German Auxiliary Cruiser Pinguin - Pinguin Voyage

Pinguin Voyage

Pinguin was one of the first wave of raiders sent out by the Kriegsmarine, sailing on 15 June 1940 under the command of Fregattenkapitän (later Kapitän zur See) Ernst-Felix Krüder and disguised as an anonymous naval transport ship with an escort from the minesweeper Nautilus. The escort duties were taken over by the Sperrbrecher IV on 18 June and later by the Möwe-class torpedo-boat Falke and the Wolf-class Jaguar. The convoy then sailed through the Great Belt into the Kattegat.

The three-ship convoy passed through the Skagerrak on the 19 June with Luftwaffe air cover from a Dornier Do-18 flying boat and two fighters and entered the North Sea. Her escort was reinforced with the minesweepers M17 and M18, and they headed up the coast of Norway, passing Bergen on 20 June where the torpedo boats departed. Schiff 33 and the minesweepers carrying on northwards to Sörgulenfjord. In the fjord the grey German auxiliary Schiff 33 was transformed into a black-hulled Soviet cargo ship Petschura with hammer and sickle markings. They emerged from the fjord on the 22 June en route to the Denmark Strait. Schiff 33's mission was to rendezvous with and replenish submarine U-A off the Cape Verde and then to disrupt traffic in the Indian Ocean and lay mines off Australian and Indian ports. She was then to head south to seek out the British and Norwegian whaling fleets in Antarctica.

The convoy headed into heavy weather and high winds and the two minesweepers turned back. Sailing westwards at 15 knots a surfacing submarine was spotted and on sighting the Petschura disappeared. Assuming it was British the Petschura headed northwards to give the impression of a ‘Soviet’ ship headed for Murmansk. Surfacing again the submarine increased speed and gave chase signalling first "What ship?" and on being ignored "Heave to, or we open fire!" The Petschura continued at full speed and left the submarine behind. The Petschura continued northeasterly up the coast of Norway.

On the 28 June Pinguin headed south surrounded by icebergs. She inched southwards until June 29 she sailed through the Denmark Strait in to the Atlantic on 1 July to rendezvous with U-A on 18 July. On 10 July she was re-camouflaged as the Greek Kassos.

On 18 July U-A had serious engine troubles and because of bad weather it was not safe to transfer the torpedoes, water and stores. They decided to seek calmer waters to the south transferring 70 tons of diesel fuel to the submarine en route. On 20 July in calmer waters 700 miles south-west of the Cape Verde they started the replenishment. It was first time a submarine was ever re-supplied at sea by a raider. Unable to come alongside because of the risk of damaging her hydroplanes the first day was spent improvising methods to close the gap. The eleven torpedoes had to be ferried across on flotation bags and it was not completed until 25 July. The Pinguin then continued south towing U-A to save fuel until the shipping lanes off Freetown where the U-Boat unsuccessfully pursued a tanker. Pinguin then towed her again until 28 July.