The following is a list, by period and country, of armed merchant ships used since the late 19th century in the role of auxiliary cruisers, also called armed merchant cruisers.
In service 23 Aug. 15-20 Dec 19. 1 of over 60 commissioned AMC's employed on patrol and later convoy protection, 33 served with 10th Cruiser Squadron on Northern Patrol.
Although on the list of the British Admiralty's AMCs, it never performed in this role, and remained in civilian use. Lost 7 May 1915, sunk by U-20. Sister ship of RMS Mauretania, also on this list.
Was serving as an auxiliary transport during the Allied landings in French North Africa in November, 1942. She had disembarked her troops at Bougie and had turned about for home when, toward evening on the 14th, she was bombed and sunk some distance off Bougie. Thirty-one persons were killed. Capt. Parfitt was among the survivors.[3]
Commissioned into the 10th Cruiser Squadron. In 1916, she was refitted with 6-inch guns, and served as a convoy escort ship as well as being used for troop transport.
Formerly a merchant ship under Republican control, she was captured by the Nationalist cruiser Canarias on 8 March 1937 off Santander. Assisted by the minelayer Vulcano, she took the largest foreign prize of the war with the capture of the Greek steamer Victoria, of 6,600 long tons (6,700 t), on 16 May 1938.[5]
A freighter under Republican flag at the beginning of the war, her captain and crew changed loyalties off Bone in September 1937, while returning to Barcelona from the Soviet Union.[5] She seized the last foreign cargo ship captured during the civil war, the British Stangate off Valencia on 16 March 1939, despite the opposition of HMS Sussex.[6][7]
Ciudad de Valencia
She used the alias Nadir for operations in the North Sea. She sank the Republican merchantman Cantabria off Cromer, Norfolk, on 2 November 1938.[8] The Republican steamers Josiña and Guernica were forced to seek shelter in Norwegian and Swedish waters, where the latter ran aground on 19 November at the island of Nidingen, in the Kattegat. Josiña reached Kristiansand, and she remained interned there until 1939.[9][10]
Ciudad de Alicante
She supported the Ciudad de Valencia in the North Sea, where she played a secondary role in the capture of the Republican steamers Sil and Río Miera.[9] Both Ciudad de Alicante and Ciudad de Valencia used the German port of Emdem as a resupply base.[11]
Ciudad de Palma
Converted to a warship in Italy in 1936. She assisted the minelayer Júpiter in the capture of the British cargo ship Candlestone Castle in the Bay of Biscay on 17 July 1937.
Ciudad de Mahón
Captured by the rebels at Palma, she was armed and dispatched to Spanish Guinea, still under Republican control, on 14 October 1936. Once there, waving the Portuguese flag, Ciudad de Mahón entered the ports of Santa Isabel and Bata, where she sank the Republican freighter Fernando Poo.[12]
Vicente Puchol
After an initial deployment as an improvised minelayer, she was later converted to an auxiliary cruiser. She seized the 1,743-ton steamer Pomaron on 21 February 1938. The ship was the property of Strubin & Co. of London, and was sailing under Estonian flag. The freighter was confiscated and placed under Spanish flag as Castillo Butrón.[13]
Antonio Lázaro
After an initial deployment as an improvised minelayer, she was later converted to an auxiliary cruiser. The British liner Llandovery Castle was badly damaged when she struck a mine laid by Lázaro off Cap de Creus on 25 February 1937.[14]
Domine
Active as auxiliary cruiser in the bay of Biscay from September to December 1936. Converted into a fast transport to carry allied moor pilgrims to Mecca in January 1937, she was later deployed in the Mediterranean as supply ship.[15]
Mallorca
Used primarily as a military transport, she captured a number of merchants in the Strait of Gibraltar in 1937.[12]
Italian Barletta
Renamed Rio during operations in the Spanish Civil War. She captured the Greek tanker Burlington (under UK flag) in the central Mediterranean in 1937. Attacked at Palma de Mallorca by Republican bombers on 26 May 1937. After carrying out four missions, she was disarmed and used as supply ship by Nationalist forces before being returned to Italy. She saw service also during WWII under Italian flag.
Italian Adriatico
Renamed Lago during operations in the Spanish Civil War. After three unsuccessful missions, she was disarmed and used as supply ship by Nationalist forces before being returned to Italy. She saw service also during World War II under Italian flag. Sunk by light cruiser HMS Aurora off Cape Bon on 1 December 1941.
World War II
Allied merchant cruisers
The Armed merchant cruisers were made by requisitioning large ships and providing them with guns and other equipment. They ranged from 6,000–22,000 long tons (6,100–22,400 t). The armament varied but six 6 in (150 mm) guns with 3 in (76 mm) guns as secondary was usual. From 1941, many served as troopships.
Mexique (X22) (hit a mine and sunk on 19 June 1940)
German auxiliary cruiser raiders
AtlantisKormoran in 1940, view from a German U-boat
At the outbreak of war, the Kriegsmarine requisitioned a number of fast merchantmen and immediately sent them into naval shipyards to be converted into offensive auxiliary cruisers. These ships had at the time of building been fitted with extra strong decks specifically to facilitate the installation of military equipment when required, but this was the only difference between them and other merchantmen of the period. No precise plans had been drawn up for the conversion of these ships into warships, and consequently the conversion process was painfully long. Compared to the diversity of British auxiliary cruisers, the Hilfskreuzer were standardized insofar as possible. The ships themselves averaged approximately 7,000 long tons (7,100 t). Armament usually consisted of six 6 in guns, two to six torpedo tubes, and an assortment of 40 mm (1.57 in), 37 mm, and 20 mm (0.79 in) automatic weapons. Most of these merchant raiders carried an Arado Ar 196floatplane for reconnaissance. Kormoran, Komet, and Michel were also equipped with small motor torpedo boats. In addition to armament, increased fuel, water, and coal storage had to be provided for as well. Furthermore, the raiders could not abandon the crews of their captures, so space had to be provided for prisoners. The first Hilfskreuzer got under way in March 1940, shortly before the Norwegian campaign.
Japan converted fourteen merchant ships to "armed merchant cruisers" but, by the end of 1943, five had been sunk and seven had been converted back to merchant ships.
Unlike the Germans and the Japanese, none of the armed merchant cruisers (or auxiliary cruisers) of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) were deployed to destroy or capture Allied merchant ships and were mostly used as supply ships or escorts. All of them mounted two 4.7 in (120 mm) guns.
Ramb II - Never active as an Italian armed merchant cruiser and, after being chartered by the Japanese as the Calitea II, lost on 12 January 1945
Ramb III - Converted into an escort vessel and never served as an armed merchant cruiser, she took part of the battle of Otranto
Ramb IV - Converted into a hospital ship and never served as an armed merchant cruiser
Romanian armed merchant cruisers
Dacia
The Romanian Navy had one auxiliary cruiser, Dacia. She was built in France in 1907 as a passenger ship. She was 109 meters long, her beam was 13 meters and her draught was 8 meters, and displaced 4,105 tons. Her top speed was 18 knots (33 km/h). Initially she was an auxiliary minelayer, armed only with two 20 mm anti-aircraft guns and able to carry up to 200 mines. In 1942 she was also armed with three 105 mm naval/AA guns and designated as auxiliary cruiser (crucişător auxiliar).[16]
^Hocking, Charles (1969). Dictionary of disasters at sea during the age of steam : including sailing ships and ships of war lost in action 1824–1962. Lloyd's Register of Shipping.
^Dittmar, Frederick James; Colledge, James Joseph (1972). British warships, 1914–1919. Littlehampton Book Services Ltd. ISBN0-7110-0380-7.
^Heaton, Paul M (1985). Welsh Blockade Runners in the Spanish Civil War. Starling Press. p. 96. ISBN0-9507714-5-7.
^ abGonzález Etchegaray, Rafael (1977). La Marina Mercante y el tráfico marítimo en la Guerra civil (in Spanish). Editorial San Martín. p. 382. ISBN84-7140-150-9.
