Hilfskreuzer Schiff 44 (HSK-16) “Afrika”

[CPTLTJASON]

12/18/1938 Mediterranean Sea 48th day at sea

Ship 44 hasn’t encountered a single enemy since the last report, now Hartmann the I. Offizier, Navigation officers, and the mine officer laid out a plan to mine 2 harbors and part of the supply route. Working north to south Ship 44 mined the Port of Valencia during the night of 11/28-29 79 EMC mines were laid without being detected. During the day Ship 44 laid a larger minefield (121 mines) along the Odessa Supply route this minefield was laid where the Odessa-Cartagena and Odessa-Valencia routes meet. Moving North towards Barcelona Ship 44 laid her remaining 27 mines, undetected she left the area passing between the Islands of Majorca and Menorca at 17 knots. On December 1, 1938 Ship 44 and the freighter Kybfels met during the night they transferred prisoners so as to keep the identity of the Kybfels anonymous.

The following morning the Kybfels disguised as an Italian freighter proceeded west towards the Strait of Gibraltar and off to Vigo where the prisoners would be released.

For 10 days Ship 44 remained changing her disguise yet again and overhauling the Diesel engines, she would take on the identity of the Kybfels
1. Outer hull painted black
2. White superstructure
3. Yellow masts height remained the same
4. Ventilators, winches, etc. painted dark yellow
5. Funnel painted in DDG Hansa line livery height
and width remain the same
6. 4 Derricks removed
7. Cannons I and X disguised as deckhouses both
are painted white
8. German merchant flag hoisted on the signal deck

During the night the main radio room reported the first success of the minefields,

1. Soviet freighter ANASTASIA 7,310 grt (TLOZ)
2. Soviet freighter LOTZ 2,616 grt (UNTZ)
3. Spanish Republican freighter LUISA 1,300 grt (BYTM)
4. Spanish Republican tanker BRANKO 7,960 grt (YMLZ)
5. Spanish Republican tanker TOLEDO 6,000 grt (BOMM)
6. Soviet tanker MOLOTOV 9,360 grt (PMOM)
Total tonnage sunk: 34,816 grt

Hartmann reported the success to the 1/SKL and at 08:00 hrs.

Radio message 1366/38 Anlage 169/38
“Have sunk 10 ships for 49,565 grt”, 3 minefields laid off Valencia, Barcelona, and the Odessa shipping route”.
Ship 44

Just over an hour later, Ship 44 received the following radio message,

Radio message 1513/38 Anlage 1761/38
“Congratulations to the Kommandant and crew, released from combat operations, proceed as directed (gkdos 1773/38 anlage 1923/38 V.1.9.28)”
1/Seekriegslietung

Ship 44 set sail for La Spezia arriving 3 days later meeting the freighter Hamburg and the tanker Hansel. She remained at La Spezia for 3 days her departure delayed due to bad weather her next stop is Piraeus, Greece. After that she will spend time training in Mediterranean south of Island of Cyprus.

[CPTLTJASON]

2/15/1938 Mediterranean Sea 107th day at sea

Ship 44 arrived at Piraeus and spend Christmas at the port. On December 27th Ship 44 departed Piraeus for Point X and Area A where she would conduct training with the seaplanes and Leichte Schnellboote.
The Leichte Schnellboote (LS 33) conducted minelaying exercises. On January 1st Hartmann was promoted to Kapitan zur See. For the last 3 weeks officers and men of 8.Marine Stosstrupp Kompanie trained disembarking and reembarking from Ship 44. On February 13th Kapitan.z.S Hartmann informed that they would return to the Atlantic before crossing the Straits of Gibraltar Ship 44 would conduct another raid along the Odessa supply route. Hartmann decided to avoid visiting anymore ports.

Once the Spanish Civil War draws to a close Hartmann will undertake an expedition into the Pacific Ocean in which the vessel will seek out the best islands to use as bases and rendezvous points for commerce raiders. After this Ship 44 will return to Kiel by the end of the summer.

[CPTLTJASON]

Apologies for again ending the patrol but I’m still not satisfied,

3/21/1939 Mediterranean Sea 40km South of Majorca Island 141st day at sea

Ship 44 has had success of in just 3 days 7 freighters and 2 tankers were sunk for 31,827 grt, however just south of the Island of Majorca. the Spanish Republican submarine C-5 was on patrol.Under the command of Capitan de Navio Ernesto Garcia the submarine had left Valencia on March 18th en route to the Italian supply lines of the Nationalists 2 days before Ship 44 had taken the guise of a Greek freighter The raider was approaching Majorca At 13:30 hrs. The port bridge watch reported torpedo tracks bearing 349°T Hartmann ordered hard to port but It was too late the first torpedo slammed into the ship under the aircraft hold. The second torpedo detonated 300-500m away Hartmann at once steered for the Island in hopes of beaching the raider, no sooner had he given the order that a second torpedo struck astern in the area of the aft magazine a colossal explosion engulfed the raider before anyone could escape. Of the 430 officers and ratings there were no survivors.

Ship 44 had been at sea for 141 days sailed 57,000 km and had sunk 62,000 grt of shipping. The crew were posthumously awarded the Iron Cross I and II class as well as the Spanish Cross in Silver and the
Kommandant the Spanish Cross in Gold

[CPTLTJASON]

From the Kommandant, Officers, and Ratings of the Merchant raider "Afrika" we wish y'all a blessed and Merry Christmas!

[CPTLTJASON]

During the first and second world wars submarines posed the greatest threat to England’s supply lines. Operating mainly in the Atlantic and Mediterranean they sank over ¾ of allied shipping despite this they had limited range and couldn’t operate independently against England’s global empire, so the Germans developed other ways to sink vessels around the world by using surface warships and disguised commerce raiders to sink over 1,500,000 tons of shipping and above all they tied down allied warships hunting them.
11 merchants in total were converted , 9 made it to sea however, there was a 12th raider her identity never established by Bletchley Park. She was a large, dreaded merchant raider rumored doomed to sail the 7 seas for eternity this is the story of the Merchant Raider “Stortebecker”..................

The raider began her career as a freighter of the DDG Hansa Line’s Ehrenfels Class of motorships, she was the “Weserfels”7,000 grt built at the Deshimag A.G. Weser Werft, Bremen in 1936 she entered commercial service in 1938 and ran the Hansa Line’s East Asia Route from Calcutta to Hamburg. On returning from a voyage from Calcutta the Weserfels docked early at Hamburg and by the afternoon she was in the hands of the Kriegsmarine who intended to use her as supply ship for the raging Spanish Civil War instead the Seekriegslietung had a different fate for the ship she was to be converted into the navy’s first commerce raider but not just any commerce raider for a year and half the vessel was transformed from her peaceful 509ft hull into a heavily armed 660ft raider capable of sustaining operations for over 330 days. The conversion took place at the shipyard that brought her to life, A.G. Weser Werft. During this time the SKL assigned her a captain, FKpt.z.S Hans Felix Hartmann an artillery officer aboard the Pocket Battleship Deutschland. He had just received command of the Minesweeper M-39 three months prior after being injured aboard the Deutschland. With enthusiasm for the new command Hartmann began to pour over the available material from raiders of the Great War and had lengthy conversations with Karl August Nerger commander of the Hilfskreuzer Wolf. After this Hartmann began assembling his crew rejecting the navy’s recommendations and demanding officers, petty officers, and ratings by name by mid-April the crew was assembled in barracks at Bremen awaiting their vessel’s completion.
By early May the conversion was complete and soon HSK-14 was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as “Schiff Nr.77” all the while retaining her original name “Weserfels”. Schiff 77 proceeded to Kiel from Bremen via Bremerhaven where she took on the tremendous number of provisions, stores, equipment, fuel, coal, water, among other things on arriving to Kiel the raider took aboard her reconnaissance aircraft 5 x Arado Ar 196 A-1 aircraft 2 assembled and 3 in five ton crates.
Another month of training cruises followed by a brief stay in Kiel while Hartmann proceeded to Berlin to receive the final briefing from GAdm Reader himself.
Ship 77 will depart as part of Operation “Fall Weiss”.

[CPTLTJASON]

8/12/1939 Baltic, Kiel Harbor, 1st day at sea

After months of preparations and training the starboard watch is called at midnight and Ship 77 weighs anchor at 01:00 hrs. her last links to Germany severed the raider slowly moves away from the pier during the last 2 nights the vessel was painted all grey is now disguised as a German Transport under the Reich Service Flag.
1. Outer hull painted grey
2. On deck winches, hatches, ventilators, etc. grey
3. Superstructure grey
4. Smokestack grey length unchanged
5. Masts grey, searchlights removed
6. Pole masts and cargo booms put up
7. Cannons I and X not disguised both painted grey
8. Boats setout
9. Draft marks fitted
10. German flag hoisted on roof of signal deck.
In accordance with her outbound orders Ship 77 is to make for Point Red 10 and meet her escorts.

[CPTLTJASON]

8/29/1939 Norwegian Sea 138 km East of Jan Mayern Island 18th day at sea

Ship 77 made it through the Skagerrak without incident. A radio message came through ordering Ship 77 to put into Wilhelmshaven to pickup supplies and men not available at Kiel. She arrived at night and took aboard 19 crates, 2 officers, and 10 ratings. She remained there for 10 days before casting off for the last time in the meantime Hartmann was promoted to Kapitan.z.S. The crossing through the North Sea was uneventful except for the sighing of a freighter. On the 28th Ship 77’s meteorologists Kplt Dr. Wurst and L.z.S Dr. Klein predicted unfavorable weather through the Denmark Strait, so Hartmann decided to take the ship off Jan Mayern to 1. Wait for conditions to deteriorate and 2. Change the ship’s disguise to that of a British vessel. Ship 77 arrived early on the 29thand soon the I. Officer Fkpt Baumgartner organized work parties and soon work commenced on the new disguise,
1.Hull painted black
2.Superstructure white
3.Masts, winches, ventilators, etc. painted yellow
4.Camouflage for 3.7cm painted brown
5. 2nd pair of derricks removed
6.Funnel raised and painted black
7.Boats painted grey
8.Fore ventilators painted yellow and raised
9.Cannons I and X camouflaged

The Leichte Schnellboote is taken for a test run and the Kommandant of LS-33 Oblt.z.S Fredrich Hemmer reported no major defects on its first deployment. Weather is forecast to improve with the approach of heavy rain and fog in 48-72hrs.

[CPTLTJASON]

9/10/1939 North Atlantic 30th day at sea (43°7’N, 34°55’W)

Since the last report conditions have deteriorated and one does not refer to the weather, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland at 05:00 hrs. on September 1, 1939 just as Ship 77 began her transit to the Denmark Strait. On Sunday the 3rd on the outskirts of the strait the main radio room picked up the message that England had declared war on Germany. The passage through the Denmark Strait was successful and now Ship 77 begins the trek south on the 5th she received the first radio message from the Seekriegslietung (SKL) informing that they would take command before Ship 77 crossed 40°N. So far, the passage through the Atlantic has been quiet only sighting a neutral Swedish freighter at night on the 8th.Hartmann is not authorized to engage in commerce warfare until September 21st. at 16:00 hrs. on the 9th Ship 77 passed 45°N and will soon signal this to the SKL. While the transit to the operational area continues the crew carry on with the usual shipboard routine and maintenance. Hartmann expects to be in the operations area by the 15th.

[CPTLTJASON]

9/22/1939 Central Atlantic □ 5556 DF 30°52’N, 39°25’W 42ndday at sea

Ship 77 crossed 40°N late on the 11th and come under command of the SKL. The first radio message came in for the raider to meet the tanker NORDMARK in □ 5556 DF. Ship 77 arrived on the 13th and Kapitan.z.S Hartmann boarded the tanker for a conference with FKpt.d.R Grau discussions resulted in a solid plan for commerce warfare in the Central Atlantic. The Seekriegslietung informed Hartmann that the pocket battleship Deutschland was operating in the North Atlantic as far as Bermuda and The Admiral Graf Spee operating in the area of the Pernambuco area and will work its way south towards the Indian Ocean. Hartmann was given freedom to operate from 30°-10°N, 90°-10°W. Hartmann also plans to raid in the Caribbean Sea. Ship 77 took on 300 tons of diesel fuel and topped off provisions. Ship 77 parted ways with the NORDMARK at 15:00 hrs. Hartmann plans to operate along the West Indies routes. At 17:25 hrs. the NORDMARK was out of sight.

For Ship 77 and her crew their hour had arrived and the raids for which they would gain undying fame were about to begin................

[CPTLTJASON]

9/28/39 Central Atlantic 48th day at sea 25°41’N, 58°28’W

Schiff 77 arrives at her operational area and launches one of her Arado Ar 196 A-1 aircraft reconnaissance flight under O.Fldwl Deutsch (pilot/Luftwaffe) and L.z.S Lemke (observer/Kriegsmarine). The aircraft carries out a reconnaissance flight to the east while Schiff 77 proceeds at cruising speed, 10 knots, 1 engine in zigzags along the shipping lanes. At 11:30 hrs. lookouts on the fore crosstrees report a smoke column bearing 310°T range 18,000m range is closed to 9,000m the vessel is identified as a neutral Norwegian tanker, at 11:44 hrs. battle ensign hoisted and the ship decamouflaged, Kapitan.z.S Hartmann ordered the port 12.7cm to open fire and a shot is fired across the tanker’s bow, from the signal deck the flags are hoisted “Stop at once, do not use wireless”. The Norwegian blasts her horn 3 times signaling she is coming to a stop the heavily armed boarding commando is sent, under the command of L.z.S Schmidt, consisting of 4 officers, 8 petty officers, and 30 ratings. The following information was obtained,
Norwegian tanker TUNAS 3,574 grt (KFLS) of the Norwegian Tanker Line Co.Ltd. Oslo loaded with 4,000 tons of gasoline from Willemstad to Southampton via Kingston under the command of Captain G.K. Gunderson with a crew of 45. The agent was British (Jones and Sons Ltd, London). Kapitan.z.S Hartmann decided to sink the vessel since no radio message had been sent Schiff 77 took her first prize quietly. At 13:02 hrs. the Tunas sank beneath the waves.

Kapitan.z.S Hartmann plans to remain in the area until October 10th before making for the Mona Passage into the Caribbean. Schiff 77 will cruise off the coasts of South America in search of oil tankers. Schiff 77 will retain the British disguise. The Graf Spee will clear the South Atlantic by December; therefore Schiff 77 will remain as long as possible in the Caribbean then moving into the Central Atlantic, Operating between the Azores and Freetown.

[CPTLTJASON]

10/22/1939 Caribbean Sea 10°48’N, 76°19’W, 120nm NW of Punta de Manzanillo 72nd day at sea

Since the last report Kapitan.z.S Hartmann decided to raid Bermuda, by the time Ship 77 made it to Bermuda the pocket battleship Deutschland had already cleared the area. But said vessel caused the intelligence reports by the B-Dienst to be outdated, which stated that there were at least 8 English vessels in the harbor. On October 3rd Ship 77 arrived off the coast of Bermuda, her aft 15cm camouflage being removed, proceeded into the harbor disguised as a British freighter, under the cover of darkness she arrived off Hamilton only to find all the anchorages empty. Immediately Kapitan.z.S Hartmann steered Ship 77 out of the harbor encountering neutral warships who didn’t challenge the raider, however she was 22km from Whale Bone Bay when a large tanker and small British freighter was sighted, taking a great risk Hartmann turned hard to starboard, decamouflaged, and opened fire with 6 15 cm/48 Tbts KC/36 guns the aft guns engaged the smaller freighter while the fore guns engaged the larger tanker, after 11 salvos both vessels were on fire and sinking fast, the tanker began to transmit but the main radio room managed to jam the signals. Hartmann ordered the V-boat launched at once and soon 171 survivors were picked up, The torpedo officer Oblt.z.S(T)Becker launched 2 torpedoes which missed both their targets in spite of the close range.

British freighter CAMBRIDGE 2,009 grt (JFHS) and DALE 17,423 grt (HKSF) as it later turned out both vessels were operating directly for the Royal Navy and were crewed by Royal Navy crews, both departed Liverpool and arrived at Halifax before making for Bermuda then to Aruba, where from there they were to proceed independently to Colombo, Ceylon. Ship 77 steered towards the Caribbean, by the 14th she was off the coast of Puerto Rico and the following day transited the Mona Passage and at 10:53 hrs. 26km off Haiti was in the Caribbean, now making for Aruba. After cruising for 3 days nothing was sighted so Ship 77 changed course and cruised off the coasts of Colombia and Panama with the goal of making it to the shipping lanes off the Panama Canal. On the night of the 22nd a shadow was seen and she was identified as a British freighter, again the ship hoisted the battle flag, decamouflaged, and switched on her searchlight (Searchlight Nr.II) the 12.7cm fires a shot across her bow however the English began to transmit “RRR...........” before the main radio room jammed the transmissions. 3 15cm (Cannon VII, IX, and X) opened fire 6 salvos send the vessel to the bottom. 2 lifeboats were recovered. 3rd mate most senior survivor was questioned, the freighter was the HAMMOND 2,009 grt (TYFB) from the Royal Line Ltd., London from Perth to London via the Panama Canal loaded with tires, wood, steel plate, and general cargo.

Hartmann is now considering where to take the raider.............

[iambecomelife]

Nice shots, this thread's a gem - would be interesting to see how well your ship would do against a light cruiser - like the "Sydney" & "Kormoran" duel. Too bad there's no class that looks like Sydney in SH5!

Anyway keep it up!

[CPTLTJASON]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Nice shots, this thread's a gem - would be interesting to see how well your ship would do against a light cruiser - like the "Sydney" & "Kormoran" duel. Too bad there's no class that looks like Sydney in SH5!

Anyway keep it up!

Thank you, maybe Ship 77 might stand a better chance since it has the more modern 15cm tbtsk c/36 guns unlike the WWI guns of that were typically mounted on raiders during WWII and unlike the 6 all carried Ship 77 has 10 total meaning that a broadside would consist of 6 instead of 4 cannons. However like all merchant raiders she is just a modified freighter and in a said duel the result would probably be the same a single hit would blow the ship apart (example would be the Pinguin). Its too bad that one cant create new ships in SH5 id like to see how this raider would've preformed against other commerce raiders.

[CPTLTJASON]

11/4/1939 Caribbean Sea Point Trafalgar 86th day at sea

Since the last report Ship 77 sighted the neutral Spanish freighter CADIZ 7,471 grt (ZJFB) on identifying the freighter as neutral Ship 77 broke off pursuit and moved further into the Caribbean to continue the hunt. On the 23rd a freighter was sighted, the Ben Line freighter BENSON 3,024 grt (TLOK) British, from Colon to Liverpool with a cargo of rubber was sunk. 3 days later a Brazilian neutral was sighted early in the morning and was intercepted by Ship 77 she hoisted her battle flag and decamouflaged, she signaled in international code, “Stop at once, do not use wireless” the neutral came quickly to a stop and Boarding Commando Nr. I under the command of L.z.S Schmidt boarded the freighter and based on the investigation conducted determined that she was sailing with cargo destined for England, the freighter was proceeding from Rio de Janeiro to Kingston with 5,000 tons of grain, mail and general cargo. The vessel was at first attempted to be sunk with scuttling charges, this failed so 2 15cm guns opened fire, realizing the waste Kapitan.z.S Hartmann ordered the Torpedo Officer Oblt.z.S(T)Becker to fire a precious torpedo into the vessel, at 07:15 the torpedo hit under the bridge and 1 hour later the freighter sank beneath the waves. SPARROW 4,874 grt (FDGU) Brazilian.

So far Ship 77 has sunk 6 ships for 35,046 grt. Afterwards Ship 77 made for Point Trafalgar where for 10 days Hartmann and his officers make plans to raid the British Port of Kingston where according to the captain of the Brazilian freighter that the port was unprotected and that there are numerous British vessels in the harbor, therefore the ship moves deeper into the Caribbean where she is painted in a special painted scheme, she is painted all black from stem to stern, funnel is raised, and 2 lifeboats with davits added aft.

[CPTLTJASON]

11/10/1939 Caribbean Sea 91st day at sea

With the camouflage complete Ship 77 sets sail for the Port of Kingston. She arrived 2 days later and 10km southeast of Wreck Reef Ship 77 launched the Leichte Schnellboote to lay mine fields and afterwards conduct reconnaissance. 2 Arado Ar 196 A-1 are launched for reconnaissance.
At 17:30 hrs. Ship 77 entered Kingston Harbor and made for the main anchorage, shortly before opening fire 3 V-boats were sent with a detachment of the 8.Marine Stosstrupp Kompanie to raid the harbor where they destroyed oil storage tanks and dockyard facilities., at 17:55 hrs. the Kriegsmarine flag was hoisted, camouflage dropped, and at 18:00 hrs. the entire battery opened fire, shuttering the 616ft ship from stem to stern. Soon searchlights illuminated the entire harbor, however she continued to pump salvo after salvo as it turns out well over a dozen ships were in the harbor awaiting an escort to arrive from Freetown to escort them to England. By 04:00 hrs. the shelling stopped, with torpedoes, artillery, and the raids conducted by the 8.Marine Stosstrupp Kompanie as well as her Leichte Schnellboote which laid 2 small minefields at the harbor entrance. The merchant raider sank 16 ships for 118,430 grt, destroyed 6 oil tanks for 150,000 tons of fuel, 3 cranes, railroad tracks, 69 railroad cars, and 3 vehicles.

Freighter 7,066 grt
“” 7,016 grt
“” 2,366 grt
“” 2,316 grt
“” 3,426 grt
“” 3,419 grt
“” 7,173 grt
AMC 14,463 grt
“” 14,314 grt
Tanker 17,397 grt
“” 17,397 grt
“” 4,077 grt
“” 4,500 grt
“” 4,500 grt
“” 4,500 grt
“” 4,500 grt
Total: 118,430 grt

6 x oil tanks (25,000 tons ea.) 150,000 tons of oil burned.
3 x 6 ton cranes
6 x railroad lines coming into the harbor and a small marshaling yard
2 x Steam locomotives
69 x Railroad cars
3 x vehicles (trucks)
(449 shells and 6 torpedoes fired.)

Ship 77 departed the harbor at 06:00 hrs. As she was departing a Royal Navy vessel attempted to pursue but ran aground, she was the trawler HMS UNSTOPPABLE 4,000 grt, on the bridge was Admiral Norrington commander of Port Kingston who to say the least, was infuriated, helpless he watched the mystery raider sail away. Ship 77 pressed on stopping 10km south of Wreck Point to recover 2 Arado Ar 196 A-1 aircraft and the Leichte Schnellboote. For the next 4 days she sailed at full speed, with the Kriegsmarine flag hoisted high on the mainmast, she stopped once again in the middle of the Caribbean she changed her disguise once again to a neutral Mexican freighter, the 8,700 grt steamer TAMPICO home port Acapulco belonging to the Mexican Aztec Shipping Co.Ltd, Mexico City
Changes made to the auxiliary cruiser,
1. Outer hull painted black.
2. Superstructure painted white, upper bridge and signal deck painted brown.
3. On deck hatches, ventilators, winches, etc. painted light brown.
4. Awning from signal deck partially removed.
5. 2 derricks added aft of the superstructure, both painted brown
6. Funnel lowered, painted top black with dark red bottom, 2 thin white bands.
7. Deck house built on aft part of the boat deck; 2 ventilators added.
8. 2 derricks added aft of the mainmast booms.
9. Mexican neutrality markings painted on the hull amidships, TAMPICO and MEXICO along with 2 Mexican flags one to port one to starboard.
10. 2 derricks added ahead of the foremast booms.
11. 2 large lifeboats added between boats V and VI and the bridge.
Kapitan.z.S Hartmann as usual takes a V-Boat out to inspect the ship’s camouflage and is once again satisfied with the work, Ship 77 will now proceed for the Aruba area once again before making for the Yucatan Channel and the Gulf of Mexico. After that Ship 77 will make for the Atlantic via the Straits of Florida and proceed to operate between England, France and the Azores. By the end of the year the Seekriegslietung is expected to give clearance for Ship 77 to make for the South Atlantic.

Captions for pictures,
1.Ship 77 in the Caribbean shortly after the raid
2.Ship 77 photographed by L.z.S(PK) Sons aboard Leichte Schnellboote (LS 33)
3-7.Following 5 pictures taken by the men of the 8.Marine Stosstrupp Kompanie Kommandant Oblt.z.S(MA.E) von Lindner
9.Current disguise of Ship 77
10.Ship 77 painted in her special camouflage with flags flown during the raid