To keep clear, Thor was to operate well to the southeast. Thor was finally ordered into the Indian Ocean when the Michel arrived to take over the South Atlantic beat. She rounded the Cape of Good Hope on April 22 nd, evading a British armed merchant cruiser in the process, before meeting the tanker Regensburg to re-provision and transfer prisoners. Consultations with the Japanese Navy had led to a division of responsibility in the Indian Ocean – I-boats were active in the west, where the British were about to initiate landings on Madagascar. This ship, the British Wellpark, was then scuttled. Two days later another British freighter, the Willesden, was dispatched in similar fashion, and on April 3 rd the Norwegian freighter Aust was likewise sunk. A third British freighter, the Kirkpool, followed on the 10 th. Embiricos, took off her crew, and sank her with a torpedo. On the 30 th of March Thor shadowed a freighter for several hours before Gumprich sent his Ar 196 into action with orders to use a grappling hook to rip her radio antenna away. This being achieved, the target was unable to escape and after a brief shelling was stopped and boarded. Setting sail again on November 30 th, Thor benefitted from poor weather that helped her slip through the English Channel before she reached La Rochelle in France. She remained there for several days before making an abortive attempt to break out into the Atlantic, which was thwarted by British air patrols. Forced to return to port, she finally left France for good on the 17 th of January, 1942. Turning south, Thor crossed the equator on February 4 th and arrived at her initial patrol area in the South Atlantic by the 25 th.Ī month later she came across the Greek-registered M.A. Thor’s bows were damaged and she had to return to Kiel for repairs. Departing Kiel under a blanket of thick fog, the raider rammed the Swedish ore carrier Bothnia and sank her. Her second cruise got off to an inauspicious start.
Thor also had a new commanding officer, Kapitän-zur-See Günther Gumprich. She was given new 150mm guns and a Seetakt radar, the first to be fitted to an auxiliary cruiser. She retained a single Arado 196 floatplane for reconnaissance, to be flown by Flying Officer Meyer-Ahrens. Thor underwent a thorough refit at Kiel’s naval dockyard. Thor had also survived three different encounters with Royal Navy armed merchant cruisers, sinking one of them, before returning to Germany in April 1941. Thor was equipped with six 150mm guns, four torpedo tubes and a suite of anti-aircraft guns. In June 1940 she set out on her first cruise in the Atlantic, during which she sank 12 ships for a total of almost 100,000 ton. The construction of this ship had been subsidised by the Kriegsmarine, which knew that small, fast merchantmen would make ideal auxiliary warships when the time came.
Known as “Schiff 10” to the Germans and “Raider E” to the British, Thor was one of the smallest of the raiders with a displacement of just under 3,800 tons. Built as a banana boat for the South American trade, she was due to be named Santa Cruz before she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in the spring of 1939 before completion and converted into a merchant cruiser. The next raider to been sent on a cruise in Far-Eastern waters was the Thor. Moreover, the refit will expand the missile silo capacity by 50%, ensuring an increased arsenal at the ship’s disposal.After the loss of the Kormoran on November 19 th, 1941, there were no German auxiliary cruisers still afloat anywhere in the Pacific or Indian oceans. Keen to put pressure on the Royal Navy and force it to defend the sea lanes all over the world, the Kriegsmarine had already decided to send more “hilfskreuzer” to prey on British merchantmen in the far reaches of the world’s oceans. This enhancement will bolster the destroyer’s propulsion, augmenting its speed and manoeuvrability.Īdditionally, the Sea Viper anti-air missile system will undergo improvements, enabling the vessel to counter emerging threats.
Naval actio madagascar refit upgrade#
The forthcoming refit will incorporate the Type 45 Power Improvement Plan, an upgrade that will equip Defender with three new efficient engines, replacing the vessel’s original diesel units. Such achievements demonstrate the vessel’s dedication to maritime security and protecting international waters. The HMS Defender travelled more than 300,000 nautical miles. Defender became the first Type 45 destroyer to undertake winter operations deep within the Arctic Circle. The vessel has traversed the equivalent of 12 circumnavigations of the globe, navigating every major ocean except the Antarctic. HMS Defender has amassed a list of accomplishments since embarking on its maiden voyage from Glasgow over a decade ago. The Royal Navy’s HMS Iron Duke, a Type 23 Frigate, recently returned to sea following a five-year refit.
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