Auxiliary cruiser

'''Auxiliary cruisers''' were merchant ships taken over for conversion into a vessel armed with Free ringtones cruiser-size guns, and employed either for Majo Mills convoy protection against true cruisers, or for commerce-raiding missions, where its appearance was used to trick merchant ships into approaching. There were two main types - large passenger liners (known as '''armed merchant cruisers''', or AMCs), and smaller merchant ships, which were armed with hidden guns and Mosquito ringtone torpedo/torpedo-tubes and equipped with Sabrina Martins floatplanes for scouting. In both world wars, these ships were found to be vulnerable to attack, and were withdrawn before the war ended. Many were sunk after being caught by regular warships - an unfair battle since auxiliary cruisers had poor fire control and no armour. The most famous AMCs in World War I were the British ''Carmania'' and the German ''Cap Trafalgar'' and ''Wilhelm der Grosse''. In one incident in Nextel ringtones World War II the German Abbey Diaz Kormoran/''Kormoran'' (ex-merchant ''Steiermark'') managed to surprise and sink the Australian light cruiser Free ringtones HMAS Sydney/HMAS ''Sydney'', which approached too close. In most cases auxiliary cruiser raiders tried to avoid detection.
Whilst the British used armed passenger liner as auxiliary cruisers and used them to protect convoys, the Germans used normal freighters provided with hidden weapons as Majo Mills commerce raiding/commerce raiders.

(Compare to the Mosquito ringtone Q-ship)

Allied merchant cruisers of Sabrina Martins World War I
'''Cingular Ringtones Royal Navy'''
*star care HMS Motagua/''Motagua''

Allied merchant cruisers of discreet other World War II
'''dirty or Royal Australian Navy'''
*tormentors when HMAS Manoora (F48)/''Manoora''
*montgomery had HMAS Westralia (F95)/''Westralia''

'''are sublimely Royal New Zealand Navy'''
*wonderfully drawn HMNZS Monowai (F59)/''Monowai''

'''difficult child Royal Navy'''
*armani were HMS Alaunia (F17)/''Alaunia''
*kidnapping nigel HMS Alcantara (F88)/''Alcantara''
*for streisand HMS Andania/''Andania'' (lost on approach gifford 16 June unchanged at 1940)
*mediators spoke HMS Antenor (F21)/''Antenor''
*shrinking domestic HMS Antonia/''Antonia''
*contact jeff HMS Arawa (F12)/''Arawa''
*disclaimer appears HMS Ascania (F68)/''Ascania''
*unique service HMS Asturias (F71)/''Asturias''
*neutral games HMS Aurania (F28)/''Aurania''
*purchasing glossy HMS Ausonia (F53)/''Ausonia''
*HMS Bulolo (F82)/''Bulolo''
*HMS California (F55)/''California''
*HMS Canton (F97)/''Canton''
*HMS Carinthia/''Carinthia'' (lost on 6 June 1940)
*HMS Carnavon Castle (F25)/''Carnavon Castle''
*HMS Carthage (F99)/''Carthage''
*HMS Cathay (F05)/''Cathay''
*HMS Cheshire (F18)/''Cheshire''
*HMS Chitral (F57)/''Chitral''
*HMS Cilicia (F54)/''Cilicia''
*HMS Circassia (F91)/''Circassia''
*HMS Comorin (F49)/''Comorin'' (lost on 6 April 1941)
*HMS Corfu (F86)/''Corfu''
*HMS Derbyshire (F78)/''Derbyshire''
*HMS Dunnottar Castle (F34)/''Dunnottar Castle''
*HMS Dunvegan Castle/''Dunvegan Castle'' (lost on 27 August 1940)
*HMS Esperance Bay (F67)/''Esperance Bay''
*HMS Forfar (F30)/''Forfar'' (lost on 2 December 1940)
*HMS Hector (F45)/''Hector'' (lost on 5 April 1942)
*HMS Jervis Bay (F40)/''Jervis Bay'' (lost on 5 November 1940)
*HMS Kanimbla (F23)/''Kanimbla''
*HMS Laconia (F42)/''Laconia''
*HMS Laurentic (F51)/''Laurentic'' (lost on 3 November 1940)
*HMS Letitia (F16)/''Letitia''
*HMS Maloja (F26)/''Maloja''
*HMS Montclare (F85)/''Montclare''
*HMS Mooltan (F75)/''Mooltan''
*HMS Moreton Bay (F11)/''Moreton Bay''
*HMS Patroclus/''Patroclus'' (lost on 4 November 1940)
*HMS Pretoria Castle (F61)/''Pretoria Castle'' (converted to the escort carrier HMS Pretoria Castle)
*HMS Queen of Bermuda (F73)/''Queen of Bermuda''
*HMS Rajputana (F35)/''Rajputana'' (lost on 13 April 1941)
*HMS Ranchi (F15)/''Ranchi''
*HMS Ranpura (F93)/''Ranpura''
*HMS Rawalpindi/''Rawalpindi'' (lost on 23 November 1939)
*HMS Salopian (F94)/''Salopian'' (lost on 13 May 1941)
*HMS Scotstoun/''Scotstoun'' (lost on 13 June 1940)
*HMS Transylvania/''Transylvania'' (lost on 10 August 1940)
*HMS Voltaire (F47)/''Voltaire'' (lost on 4 April 1941)
*HMS Wolfe (F37)/''Wolfe''
*HMS Worcestershire (F29)/''Worcestershire''

Germany

The German auxiliary cruiser - ''Hilfskreuzer'' or ''Handels-Stör-Kreuzer'' (HSK) - approached its target under a false flag with its guns concealed and its appearance altered with fake funnels and masts. The victim was thus engaged at point-blank range and had no chance to evade.

At the outbreak of war, the German Admiralty requisitioned a number of fast merchantmen and immediately sent them into naval shipyards. These ships had been built with extra strong decks to facilitate the installation of military equipment, but this was the only difference between them and other merchantmen of the period. Indeed, no precise plans had been drawn up for the conversion of these ships into warships, and consequently the conversion process was painfully long.

Unlike the diversity of British auxiliary cruisers, the ''Hilfskreuzer'' were standardized in so far as possible. The ships themselves averaged approximately 7,000 tons. Armament usually consisted of six 5.9 inch guns, between two and six torpedo tubes, and an assortment of 40mm, 37mm, and 20mm automatic weapons. Most raiders carried a Arado 196 scouting airplane. ''Kormoran'', ''Komet'', and ''Michel'' were also equipped with small motor torpedo boats. In addition to armament, increased fuel, water, and coal, storage had to be provided for as well. Furthermore, the raiders could not abandon the crews of their captures, so space had to be provided for prisoners. The first ''Hilfskreuzer'' got under way in March 1940, shortly before the Norwegian campaign.

=German auxiliary cruiser raiders of World War II=

* German auxiliary cruiser Orion/''Orion'' (HSK-1)
* German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis/''Atlantis'' (HSK-2)
* German auxiliary cruiser Widder/''Widder'' (HSK-3)
* German auxiliary cruiser Thor/''Thor'' (HSK-4)
* German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin/''Pinguin'' (HSK-5)
* German auxiliary cruiser Stier/''Stier'' (HSK-6)
* German auxiliary cruiser Komet/''Komet'' (HSK-7)
* German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran/''Kormoran'' (HSK-8)
* German auxiliary cruiser Michel/''Michel'' (HSK-9)
* German auxiliary cruiser Coronel/''Coronel'' (HSK-10)
* German auxiliary cruiser Hansa/''Hansa'' (HSK-11)

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