German Auxiliary Cruiser Widder - Raider Voyage

Raider Voyage

Widder sailed as part of the German Navy's first wave of commerce raiders, sailing on 6 May 1940 under the command of KK (later FK) Helmuth von Ruckteschell.

Leaving Germany on 6 May 1940, she made for Bergen, in Norway. On 13 May the Widder confronted the British submarine HMS Clyde on surface, enjoining an exchange of gunfire which lasted for over an hour, with no hits for either side. After the engagement, the cruiser sought shelter in Sandsfjord. On 14 May she sailed to open sea, crossing the Arctic Circle the next day. On 21 August 1940, 800 miles west of the Canary Islands, she sank the SS Anglo Saxon, which had been carrying a cargo of coal from Newport, Wales, to Bahía Blanca, Argentina. After refuelling from the auxiliary ship Nordmark, she slipped through the Denmark Strait. Over a 5 ½ month period she captured and sank ten ships, totalling 58,644 GRT.

The Widder was reported to have machine-gunned the crew of the SS Anglo Saxon in their life-boats, one jolly-boat with seven crewmen got away. Over two months later, on October 27th, the last two survivors in the boat landed in the Bahamas after a 2,275 mile voyage. One of the two died when his new ship was torpedoed in 1941, the other survived the war and testified against von Ruckteschell, who was sentenced to seven years for his war crime. In defence of the Kriegsmarine's reputation, reports of attacks on survivors in the water and life-boats are extremely rare.

Having completed her mission, she returned to occupied France on 31 October 1940.