On July 17, 1936 the Spanish Civil War began. The Führer would send Nationalist Forces the Condor Legion and with it ships to bring troops and supplies, under this pretext the notorious merchant raider only known as Schiff 66 began her infamous voyage. she was a vessel, which according to legend was doomed to sail the seas for eternity, this is her story.............
6/30/1936 Bremen A.G. Weser Werft, Dock IX
The recently completed freighter ‘Weserfels’ was taken over from the shipyard by a party of officers and ratings from the Kriegsmarine. She was docked next to 2 of her sister ships the namesake of the class ‘Ehrenfels’ and her future supply ship ‘Kybfels’. in spite of looking identical there was one major difference, the two other ships measured 506ft in length while the ‘Weserfels’ was estimated to have measured over 600ft in length this was because she was “officially” taken over while still on the stocks at the A.G. Weser Werft, Bremen and was modified to become a Handelsstörkreuzer (trade disruption cruiser). Launched in secrecy she was towed to Dock IX where she was fitted with her armament and equipment. She was provided with an extra funnel, telescoping masts, removable derricks, and deck fittings. She was completed on New Years Eve 1935. She was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on January 1, 1936 at the A.G. Weser Werft Commissioning Pier II and was painted in the colors of her original owners the DDG Hansa Line, Bremen. After commissioning Schiff 66 moved to the Naval Fitting out depot and began to take on fuel, water, coal, and provisions.
For the next 4 months she shifted from the ports of Kiel, Wilhelmshaven, Hamburg, and Bremerhaven taking on supplies including fuel, ammunition, torpedoes, aircraft, and tons of paint and structural material.
Her captain is 32 year old Freg.Kpt Hans Felix Hartmann former commander of the minesweeper M19 and officer aboard the Graf Spee and Deutschland. He went to work handpicking her 440 man crew plus an additional 200 officers and men would join her including Luftwaffe and Heer personnel for land operations. On May 31st the raider returned to A.G. Weser for final adjustments and modifications including the addition of 2 more torpedo tubes. Hartmann left the ship in charge of the I. Officer KKpt Baumgartner while he travelled to Berlin where he received his final briefing and orders from GAdm Reader himself. Hartmann returned on June 28, 1936 and gave the entire crew shore leave ordering them to return to the ship at midnight on June 30th. (In the next report a detailed list of changes made to her disguise will be included)
According to her operational orders Schiff 66 is to depart Bremen for Wilhelmshaven on June 30, 1936 at 01:00 hrs. after the stopover in the Jade Bay off Wilhelmshaven she is to set off for the Mediterranean.
