German Convoy Raiders

[Jeremy Scott]

A friend of mine recently got into an argument over a rumour, that one of the German trawler-raiders was sunk somewhere in the indian ocean, sometime in early or mid 41. He says that was impossible cause it would have been out of range for him to operate that far east. But also didnt the Germans have a base on Madagasscar? That could have helped out. Could someone please back me up

[Christoph Awender]

Well, the german auxiliary cruisers operated even much more east than the indian ocean.

Hilfskreuzer Pinguin (HSK 5) was sunk by HMS Cornwall south of the Seychellen on 8.5.1941.
Hilfskreuzer Kormoran (HSK 8) has to be given up after heavily damaged by cruiser Sydney off the coast of Australia on 19.11.1941.

Yes, Madagaskar was a base where the cruisers were able to be supplied plus several other possibilities in Japan etc...
Also it was possible to be supplied by other ships or submarines.

\Christoph

[varjag]

Christoph - u have to amplify that bit about the Kriegsmarine drawing supplies in Madagascar...I think u are wrong there, the British pretty much controlled what happened in Madagascar despite it's French status. The Kriegsmarine had supply facilities made available to them at Penang and Singapore after the Japanese push in 1942. The only small or 'trawlerlike' ship that I can recall was a Norwegian whale-catcher, Pol X, that the German raider PINGUIN roped in with the Norwegian whaling fleet in Antarctica in 1940. All the other catchers and the mother-ship Ole Wegger - were sent back to Europe but Pol X was retained by PINGUIN under the name ADJUTANT and gave sterling service before I believe it was sunk by the Germans themselves as having outlived it's usefulness. But the main German supply-base was in 'Andalusien' - code-name of an area of the South Atlantic little frequented by shipping - and centred around the supply-tanker NORDMARK. In fact they were so successful for a time that Andalusien jokingly was called Verpflegungsamt Wilhelmshafen Süd......

[Christoph Awender]

Yes, I was wrong with MAdagaskar sorry

\Christoph