''Widder'' (HSK 3) was an

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...

(''Hilfskreuzer'') of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' that was used as a

merchant raider Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels. History Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I (1914–1918), and again early in World War II (1939–1945). The cap ...

in the Second World War. Her Kriegsmarine designation was Schiff 21, to the

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 ...

she was Raider D. The name ''Widder'' (Ram) represents the constellation Aries in German.

Early history

Built for HAPAG, the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

, at

Howaldtswerke Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 18 ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, she was launched in 1930 as the freighter ''Neumark''. After an uneventful career she was requisitioned by the '' Kriegsmarine'' for use as a commerce raider. She was converted for this purpose by Blohm & Voss in late 1939, and commissioned as the raider ''Widder'' on 9 December of that year. She sailed on her first and only raiding voyage in May 1940.

Raider voyage

''Widder'' sailed as part of the Kriegsmarine's first wave of commerce raiders, sailing on 6 May 1940 under the command of ''

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The off ...

'' (later ''

Fregattenkapitän Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy. Address In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...

'')

Helmuth von Ruckteschell Hellmuth von Ruckteschell (22 March 1890 − 24 September 1948) was a German naval officer during World War II; he was one of the most successful merchant raider commanders of Nazi Germany, serving as the captain of the commerce raiders '' Wid ...

. Leaving Germany on 6 May 1940, she made for

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, in Norway. On 13 May the ''Widder'' confronted the British submarine on the surface, enjoining an exchange of gunfire which lasted for over an hour, with no hits for either side. After the engagement, the cruiser sought shelter in

Sandsfjord Sandsfjorden or Sandsfjord is a fjord in Suldal Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord is the northernmost arm of main Boknafjorden in Rogaland county. The fjord begins at the confluence of the Saudafjorden and Hylsfjorden, jus ...

. On 14 May she sailed to the open sea, crossing the Arctic Circle the next day. On 21 August 1940, 800 miles west of the Canary Islands, she sank the , which had been carrying a cargo of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

from

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest a ...

, to Bahía Blanca, Argentina. After refuelling from the auxiliary ship ''Nordmark'', she slipped through the

Denmark Strait The Denmark Strait () or Greenland Strait ( , 'Greenland Sound') is an oceanic strait between Greenland to its northwest and Iceland to its southeast. The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait. Geography The strait connect ...

. Over a 5½ month period she captured and sank ten ships, totalling . The ''Widder'' was reported to have machine-gunned the crew of the SS ''Anglo Saxon'' in their life-boats; one

jolly boat The jolly boat was a type of ship's boat in use during the 18th and 19th centuries. Used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small-scale activities, it was, by the 18th century, one of several types of ship's boat. The de ...

with seven crewmen got away. Over two months later, on 27 October, the last two survivors in the boat landed in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

after a 2,275 mile voyage. One of the two died when his new ship was torpedoed in 1941, the other survived the war and testified against von Ruckteschell, who was sentenced to 10 years for war crimes. He died in prison in 1948. Having completed her mission, she returned to occupied France on 31 October 1940.

Later history

Deemed unsuitable as a

due to persistent drive problems, ''Widder'' was re-christened ''Neumark'', and used as a repair ship in Norway, playing a major role in repairing the battleship in 1943/1944. After the war she was taken into British service as ''Ulysses'', then sold back to Germany as ''Fechenheim'' in 1950 before being wrecked off

in 1955. Her hull was scrapped shortly after. She was one of only two German auxiliary cruisers to survive the war, after one 1940 cruise. Her captain,

, was one of only two German naval commanders convicted of war crimes at the end of the war.

Raiding career

References

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External links

Hilfskreuzer Widder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widder Ships built in Kiel Ships built in Hamburg Shipwrecks in the North Sea World War II commerce raiders World War II cruisers of Germany 1930 ships Maritime incidents in 1955 Auxiliary cruisers of the Kriegsmarine Ships sunk with no fatalities