Calling all WW2 German Merchant fans

[Player]

Hello,

Any info on the merchant ships used by Germany in WW2?
For sure there was a lot of models but want to know what ships where more common used on oil tranport, general cargo and troop transport. There was some armed merchant used as "auxiliary cruisers" aswell but they wasnt very common.

[Jim Smith]

Player,
There are a number of websites you can investigate for this info. (and photos in some cases).

Try -
http://www.ddghansa-shipsphotos.de/ for freighters

http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/index.html for freighters/tankers used by the kriegsmarine

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuz ... _menu.html for details of the commerce raiders

hope this helps
Jim Smith

[Player]

Thanks for info very usefull, about troop transports any idea?

[Jim Smith]

Player,
I am not aware of detailed TROMS (Tabulated Record of Movements) for German merchant ships although they may exist somewhere on the web.

Frankly, the Germans conducted most of the war over the land mass of Europe and with few overseas territories and the dominance of the allied navies, there was little call for troop ships per se. The exception probably being the reinforcing of Italian troops in North Africa.

However, those liners that did exist, e.g. Cap Arcona, Wilhelm Gustloff etc were used during the war as accommodation ships, destroyer/sub tenders and were only really called into service towards the end of the war when large numbers of troops were being pushed back to the Baltic coast by the Soviet armies.

This resulted in the few ships available to carry out an effective evacuation being significantly overloaded with terrible loss of life.

Fuller details can be found here:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kr ... roop_ships

Jim S

[thomastmcc]

for troop transport they used F lighters like landing craft ..

thomas

[RichardAigner]

You will have to search the albums, but there are a good number. Hope they are new to you
Richard

[Jim Smith]

Here are a couple of pics of my DDG Hansa freighters. They are the Hansa type A (3000 dwt) and Hansa B (5300dwt). Thanks to Ralf Schuster at NNT Modell und Buch for prompt despatch of the kits from his stock.

Although the ships were ordered in 1942/43 they were not built until 1945 by which time the war had ended and they were immediately taken over as war reparation by the allied nations. Some were returned to Hansa in the 1950s/60s.

I have shown them in DDG Hansa colours purely as an example of German design.

Hope you like them.

Jim S

[Jim Smith]

BTW - just received my kit of Hansa 9000t type from HP Models. Again, these ships were ordered during the war but either not built or not completed until after the war.

Pictures will follow once I've built it.

Jim S

[Player]

Thanks for reply! nice models. Didnt knew that germans where building merchant ship on WW2.

[Jim Smith]

As I said earlier, merchant ships were ordered in 1942/43 to replace losses. However many were not even started although the basic designs of the Hansa ships WERE viable.
A trawl of the Miramar Ship index shows that many yards e.g. Vulkan, Blohm & Voss, Krupp, etc were switched to the mass production of U-boats and the occasional destroyer during the war years.

Having said that, the Germans employed many merchant ships from countries they invaded and these were pressed into service, mainly in the Baltic, to ship raw materials - notably Swedish iron ore - back to the homeland.

Hope this clarifies the situation.

[Jim Smith]

Here are a couple of pics of my recently completed 9000t Hansa Type freighter from HP Models.

These ships were designed and ordered during WWII but most were cancelled before the war's end.

However, some were built or finished immediately after the war and were used as war reparation. By the time some were sold back to Hansa in the late 50's/early 60's, they had undergone significant upgrades.