Introduction In the early part of World War II, following a tradition established in World War I, the Kriegsmarine converted merchant ships into armed commerce raiders with disguised armaments and sent them forth to prey on Allied shipping on all of the Seven Seas. These ships were heavily armed with 5.9 inch guns, torpedo tubes and mines. Most carried aircraft. Eleven ships were so converted, and nine of them actually became operational. The Handelf-Stor-Kreuzer (Raider Cruisers) or Hilfikreuzer (Auxiliary Cruisers) were most successful, sinking or capturing some 188 Ships, including the entire Norwegian whaling fleet. To catch them, the Allies devoted an inordinate amount of resources. Their end came when improved Allied code breaking and intelligence led to their location and destruction as well as the destruction of the numerous supply ships that supported them (and the UBoats). Location: Indian Ocean, 150 miles southwest of Carnevon, Australia, Wednesday, 19 November 1941. Tune 1600 hours local. Operational Situation: In late 1941, after operating off the coast of India in the Bay of Bengal, the raider Kormoran, having made the area too hot to hold her, on orders from OKL set course for the western coast of Australia to lay part of her cargo of mines off Perth. Meanwhile, the fight cruiser HMAS Sydney, a veteran of the bloody 1940-1941 naval battles in the Mediterranean, was escorting a troop ship carrying reinforcements to Malaya. On 17 November 1941, she handed over escort duties to HMS Durban and began the return voyage to Australia. On 19 November 1941, she signaled headquarters that she would arrive on 20 November. Tactical Situation: Kormoran is sailing at a leisurely pace towards Australia when her lookouts sight masts on the horizon through the summer haze. The other ship alters course to investigate and Kormoran soon knows that she has been spotted by an Allied warship. Environment. Clear but hazy, visibility 75%, sea state 3, local time 1600 hours. Sunset is at 1900. German Forces KMS Kormoran. (see page 14 for statistics) German Orders: Sink or capture all Allied merchant vessels. Avoid all Allied warships. If found by Allied warships avoid capture. German Victory Conditions: Sink or successfully evade Allied warship without suffering 50% damage. Allied Forces HMAS Sydney (Australian Perth class light cruiser, Captain J. Bumett, RAN) or use variable Allied forces, roll 2D6: 2-4: HMAS Sydney 5-6: HMAS Australia (British Kent class heavy cruiser) 7-8: HMS Durban (British D class light cruiser) 9-10: HNMS Tromp (Dutch Tromp class light cruiser) 11-12: HMAS Manoora (Australian Armed Merchant Cruiser, statistics provided below) Allied Orders: Investigate all sightings. Close to identify vessel. Do not open fire until vessel is definitely identified as a enemy ship [NOTE: Allied war-ships that encountered the German raiders had the unfortunate habit of approaching dangerously close to their well-disguised and well-armed enemy before opening fire. HMS Cornwall was hit hard before sinking Pinguin in May 1941. Thor damaged two British Auxiliary Merchant Cruisers and sank a third (HMS Voltaire). Allied Victory Conditions: Sink enemy ship without loss of own ship. Setup Open ocean, Kormoran heading 20 degrees True (NNE), speed 10 knots. Sydney (or Allied ship) is heading 155 degrees True (SSE) at wartime steaming (Rule 6.8.3). Kormoran is 50 degrees off starboard bow of Sydney, range 30 kyds. Special Rules a) Kormoran has a temperamental diesel-electric drive. When she increases speed, roll one D6, on 1 or 2, it suffers engine trouble and cannot exceed 14 knots until 4-6 is rolled on one D6 (roll in the Plotting Phase of each Tactical Turn.) b) Kormoran is a converted merchant vessel and is carrying mines, torpedoes and aircraft with aviation fuel. Use Merchant/Auxiliaries column on Critical Hit Table (page 8-1) and Cargo Damage Table (page 8-6), with holds #1 and #2 ammo, #3 petroleum products, #4 aircraft c) For whatever reason, Captain Burnett approached dangerously and carelessly close and did not break radio silence. The Allied ship may not increase speed and, although at General Quarters, cannot open fire or increase speed until Kormoran fires or is definitely identified as a raider. Use optional rule 5.4.2.7 with addition that Komoran is identified on a roll of 10. Historical Outcome Captain Detmers attempted to flee but suffered an engineering casualty that reduced Kormoran's maximum speed to 14 knots for a half hour. Sydney approached using blinker lights to request identification. Pretending to be the Dutch merchant ship Straat Malakka, Detmers ordered his signallers to stall and they expertly played the role of inexperienced and inept merchant signalmen. Sydney slowly overhauled Kormoran on its starboard side. One half hour after the initial sighting, Sydney was 1400 yds right abeam of Kormoran, and steaming at 14-15 knots, with torpedo tubes trained out, a Walrus seaplane warming up on the catapult, and crewmen gawking at the rails at the other ship. Detracts dropped his disguise, hoisted the German battle flag and opened fire. Kormoran scored three hits with her first salvo on the cruiser's bridge and director control tower. Sydney missed with her first eight-gun salvo and Kormoran hammered her A and B turrets and destroyed the aircraft and its catapult as well as scoring one hit with a salvo of two torpedoes. On fire and mortally wounded, Sydney missed with a salvo of torpedoes, but hit Kormoran with its after turrets and wrecked the sensitive engineering controls. By 1745 Kormoran was dead in the water. Sydney was last seen by the Germans on fire on the horizon. With his ship hopelessly crippled, Detmers ordered her scuttled. The only thing ever found from Sydney was a shell-splintered Carley float. There were no survivors from her crew of 42 officers and 603 men. Relatively few Kormoran crewmen were killed in the battle and 315 survivors were rescued a week later by Allied ships and only then did the Allied High Command learn of the Sydney's fate. Detmers was awarded the Ritterkreuz while in an Allied prison camp. A monument to Sydney was erected on Bradley's Head in Sydney, Australia, next to the fighting top from the first Sydney, a WW I light cruiser that had been destroyed by another famous German raider, the light cruiser Emden, on 9 November 1914. Variants Use a referee with Kormoran not knowing the type or identity of the other vessel until revealed by the sighting table. Kormoran cannot change course or speed until other vessel is identified. The Allied vessel could be a tanker, merchant or troop ship. At this time the Allies were feverishly reinforcing the Malaya garrison and there were numerous Allied vessels sailing in the area, including the liner Aquitania, carrying troops and supplies to Singapore. If the Allied ship is a merchant vessel, the victory conditions for each side would then be reversed. It should be noted that raider Thor was sunk after a battle with the American freighter Stephen Hopkins which was armed only with a 4-inch gun. Bibliography Lawrence, Hal; A Bloody War, New York: Bantam Books, 1982. Lenton, H. T. and J. J. Colledge; British and Dominion Ships of World War II; Garden City NY- Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1968. Mallmann Showell, Jak P., The German Navy in World War Two; Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979. Muggenthaler, August Karl; German Raiders of World War II; Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977. Nelson, Robert et al; A Pictorial History of Australians at War, Melbourne: Paul Hamlyn Printing Ltd., 1973. Raven, Alan and John Roberts; British Cruisers of World War Two, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1908. Rugge, Friedrich; Der Seekrieg, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1971. Von der Porten, Edward P.; The German Navy in World War II; New York Galahad Books, 1969. HMAS Manoora AMC Displacement: 10,856 grt In class: 1 Damage Points: 147 In service: 1934 Damage Modifier 1.0 Speed: 16 Propulsion: Diesel Crew: 350 Armor Rtng: 0 Size Class: B Weapons: Total Mounts: 8 P&S (1)6 MkVII 6 inch/45 C P&S (1)2 Mk I, II, III, IV 3 inch/45 C Note: no gun directors, always use local control modifier (Rule 6.1.3) Area AA. (1)2 Mk I, II, III, IV 3 inch 76mm/45 (.3) Light AA: unknown, usually a few light AA and machine guns. (A) Remarks: In service as Armed Merchant Cruiser 12 December 1939. Converted to Landing Ship Infantry (Large) in 1942. Damage and Speed Breakdown Damage points: 0 37 74 110 132 168 Surface speed: 15 11 8 3 0 Sinks Raider Designations Each raider had a number of identities: original name, ship number for signal purposes (Schiff), naval number (HSK), actual name as raider, and letter assigned by the Admiralty when discovered: HSK1 Schiff 36 Orion (ex-Kurmark) Raider A HSK2 Schiff 16 Atlantis (ex-Goldenfels) Raider C HSK3 Schiff 21 Widder (ex-Neumark) Raider D HSK4 Schiff 10 Thor (ex-Santa Cruz) Raider E HSK5 Schiff 33 Pinguin (ex-Kandelfels) Raider F HSK6 Schiff 23 Stier (ex-Cairo) Raider J HSK7 Schiff 45 Komet (ex-Ems) Raider B HSK8 Schiff 41 Kormoran (ex-Steirmark) Raider G HSK9 Schiff 28 Michel (ex-Bielsko) Raider H Schiff 14 Coronel (ex- Togo) Raider K Schiff 5 Hansa (ex-Meersburg) The assistance and encouragement of Larry Bond, Chris Carlson and Ed Kettler is gratefully acknowledged. 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