HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An armed merchantman is a
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail,
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and
privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade. In more modern times, auxiliary cruisers were used offensively as merchant raiders to disrupt trade chiefly during both World War I and World War II, particularly by Germany. While armed merchantmen are clearly inferior to purpose-built warships, sometimes they have scored successes in combat against them. Examples include East Indiamen mimicking ships of the line and chasing off regular French warships in the Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804, and the sinking the Australian light cruiser in their battle in 1941, although ''Kormoran'' was also destroyed and had to be scuttled.


Pre-20th century

East Indiamen of various European countries were heavily armed for their long journeys to the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...
. In particularly dangerous times, such as when the home countries were at war, a convoy system would be used whereby the ships were escorted by a warship. However, many East Indiamen also travelled on their own, and therefore were heavily armed in order to defend themselves against pirates and
privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s. They also defended themselves against warships, scoring signal victories at the Battle of Pulo Aura and the
action of 4 August 1800 The action of 4 August 1800 was a highly unusual naval engagement that took place off the Brazilian coast during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French frigate force that had been raiding British commerce off West Africa approached and attem ...
. The British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
purchased several that it converted to ships of the line.


Development of auxiliary cruisers

In 1856, privateering (or seizure of a belligerent country's merchant ships as a private enterprise) lost international sanction under the Declaration of Paris. From 1861 to 1865 European countries built high-speed ships to run the
Union Blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlanti ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. Some of these were armed and served as Confederate States Navy raiders.
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
purchased three ships in 1878 of armed with guns for use as auxiliary cruisers for a Russian Volunteer Fleet.
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
responded to the precedent by asking their shipping companies to design fast steamers with provision for mounting guns in time of war. In 1890 German and British shipyards built new civilian ships designed for wartime conversion, and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
made similar agreements with their shipyards. In 1892 Russia likewise built two more auxiliary cruisers. In 1895 the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
mobilized the provisional auxiliary cruiser ''Normannia'' for a 15-day trial armed with eight 6-inch guns, two guns, six guns, and two torpedo boats.


20th century

In both World Wars, both
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
used auxiliary cruisers. While the British used armed passenger liners defensively for protecting their shipping, the German approach was to use them offensively to attack enemy shipping.


Armed merchant cruisers

The armed merchant cruisers (AMC) of the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
were employed for convoy protection against enemy warships. They ultimately proved to have limited value and many, particularly ocean liners, were later converted into troopships, a role for which they were more suited. Documentary evidence quoted by the BBC researched from the early stages of the First World War suggests that the express liners had greater speed than most warships (few warships of the period could exceed 21 knots), which made them suitable as AMCs. The downside proved to be their high fuel consumption; using them in a purely AMC role would have burned through the Admiralty reserve supplies of steam coal in less than three months. The ships were vulnerable to enemy fire because they lacked warship armour, and they used local control of guns rather than director fire-control systems, which reduced their effective fire power. A famous AMC of World War I was the British which, after a battle that caused heavy damage on both sides, sank the German auxiliary cruiser near the Brazilian island of Trinidade in 1914. By coincidence, ''Cap Trafalgar'' was disguised as ''Carmania''. In World War II, , the sole escort for
convoy HX 84 Convoy HX 84 was the 84th of the numbered series of Allied North Atlantic HX convoys of merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool, England, during the Battle of the Atlantic. Thirty-eight ships escorted by the armed merchant cruis ...
in November 1940, stood off the pocket battleship , when the German ship attacked the convoy. Though she and five vessels of the convoy were sunk, this enabled the rest of the convoy to escape. Her master, Acting Captain
Edward Fegen Captain Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen, (8 October 1891 – 5 November 1940) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth f ...
was awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...
posthumously for his actions. Another famous action involving an armed merchant cruiser was the November 1939 battle between and the German battlecruisers and . Outgunned, the ''Rawalpindi'' was quickly sunk.


Auxiliary cruisers

The Spanish and United States Navies used auxiliary cruisers during the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
of 1898. In
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, too, American auxiliary cruisers fought several engagements with German U-boats. The German practice was to arm merchantmen with hidden weapons and use them as commerce raiders. An auxiliary cruiser, ''Hilfskreuzer'' or ''Handels-Stör-Kreuzer'' (HSK), usually approached her target under a false flag with guns concealed, and sometimes with her appearance altered with fake funnels and masts and often a fake paint scheme. The victim was thus engaged at point-blank range and had no chance to escape. In World War I, the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
initially used fast passenger ships, such as past holders of the Blue Riband for fastest North Atlantic crossings, but they made obvious and easy targets because of their very familiar silhouettes. The Germans, therefore, soon moved on to using captured and refitted Allied vessels, but principally modified transport ships. These were slower, but less recognizable. In both world wars, these ships were vulnerable to attack, and were withdrawn before the war ended. Many were sunk after being caught by regular warships – an unequal battle, since auxiliary cruisers had poor fire control and no armor. There were, however, a few success stories. was a former passenger liner that sank two freighters in 1914 before being caught by . Her sister ship, , had a legendary journey, sinking or capturing a total of 15 ships in 1914 and 1915, before finally running out of supplies and having to put into port in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, where the Americans interned her and eventually converted her into the United States Navy troop transport USS ''Von Steuben''. The most famous German commerce raider of World War I probably was , a sailing ship under the command of the legendary Count
Felix von Luckner Felix Nikolaus Alexander Georg Graf von Luckner (9 June 1881, Dresden – 13 April 1966, Malmö), sometimes called Count Luckner in English, was a German nobleman, naval officer, author, and sailor who earned the epithet ''Der Seeteufel'' (the ...
. However, both and were each much more successful than ''Seeadler''. In World War II, Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' operated ten very successful auxiliary cruisers, ranging in tonnage from 3,860 to 9,400; typically these vessels were equipped with: * Observation seaplanes * 15 cm (6 in) guns * Smaller armaments (typically hidden away behind specially designed and hinged bulwarks, or beneath fake deckhouses and/or skylights) * Torpedoes * Mines To preserve their cover, these ships flew the flags of neutral or occasionally Allied nations. They were refueled and provisioned from special supply ships, from Japanese island bases or from
prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
they had taken. To counter the effectiveness of these disguises, the Allies introduced the check-mate system in 1942 to identify individual ships on a one-by-one basis with the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
in London. In one incident, the German (ex-merchantman ''Steiermark'') managed to surprise and sink the Australian light cruiser , which approached too close, though ''Kormoran'' was also sunk in the engagement. This was the only occasion in history when an armed merchantman managed to sink a modern warship; in most cases, auxiliary cruiser raiders tried to avoid confrontation with warships. ''Kormoran''s attack upon ''Sydney'' was motivated by desperation. She was not the most successful German raider of World War II (both and scored higher kill tonnages). Another, , was also sunk in a mutually destructive engagement with the American Liberty ship . The only encounters between Allied and Axis auxiliary cruisers in World War II were all with the raider . This small vessel, which captured or sank 22 merchantmen, encountered three British AMCs in her career, defeating and and later sinking HMS ''Voltaire'' in the Action of 4 April 1941. During World War II, German auxiliary cruisers are believed to have either sunk or captured some of Allied shipping. Compare to the
Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...
, which was a disguised merchantman for anti-submarine operations.


Others

The CAM ship (from catapult armed merchantman) was a British merchantman fitted with a catapult that could launch, but not recover, a single fighter aircraft. The
merchant aircraft carrier A merchant aircraft carrier (also known as a MAC ship, the Admiralty's official 'short name') was a limited-purpose aircraft carrier operated under British and Dutch civilian registry during World War II. MAC ships were adapted by adding a flig ...
or "MAC" was a British or Dutch cargo ship with a flight deck that could carry a small number of aircraft. CAM and MAC ships remained as civilian ships operated by civilian crews, with
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...
or Royal Netherlands Navy "air parties".


21st century

Despite a rise in
modern piracy Piracy in the 21st century (commonly known as modern piracy) has taken place in a number of waters around the world, including the Gulf of Guinea, Strait of Malacca, Sulu and Celebes Seas, Indian Ocean, and Falcon Lake. Waters Caribbean ...
, it was up until the early 2010s very unusual for modern merchant ships to be armed, save for maybe a number of small arms and the use of the ship's fire hoses to repel boarders. One notable exception to this were the ships of Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, which are used to transport spent nuclear fuel and reprocessed uranium on behalf of
British Nuclear Fuels Limited British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a manufacturer of nuclear fuel (notably MOX), ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel (mainl ...
. Transporting enough fissile material between them to produce 50–60 nuclear weapons, these ships, beginning with the ''Pacific Pintail'' and ''Pacific Teal'', became armed in 1999 to avoid the cost of a Royal Navy escort. Travelling together in convoy during these ships' intermittent voyages, they have an onboard escort of armed police from the UKAEAC and its successors and are equipped with two or three autocannons. Another exception were various ships of the Soviet Union's Merchant Marine (MORFLOT) during the Cold War (MORFLOT often operated as an adjunct to Soviet foreign and military policy, both overtly and otherwise). In 2007, facing a chronic shortage of naval vessels the Cuban Navy placed into service the ''Rio Damuji'' class of frigates, which are large fishing trawlers converted into warships. In April 2010, it was reported that a Russian company was offering a version of the
3M-54 Klub The 3M-54 Kalibr, (Калибр, caliber), also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza (Бирюза, turquoise), ( NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler and SS-N-30A) is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design ...
missile that could be disguised and launched from a shipping container, in theory enabling any cargo ship to be armed with an anti-ship missile. This type of missile was allegedly capable of disabling or even sinking an aircraft carrier, but "it's not known how many of them would have to hit a carrier to knock it out of action, much less sink it." During the 2011 Libyan civil war, forces loyal to Gaddafi armed several merchant vessels and attempted to use them to blockade the port of Misrata. In October 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that British merchant shipping passing through areas known for
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
were permitted to carry firearms.


Ship list

Since the late 19th century various navies have used armed merchant ships in the role of auxiliary cruisers, also called armed merchant cruisers. Significant use of this type of ship was made by Britain and Germany in both World Wars. Some of the ships used in this role include: * – Saint Paul SP-1643 – Spanish–American War (United States) * – Russo-Japanese War (Japan) * – Russo-Japanese War (Russia) * – World War I (Australia) * – World War I (Germany) * – World War I (Great Britain) * – Spanish Civil War (Nationalist Spain) * – World War II (Germany) * – World War II (Germany) * – World War II (Great Britain) * – World War II (Great Britain) * ''
Ramb I The Italian ship ''Ramb I'' was a pre-war " banana boat" converted to an auxiliary cruiser in World War II. ''Ramb I'' operated as an armed merchant in the Red Sea and was ordered to sail to Japan after the fall of Massawa to the Allies. She w ...
'' – World War II (Italy) * – World War II (Japan) * – World War II (Canada)


See also

*
Armed merchant ship The term armed merchant ship may describe a number of similar ship modifications intended for significantly different missions. The term armed merchantman is generally used. * East Indiaman describes late 18th and early 19th-century sailing ships e ...
* Defensively equipped merchant ship * False flag *
Hired armed vessels During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying and pa ...
* List of auxiliary and merchant cruisers * Merchant raider *
Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...


References


Citations


Sources

* Duffy, James P., ''Hitler's Secret Pirate Fleet'', 2001, Praeger, Westport (Connecticut) and London, * ''The Oxford Companion to World War II'' (2005). *
Alfred von Niezychowski Alfred Graf von Niezychowski (July 28, 1888 – June 13, 1964) was a German count of Polish descent, a lieutenant commander of a German commerce raider ship during World War I, an author and lecturer, and a Michigan political candidate for pub ...
, ''The Cruise of the Kronprinz Wilhelm'', 1928, published by Doubleday.


External links


Hilfskreuzer page


* ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6227214.stm Personal account of Lt. Surgeon J. Robart who served on the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS ''Ranpura'' in World War II
Convoy escort movements for Royal Navy AMCs, World War 2
{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries Ship types Auxiliary cruisers