31 March 1940 A.D. Germany’s Atlantis (Auxiliary Cruiser) Launched; on 22 Nov 1941 HMS DEVONSHIRE Sinks Her


31 March 1940 A.D. Germany’s Atlantis (Auxiliary Cruiser) Launched; on 22 Nov 1941 HMS DEVONSHIRE Sinks Her



Editors. “Germany’s Atlantis launches.” History. 2009. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germanys-atlantis-launches. Accessed 30 Mar 2015.

On this day, the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis sets off on a mission to catch and sink Allied merchant ships.

By the time the Atlantis set sail from Germany, the Allies had already lost more than 750,000 tons worth of shipping, the direct result of German submarine attacks. They had also lost another 281,000 tons because of mines, and 36,000 tons as the result of German air raids. The Germans had lost just eighteen submarines.

The Atlantis had been a merchant ship itself, but was converted to a commerce raider with six 5.9-inch guns, 93 mines ready to plant, and two aircraft fit for spying out Allied ships to sink. The Atlantis donned various disguises in order to integrate itself into any shipping milieu inconspicuously.

Commanded by Capt. Bernhard Rogge, the Atlantis roamed the Atlantic and Indian oceans. She sank a total of 22 merchant ships (146,000 tons in all) and proved a terror to the British Royal Navy. The Atlantis‘s career finally came to an end on November 22, 1941, when it was sunk by the British cruiser Devonshire as the German marauder was refueling a U-boat.

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