HSK WIDDER

HSK Widder: The German Merchant Raider in World War II

The HSK Widder, Schiff 21 or Raider D as known to the Allies, was a German auxiliary cruiser and commerce raider during World War II. Operating under the Kriegsmarine, the Widder targeted Allied merchant shipping, sinking or capturing 10 ships totaling 58,644 gross register tons during its one raiding cruise from May to October 1940 before engine issues forced its return to occupied France. The Widder, originally the cargo ship Neumark built for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), was converted into a heavily armed auxiliary cruiser to slip through Allied shipping lanes in disguise with heavy weaponry, while at the same time able to outrun any pursuing warships. This article will look at the design of the HSK Widder, the features that made it special and what the ship’s key roles were in World War II.

Design and origins

The Widder was built as the Neumark and was a cargo ship that was built in 1929 by the Howaldtswerke in Kiel for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). Her displacement was 7,851 tons gross register tonnage, 12,700 tons deadweight tonnage, had a length of 152 meters (499 ft 0 in), a beam of 18.2 meters (59 ft 8 in) and a draught of 8.3 meters (27 ft 2 in). She was powered by two steam turbines taken from the liner New York giving a top speed of 14 knots, but the engines were not very reliable and caused ongoing issues with the ship. The Neumark was the lead ship of a class of six built for trade routes to the Far East and Australia. As the flagship, she measured 7,851 gross register tons, 12,700 deadweight tons, 152 meters (499 ft 0 in) long, with a beam of 18.2 meters (59 ft 8 in) and a draught of 8.3 meters (27 ft 2 in). Her propulsion system of two steam turbines, with a maximum power output of 15,870 horsepower, gave a maximum speed of 14 knots, though the engines caused continual problems. Neumark was designed for long-range trade, with a capacity of 1,445 tons of cargo.

Conversion

Neumark was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine at the end of September 1939 and was converted to an auxiliary cruiser by Blohm+Voss of Hamburg, being commissioned as the Handelsstörkreuzer 3 (HSK-3) on 9 December 1939. Widder was armed with six 15-centimeter (5.9 in) guns that were taken from older warships and could only be brought to bear as a broadside, with a pair aft to allow her to pursue a fleeing target astern. Secondary armament included one 7.5 cm (3.0 in), one 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-tank (AT) gun, and four 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft guns, all of which were kept behind false panels to maintain the disguise of an unarmed merchant ship. In addition, the ship had four torpedo tubes, two above water and two below, as well as 300 sea mines for disrupting shipping lanes and channels. Her Heinkel He 114 seaplane gave the ship an additional reconnaissance capability, although the aircraft was not always reliable in service.

Her steam turbines had a top speed of 14 knots but they had a tendency to overheat and required regular maintenance. Her complement was about 360 crew, commanded by Korvettenkapitän (later Fregattenkapitän) Helmuth von Ruckteschell. To help with her commerce raiding role, the ship had to be able to operate independently in the Atlantic for long periods of time. As such, they were equipped with supplies and provisions to support their voyage and also had to carry extra fuel, plus there were supplies for any prizes that the ship might capture. In addition to standard cargo capacity, this meant they also had to be able to carry mines and prisoners. In order to maintain her disguise as a neutral vessel, a number of camouflage schemes were tried. For the cruise, the Widder was painted grey with the funnel and some other details painted black. Midway through her cruise, the ship altered its camouflage to a blue-gray to better match the prevailing maritime traffic.

Special Features

The Widder was one of nine German merchant raiders that were created to disrupt and attack Allied merchant shipping in the war. This was in response to the Royal Navy’s numerical advantage over the Kriegsmarine and its attempts to blockade Germany, with the goal of bringing an economic blockade against the Allies. In attacking neutral and Allied merchant shipping, the commerce raiders were an asymmetric response to the problem that was able to draw away Allied warships to protect shipping lanes, as well as privateers and even submarines in the case of the Atlantis and Orion. As such, the HSK Widder could combine the use of standard camouflage along with deception and concealment of her weaponry to strike unexpectedly at any of her targets.

The Widder’s role in combat was directly tied to her ability to disguise herself as a neutral or Allied ship. At any given time, she could operate under false flag or signals, and her armament was only exposed in times of combat to protect her disguise. Her guns and their appearance were important to her surprise factor, as most of her victims would sink in under an hour after being attacked by the heavily armed raider. The aircraft would allow her to scout the ocean and was easily stored on board, though its use in combat was limited. In addition to her standard equipment, the ship’s crew were trained in deceptive operations. As an example, they were trained to delay their reactions to radio signals or hails from other ships to test their willingness to engage, allowing her to test her targets and their cargo, all before they realized they were firing upon a warship.

Key Battles and Operations

Atlantic (May–October 1940)

The Widder’s only voyage began on 6 May 1940 with Helmuth von Ruckteschell in command, as she left Kiel as part of the first wave of German commerce raiders that left Germany and Norway that year. After a stop at Bergen, Norway, the Widder set out on her voyage on 12 May, disguised as a neutral vessel. On 13 May, while in the Denmark Strait, she encountered the British submarine HMS Clyde, which fired on the raider without effect. After a short gunnery duel, the Widder slipped away and put in at Raudöy, where she rendezvoused with the tanker Nordmark on 16 May and took on supplies and fuel. After crossing the Denmark Strait, the Widder entered the North Atlantic on 20 May and spent the next few months hunting for prey in the central-western portions of the Atlantic shipping lanes.

On 10 June 1940, the Widder sank the British tanker British Petrol (6,891 tons) with gunfire, after having her crew taken prisoner. On 13 June, she sank the Norwegian tanker Krossfonn (9,323 tons) in what was the only capture of the cruise, as the ship was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine with a German crew and sent to France. On 26 June, the British merchant ship Llanarth (4,937 tons) was sunk after her crew were taken prisoner. On 8 July, the Widder sank the British freighter Davisian (6,433 tons), while on 4 August, she sank the Norwegian tanker Beaulieu (6,113 tons) and, on 8 August, the Dutch freighter Oostplevier (5,529 tons). These five ships all went down in under an hour after being hit by the raider, with her hidden guns giving her a surprise advantage over all of her victims.

On 10 August, the Widder sank the British collier Anglo Saxon (5,596 tons), for which Ruckteschell was later convicted of war crimes. After the ship was sunk, several members of the German crew proceeded to machine-gun the survivors in their lifeboats, though only one lifeboat with seven of the crew survived. Two of the men made it to the Bahamas, having drifted for 2,275 miles, and the testimony of one of them led to Ruckteschell’s 1947 war crimes conviction. The court-martial sentenced the captain to 10 years in prison, and he died in prison in 1948. On 2 September, the Greek steamer Antonios Chandris (5,866 tons) was sunk, as was the British tanker Cymbeline (6,258 tons) on 8 September and the Swedish freighter Killoran (4,828 tons) on 17 September. The Widder’s final victim of the cruise, on 2 October, was the Norwegian steamer Emma (3,696 tons).

In order to allow the ship to keep up its raiding voyage, a number of supply ships were contacted. On 5 June, the Widder met the German motorship Königsberg and exchanged its fuel oil for supplies, and the tanker Rekum, off Tenerife on 29 July. On 16 September, the Widder was refueled and provisioned by the Eurofeld. Ruckteschell ordered his crew to return to Germany early due to the turbine damage, which had reduced the ship’s speed to 11 knots. Opting to risk the narrow English Channel rather than travel around the British Isles, the Widder successfully ran the blockade and reached Brest, France, on 31 October 1940. The ship had sunk nine and captured one ship, for a total of 58,644 tons sunk or captured.

Post-Raiding

Due to her engine issues, the Widder was deemed unsuitable for a second cruise and was returned to HAPAG, being renamed Neumark and serving as a repair ship in Norway from 1943–1944 in which she repaired the battleship Tirpitz. Neumark was renamed Ulysses and was assigned to the British Ionian Maritime Co. in 1946, but the propulsion issues persisted and she was sold back to Germany in 1951 as Fechenheim. In this role, she was refitted with a Fiat diesel engine and was used to transport iron ore before grounding in Måløy, Norway, on 3 October 1955. The ship was broken in two on 8 October.

Aftermath

The Widder’s single cruise put a dent into Allied shipping during the war and forced the Allies to patrol shipping lanes more closely, causing attrition in their naval forces. The success of the Widder despite her problems with machinery also led to other nations to employ similar raiders during the war, with commerce raiding still in use today. The infamous sinking of the Anglo Saxon remains a stain on the record of the ship, even though it was a legal attack under the rules of war at the time. Her later career was a repair ship, but her work with the Tirpitz may have prolonged its service and use by the Kriegsmarine.

Legacy

The Widder was a reminder of how Germany was able to break through the Allied blockade through the use of deception and by stretching their limited resources to the fullest. The cruiser was able to disrupt Allied shipping for a number of months and sink or capture enough tonnage to seriously damage the enemy. As the war went on, it became apparent that this strategy was going to be necessary if the Kriegsmarine were to be able to meet the Royal Navy in the Atlantic, but the conversion from merchant ships to raiders limited their range and ability to fight. This would remain a problem for her sister ships as well, as most raiders were plagued by mechanical and other issues as the war went on.

final thoughts

The HSK Widder, a converted cargo ship, was armed with six 15-centimeter guns and a number of torpedo tubes, anti-aircraft guns and mines for combat in her role as a commerce raider. Designed to slip unnoticed through Allied shipping lanes in the Atlantic and raid merchant shipping, the ship had a great deal of success during its one cruise between May and October of 1940. Capturing or sinking 10 ships for a total of 58,644 gross register tons, the Widder made a major contribution to the Kriegsmarine’s commerce-raiding strategy of stretching the thin resources to fight a stronger enemy. The ship had a long career post-raid as a repair ship in Norway and eventually became a cargo ship, but her service during the war made a significant impact on the war.