intercept the Germans.

February 11, 1941 headed east - to the coast of Namibia, where it was planned to set up a minefield. But when Kormoran arrived at the site of the operation, bad weather did not allow the boat to be launched, and they refused to lay mines.

Raider Deck Pool

On March 15, 1941, a rendezvous with the submarine U-124 took place northeast of the rock of St. Peter and Paul. Bad weather prevented the loading of torpedoes and supplies. Heading south, the next morning we met with a heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee who returned to Europe.

On March 22, 1941, a British tanker was spotted Agnita. When ordered to stop, the tanker attempted to escape by radioing out a distress signal. Two shots from Kormoran successfully hit the engine room, which stopped the ship. The tanker was damaged, the Germans tried to sink it with demolition charges. But again I had to finish off the ship with torpedoes.

On March 25, 1941, a Canadian ship was sighted Canadolite. The raider, under cover of the fog, got close enough to order the ship to stop and not use the radio. Canadolite tried to evade persecution. Accurate shots of the raider stopped Canadolite. Having captured the ship, 16 people of the team, led by Leutnantzursee Blo, landed on Canadolite and took him to France.

On March 29, 1941, the arrival of submarines U-106 and then U-105 was planned. 13 torpedoes were unloaded from Kormoran.

On April 9, 1941, a British Craftsman. At a distance of 5 kilometers, the disguise was dropped. The British again disobeyed orders, and fire was opened from the raider. After 10 minutes of shelling on Craftsman a fire broke out. Attempts to sink Craftsman explosive charges did not bring success. Launched to the bottom by a torpedo.

british tanker Agnita

On April 12, 1941, a Greek ship was encountered Nicolaos D.L. Like the British, the Greeks disobeyed orders to stop and not use the radio. By opening fire, the raider stopped Greek ship. Detmers gave the order to sink Nicolaos D.L. explosive charges. However, the ship loaded with timber stubbornly did not want to go to the bottom. We fired 4 shots from 150-mm guns below the waterline, but the situation did not change. Nevertheless, Detmers did not use torpedoes and ordered to leave the attack area.

On April 24, 1941, after meeting with a tanker, having replenished supplies, Kormoran went to the southeast.

On June 26, 1941, a Yugoslav ship was spotted Velebit. The shelling of the ship caused a fire. Leaving the burning ship Kormoran went to the southeast. An Australian ship was met a few hours later Mareeba who disobeyed orders to stop. Aimed fire from the raider destroyed the radio room and the engine room. Since the ship was already beginning to sink, they finished it off with explosive charges, and hastily left the attack area.

September 23, 1941 watchmen noticed a Greek ship Stamatios G. Embirikosе. The Greeks put up no resistance. Detmers, wanted to adapt the ship as an auxiliary minelayer, but as it turned out, there was only enough fuel to reach the port. It was decided to sink with explosive charges.

October 16, 1941, rendezvous with a supplier Kulmerland. Fuel, supplies and mail received, prisoners transferred.

light cruiser HMAS Sydney

On November 19, 1941, in conditions of excellent visibility, smoke was noticed. A little later, having risen to the bridge, Detmers realized that a warship had been seen. It turned out to be an Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney. The situation was hopeless. In an attempt to confuse the enemy and dragging out time, the radio operators sent a distress signal over the radio about an attack on the merchant of an unknown ship.

The cruiser, meanwhile, approached, pointing at Kormoran nose guns. HMAS Sydney already caught up Kormoran and ended up on its traverse on the starboard side at a distance of 900 meters. For ongoing requests Sydney in response, the Dutch flag was lowered, the flag of the Kriegsmarine was raised, and camouflage shields were removed in a few seconds. Kormoran opened fire. Volleys from 37-mm machine guns and three 150-mm guns covered the bridge Sydney, causing damage to the fire control system. Two torpedoes were fired from the starboard craft.

Artillery Sydney opened inaccurate return fire due to the blinding sun. The hit of one of the torpedoes damaged the bow towers, the cruiser began to fall on the bow. Both ships continued to fire, but only the aft turrets fired from Sydney. The ships were on fire. In flames, Sydney went south, with a trim on the nose, having received severe damage. When it got dark, Detmers ordered a ceasefire, at which time Sydney At a 5-knot course, he continued to go south while being approximately 9 kilometers away. With Kormoran, the glow was observed until about 22-00.

Doom

During the battle with the cruiser Sydney, artillery Kormoran fired about 550 150-mm shells, of which, according to some German sources, more than 50 hits. On board the raider, the fire intensified, the fire approached the mine compartment. Fregattenkapiten understood that the ship could not be saved, and gave the order to abandon the ship, as well as mine the fuel tanks.

During the evacuation, the deflated inflatable raft leaked and capsized. All who were on it - about forty people, mostly wounded - drowned. Having received the news that the mine compartment was beginning to fill with smoke, Detmers, having taken the flag of the ship, was the last to leave the ship at 24.00.

Explosive charges went off 10 minutes later. The detonation of mines literally turned the stern part into dust and at 0.35 the raider quickly sank at the point with coordinates 26°05′46″ south latitude 111°04′33″ east longitude. 320 sailors remained on the waves. 80 people died - 2 officers and 78 sailors.

Sunk and captured ships

For a partial year of her service in World War II, auxiliary cruiser Kormoran (HKS-8) sank and captured 11 ships, the total tonnage of which amounted to about 70,000 tons

commanders

  • July 1940 - November 1941 - Korvettenkapiten Theodor Detmers

Awards

For the sunken Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney the commander was awarded the "Knight's Cross", the sailors of the calculation of the 37-mm starboard guns were awarded the "Iron Cross"

see also

Notes

Literature and sources of information

Literature

  • Jesse Russell, Ronald Cohn Search for Hmas Sydney and German Auxiliary Cruiser Kormoran. - Book on Demand Ltd., 2012. - 88 p. - ISBN 5511144622
  • Galynya V.A. Hitler Raiders. Auxiliary cruisers of the Kriegsmarine. - EKSMO, 2009. - 192 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-38274-3

Links

  • History of the ship at https://www.kriegsmarine.ru (eng.)
  • Page about the ship on the English-language Wikipedia (eng.)
  • Ship service history at https://www.bismarck-class.dk (eng.)
  • Rescue sailors with Kormoran
  • Combat Log (English)

Image Gallery

    Commander Theodor Detmers

    Surviving sailors of the raider

    Auxiliary cruiser Kormoran

    Cruiser in 1940

    Completion of the dry cargo ship

    Longitudinal section of the vessel

    technical drawing Kormoran and Sydney

    Gun on the deck of a sunken ship

    Steiermark at the shipyard

    Arado lowered from the cruiser on a crane

    Kormoran disguised as Soviet Vyacheslav Molotov

Video
Aircraft carriers Graf Zeppelin X I PV Jade PV Elbe XV Seydlitz XV II PV
battleships Scharnhorst Bismarck P P
armadillos Deutschland

raider campaign

Fight with "Sydney" and death

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Notes

Literature

  • F. Ruge. War at sea, 1939-1945. St. Petersburg: Polygon, 2002, ISBN 5-89173-027-8

Links

  • (English)
  • http://www.cdnn.info/news/industry/i070818.html

An excerpt characterizing Kormoran (auxiliary cruiser)

I looked up and saw my dad, who was leaning on the door frame, and all this time he was watching me with great interest. Dad came up and, affectionately hugging me by the shoulders, quietly said:
- Come on, let's go, you will tell me why you fought so hotly here ...
And then I felt very light and calm in my soul. Finally, he will know everything, and I will never have to hide anything from him again! He was my best friend, who, unfortunately, did not even know half the truth about what my life really was ... It was not fair and it was unfair ... And I only now realized how strange everything was this is the time to hide my “second” life from dad just because it seemed to mom that dad would not understand ... I should have given him such a chance even earlier and now I was very glad that I could do it at least now ...
Sitting comfortably on his favorite sofa, we talked for a very long time ... And how much I was delighted and surprised that, as I told him about my incredible adventures, my father's face brightened more and more! .. I I realized that my whole “incredible” story not only does not scare him, but, on the contrary, for some reason makes him very happy ...
“I always knew that you would be special with me, Svetlenkaya ...” when I finished, dad said very seriously. - I'm proud of you. Can I help you with something?
I was so shocked by what had happened that for no reason, I burst into tears uncontrollably ... Dad cradled me in his arms like a small child, quietly whispering something, and I, from happiness that he understood me, did not I heard, only I understood that all my hated "secrets" were already behind, and now everything will definitely be fine ...
I wrote about this birthday because it left in my soul a deep trace of something very important and very kind, without which my story about myself would certainly be incomplete ...
The next day, everything seemed normal and everyday again, as if that incredibly happy birthday didn’t happen yesterday ...
The usual school and household chores almost completely loaded the hours allotted for the day, and what was left - as always, was my favorite time, and I tried to use it very "economically" in order to learn as much as possible useful, and as much as possible "unusual" in to find yourself and in everything around you ...
Naturally, they didn’t let me near the “gifted” neighbor boy, explaining that the baby had a cold, but as I later learned from his older brother, the boy felt absolutely fine, and apparently “sick” only for me ...
It was very unfortunate that his mother, who at one time had probably gone through a rather “thorny” path of the same “unusual”, categorically did not want to accept any help from me, and tried in every possible way to protect her sweet, talented son from me. But this, again, was only one of those many bitter and hurtful moments of my life when no one needed the help I offered, and I now tried to avoid such “moments” as carefully as possible... Again, it is impossible for people there was something to prove if they didn't want to accept it. And I never considered it right to prove my truth “with fire and sword”, so I preferred to leave everything to chance until the moment when a person comes to me himself and asks for help.
From my school girlfriends, I again moved away a little, because in recent times they almost constantly had the same conversations - which boys they like best, and how it would be possible to “get” one or the other ... Frankly, I could not understand why it attracted them so much then, that they could ruthlessly spend on it such dear to all of us free hours, and at the same time be in a completely enthusiastic state from everything said or heard to each other. Apparently, for some reason I was still completely and completely not ready for this whole complex epic “boy-girl”, for which I received an evil nickname from my girlfriends - “proud” ... Although, I think that it was the pride I wasn’t in any way ... But it was just that the girls were infuriated that I refused the “events” they offered, for the simple reason that honestly it still didn’t interest me in any way, but throwing away my free time In vain, I did not see any serious reason for that. But naturally, my schoolmates didn’t like my behavior in any way, since, again, it singled me out from the general crowd and made me different, not the same as everyone else, which, according to the guys, was “inhuman” according to the school. ..
So, again, half "outcast" school friends and girlfriends, my winter days passed, which no longer upset me at all, because, having been worried about our “relationship” for several years, I saw that, in the end, there was no point in this, since everyone lives like this , as he sees fit, well, what will come of us later is, again, a private problem for each of us. And no one could force me to waste my "valuable" time on empty talk, when I preferred to spend it reading the most interesting books, walking along the "floors" or even riding along the winter paths on Snowstorm ...
Dad, after my honest story about my “adventures”, for some reason (to my great joy!!!) stopped considering me a “little child” and unexpectedly opened me access to all his previously unauthorized books, which tied me even more to "loneliness at home" and, combining such a life with grandma's pies, I felt absolutely happy and certainly not alone in any way ...
But, as it was before, it was clearly “contraindicated” for me to quietly engage in my favorite reading for a long time, since, almost in without fail, something “extraordinary” was bound to happen ... So that evening, when I was calmly reading a new book, crunching freshly baked cherry pies with pleasure, Stella suddenly appeared in an excited and disheveled voice and declared in a peremptory voice:
“It’s good that I found you – you should come with me right now! ..
- And what happened? .. Where to go? – Surprised by such unusual haste, I asked.
- To Maria, Dean died there ... Well, come on !!! – impatiently shouted girlfriend.

Means "entrance to the lakes" - in this place, an extensive network of rivers and lakes flows into the ocean, creating ideal conditions for fishing.

Indeed, there were quite a few fishing trawlers on the pier at Lakes Entrance, which immediately sold fresh fish and shrimp. Almost all vacationers in this place in Victoria could see a boat, many hotels have corners with tables for cutting fish.

Well, where there are fish, there are pelicans.

And the fishermen...

In general, apart from fish and a couple of beaches, there is nothing special to see in Lakes Entrance, except for the private maritime museum Griffiths Sea Shell Museum, where you could find just tons of different types of shells, alcoholized and dried fish and other marine reptiles.

Not far from Lakes Entrance are the Buchan Caves.

Well, after visiting the caves, it was nice to skip a mug of local beer at the Bullant Brewery.

25 Aug 2012 12:12

We were already in Canberra in 2008, stopping by for a couple of days on our way to Sydney. Then we saw that there are many places in the city that can be visited in a few days.

Before leaving Canberra we visited the Australian Parliament building. There were several police officers at the entrance, who let visitors through the frame, like in airports. After walking through the halls and offices, visiting the green roof, we drove on...

15 Aug 2012 02:10

The Economist Intelligence Unit consulting group has published its top cities in the world and Melbourne topped it for the second year in a row.

The top ten cities look like this:

great ocean road

Jun 20, 2012 03:02 AM

Last December we took a ride on the Great Ocean Road and just yesterday added everything from that trip.

You can drive the whole road in one day, if you leave early in the morning, stop not everywhere, but return directly along the highway. In order not to rush into sightseeing, we stopped for a couple of nights right in the middle of the road, in the town of Port Campbell (Summer's Rest Units).

On the first day it was cloudy, so we had to put on jackets, but on the second day the sun came out and it became much more fun.

A few places we visited:

Despite s18(1) of the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), I agree and acknowledge that any message Vodafone sends me will not contain an unsubscribe facility. I understand that I can, at any time, opt out of receiving marketing material by contacting Vodafone Customer Care.

In general, Australian laws may not be followed, the main thing is to report this in small print.

23 Feb 2012 05:13

She received the surname "Macpherson" from her stepfather, Neil MacPherson.

Thanks to her ideal body proportions (90-61-89), at the age of 18, El signed the first contract with the famous Click Model Management modeling agency.

In 1985, El decides to marry photographer and creative director of Elle magazine Gilles Bensimon, who was 20 years older than McPherson. Through her marriage, El appeared in every issue of Elle magazine for six years.


Elle was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1986. By that time, she had already been on the covers of magazines such as Cosmopolitan, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Playboy. El also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated six times during her career.


In 1989, McPherson and Bensimon divorced, and along with her husband, Elle lost her largest employer, Elle magazine. This period in the girl's career and life is not easy, but Elle pulls herself together and decides to move on.


Elle MacPherson in the movie "On the Edge"

In 1990, the first film with the participation of a famous model, Alice, directed by Woody Allen, was released. Then she plays in several films: "Sirens" (with Hugh Grant), "Batman and Robin" (with George Clooney), "On the Edge" (with Anthony Hopkins) and others.

Also in 1990, MacPherson launched her Elle Macpherson Intimates underwear line, which is sold exclusively in Australia.


In 1995, together with supermodel friends, El opened the Fashion Café restaurant chain, which did not become profitable and was closed in 1998.

In 1999, Elle MacPherson starred in five episodes of the hit series Friends.


Elle was engaged to French financier Arpad Busson in 2003, with whom she had two sons, Flynn in 1998 and Cy in 2003.

In 2005, the couple broke up, and today Elle lives in London with her children.

Smile!

22 Feb 2012 02:08

I'm reading today in the local newspaper about what to do when traveling, and I see this advice:

smile. always smile.

It "ll get you places you wouldn't believe. From persuading Parisian waiters to speak English to figuring out where the hell you"re supposed to be sitting on that train, a little smile and a good attitude will get you help in no time. NB: There"s an exception to this rule – it "s called Russia. (They" ll think you "re mad.)

In translation:

Smile! Always smile.

It will open up so many new opportunities for you that you never dreamed of. For example, a waiter from Paris will suddenly speak English, or you will finally find that fucking seat on the train - just smile a little and act accordingly.

One exception to this rule is Russia. They will think you are crazy.

Read also