German auxiliary cruiser Thor
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany
|
|
| Class and type: | Merchant vessel |
| Name: | Santa Cruz |
| Operator: | Oldenburg Portuguese Line (OPDR) |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Laid down: | 1938 |
| Homeport: | Hamburg |
| Fate: | Requisitioned by Kriegsmarine, 1939 |
 Nazi Germany
|
|
| Class and type: | Auxiliary cruiser |
| Name: | Thor |
| Namesake: | Thor |
| Operator: | Kriegsmarine |
| Yard number: | 4 |
| Acquired: | Requisitioned, 1939 |
| Recommissioned: | March 1940 |
| Renamed: | Thor, 1940 |
| Reclassified: | Auxiliary cruiser, 1940 |
| Nickname(s): |
|
| Fate: | Destroyed by fire in Yokohama, Japan, 30 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 3,862 GRT |
| Displacement: | 9,200 tons |
| Length: | 122 m (400 ft) |
| Beam: | 16.7 m (55 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Oil fired steam turbine |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Range: | 40,000 nmi (74,000 km; 46,000 mi) |
| Complement: | 349 |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | 1 Arado Ar 196 A-1 |
Thor (HSK 4) was an auxiliary cruiser of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in World War II, intended for service as a commerce raider. Also known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 10; to the Royal Navy she was Raider E. She was named after the Germanic deity Thor.
Formerly the cargo ship Santa Cruz, she was built by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, (DWH) in 1938, and was owned and operated by the Oldenburg Portuguese Line (OPDR), Hamburg. In the winter of 1939–40 the navy requisitioned her and had her converted into an auxiliary warship by DWH. She was commissioned as the commerce raider Thor in March 1940.
The Thor began its first combat cruise on 6 June 1940, under the command of Captain Otto Kähler.Thor spent 329 days at sea, and sank or captured 12 ships with a combined tonnage of 96,547 gross register tons (GRT).
Thor stopped her first victim on 1 July, the 9290-ton Dutch cargo ship Kertosono, which was carrying a cargo of petrol, timber, asphalt, and agricultural machinery. Kähler decided to send her under a prize crew to Lorient, France, where she arrived safely 12 days later. At the time, Thor was disguised as a Yugoslavian freighter.
On 7 July Thor encountered Delambre, a 7,030 GRT British freighter. Thor fired several broadsides, the third of which hit Delambre, stopping her dead in the water, after which Thor's boarding party scuttled the ship with demolition charges.
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