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''Orion'' (HSK-1) 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 lo ...
of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
which operated 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
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...
built her in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
in 1930–31 as the
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
''Kurmark''. The navy requisitioned her at the start of World War II, had her converted into the auxiliary cruiser ''Orion'', and commissioned her on 9 December 1939. Known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 36, her
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
designation was Raider A. She was named after the constellation
Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...
.


Construction and conversion

Blohm & Voss in Hamburg built the ship as a freighter for the
Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-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 Germ ...
(HAPAG). To save money,
steam turbines A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
from the liner ''New York'' were re-used. That proved a poor decision, since the ''Orion'' was plagued for her entire life by engine problems. After the war began, the German ''Seekriegsleitung'' (Naval Operations Command) was ill-prepared for raider warfare. The operations of the German auxiliary cruisers of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
were evaluated by German military planners and considered a great success, having disrupted British merchant shipping around the world. However the overall effect on the war was evaluated as having been rather minor and so only a small program of converting merchant ships into auxiliary cruisers was initiated on 5 September 1939. The first two ships being requisitioned were the ''Kurmark'' (''Orion'') and the ''Neumark'' (), and conversion started immediately.


Raider voyage

One of Germany's first auxiliary cruisers in World War II, ''Orion'' left Germany on 6 April 1940, under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän'' (later ''Fregattenkapitän'') Kurt Weyher. Disguised as a neutral ship she passed south through the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
, where she attacked and sank , a freighter. In May 1940 ''Orion'' rounded
Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
and entered the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. She entered New Zealand waters in June 1940 and laid mines off
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
during the night of 13–14 June 1940, one of which sank the
ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
five days later. Two other ships struck mines from ''Orion'', as did two trawlers and an auxiliary minesweeper. ''Orion'' then raided across the
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
and Pacific Oceans attacking four more ships. One ship, the Norwegian freighter ''Tropic Sea'', was captured without a fight and sent to
occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
as a prize, though she was scuttled in the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...
after encountering . The other ships encountered by ''Orion'' were sunk. On 20 October 1940 she rendezvoused with the and supply ship Kulmerland. Operating together, they sank another seven ships, including the liner and five ships off Nauru, before going their separate ways in the new year. The German
naval attaché A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...
to Japan, Vice-Admiral
Paul Wenneker Paul Werner Wenneker (27 February 1890 – 17 October 1979) was a German admiral and diplomat who was most notable for serving as the German naval attaché in Japan from 1940 until the end of World War II in 1945. He served as the commanding admir ...
, bought a
Nakajima E8N The Nakajima E8N was a Japanese ship-borne, catapult-launched, reconnaissance seaplane of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was a single-engine, two-seat biplane with a central main-float and underwing outriggers. During the Pacific War, it was ...
float plane early in 1941. It was dispatched on board the supply ship ''Münsterland'' to rendezvous with ''Orion'' at the
Maug Islands Maug (from the Chamorro name for the islands, Ma'ok, meaning 'steadfast' or 'everlasting') consists of a group of three small uninhabited islands. This island group is part of the Northern Islands Municipality of the Commonwealth of the North ...
in the Northern Marianas. They met on 1 February 1941, and ''Orion'' thus became the only German naval ship of World War II to use a Japanese float plane. Another six months cruising in the Indian Ocean yielded nothing, though she did encounter and capture her final victim, , in July 1941, in the South Atlantic when ''Orion'' was on her way home. ''Orion'' returned to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
in occupied France on 23 August 1941. After 510 days and at sea she had sunk ten ships with a combined tonnage of , plus two more (totalling ) in cooperation with ''Komet''. The German freighter ''Anneliese Essberger'', disguised as the Norwegian freighter ''Herstein'', was meant to meet the ''Orion'' on 30 Aug. 1941. The planned rendezvous was Point Corona at 28 degrees N, 43 degrees W. But the freighter failed to see the ''Orion'', and continued north.


Later history

De-commissioned as a commerce raider, the ship was renamed ''Hektor'' in 1944 and was used as artillery training ship. In January 1945 she was again renamed ''Orion'' and was used to take refugees from Germany's eastern provinces across the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
to ports in northern Germany and occupied Denmark. On her way to
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
on 4 May 1945, after she had picked up the crew of the old battleship , ''Orion'' was hit by two bombs dropped by aircraft of the Soviet 51st Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment off Swinemünde. The crew managed to beach the fiercely burning ship on a sandbank, but more than 150 passengers and crew were killed. The hulk was scrapped in 1952.


Raiding history


Sunk by ''Orion''

*1940-04-24 ''Haxby'' *1940-06-19 ''Tropic Sea'' *1940-08-16 ''Notou'' *1940-08-20 ''Turakina'' *1940-10-14 ''Ringwood'' *1941-07-29 ''Chaucer''


Sunk by mines laid by ''Orion''

*1940-06-19 * 1941-05-14 (The claims by several sources that the freighters ''Port Bowen'' and ''Baltannic'' were also victims of the Orion's mines, seem, on examination of the records now available, to be unsubstantiated.)


In concert with'' Komet''

*1940-11-25 ''Holmwood'' *1940-11-27 *1940-12-06 ''Triona'' *1940-12-08 ''Triadic'' *1940-12-08 ''Triaster''


Notes


References

* * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orion 1930 ships Auxiliary cruisers of the Kriegsmarine Cruisers sunk by aircraft Maritime incidents in May 1945 Ships built in Hamburg Ships of the Hamburg America Line Ships sunk by Soviet aircraft Steamships of Germany World War II commerce raiders World War II cruisers of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea