Later History
De-commissioned as a commerce raider, the ship was renamed Hektor in 1944 and was used as artillery training ship. In January 1945 she was again renamed Orion and was used to transport refugees from Germany's eastern provinces across the Baltic Sea to ports in northern Germany and occupied Denmark. On her way to Copenhagen on 4 May 1945 the ship was hit by bombs (51st mine-torpedo Aviation Regiment of the USSR) off Swinemünde and sank. Of the more than 4,000 people on board, all but 150 were rescued. The hulk was scrapped in 1952.
Read more about this topic: German Auxiliary Cruiser Orion
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