German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
Atlantis
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Germany
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| Name: | Goldenfels |
| Owner: | DDG Hansa |
| Operator: | DDG Hansa |
| Port of registry: | Bremen |
| Builder: | Bremer Vulkan |
| Launched: | 1937 |
| Identification: |
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| Fate: | Requisitioned by Kriegsmarine, 1939 |
 Germany
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| Operator: | Kriegsmarine |
| Builder: | DeSchiMAG |
| Yard number: | 2 |
| Commissioned: | 30 November 1939 |
| Renamed: | Atlantis, 1939 |
| Reclassified: | Auxiliary cruiser, 1939 |
| Nickname(s): |
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| Fate: | Sunk, 22 November 1941, in the South Atlantic |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Merchant raider |
| Tonnage: |
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| Displacement: | 17,600 t (17,300 long tons) |
| Length: | 155 m (509 ft) |
| Beam: | 18.7 m (61 ft) |
| Draught: | 8.7 m (29 ft) |
| Installed power: | 7,600 hp (5,700 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Range: | 60,000 nmi (110,000 km; 69,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Endurance: | 250 days |
| Complement: | 349–351 |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × Heinkel He 114C |
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser), or merchant or commerce raider) of the Kriegsmarine, which, in World War II, travelled more than 161,000 km (100,000 mi) in 602 days, and sank or captured 22 ships totaling 144,384 t (142,104 long tons). Atlantis was sunk on 22 November 1941 by the British cruiser HMS Devonshire (39).
She was commanded by Kapitän zur See Bernhard Rogge, who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Commerce raiders do not seek to engage warships, but rather attack enemy merchant shipping; the measures of success are tonnage destroyed (or captured) and time spent at large. Atlantis was second only to Pinguin in tonnage destroyed, and had the longest raiding career of any German commerce raider in either world war.
She had a significant effect on the war in the Far East as a result of her capture of highly significant secret documents from SS Automedon.
A version of the story of Atlantis is told in the film Under Ten Flags with Van Heflin appearing as Captain Rogge.
Built by Bremer Vulkan in 1937, she began her career as the cargo ship Goldenfels, owned and operated by DDG Hansa, Bremen. Goldenfels was powered by two 12-cylinder Single Cycle Double Action diesel engines, built by Bremer Vulkan. She was allocated the Code Letters DOTP. In late 1939 she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine and converted into a warship by DeSchiMAG, Bremen. In November 1939, she was commissioned as the commerce raider Atlantis.
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