The Ehrenfels-class Hilfskreuzer is a German auxiliary cruiser.
Description[]
The Ehrenfels-class Hilfskreuzer is an auxiliary cruiser converted from an Ehrenfels-class freighter to serve the Kriegsmarine as commerce raider.
It was planned to convert four of the nine ships of the Ehrenfels-class to auxiliary cruisers, but only two conversions were realized: The "Kandelfels" became "Schiff 33 Pinguin" and the "Goldenfels" became "Schiff 16 Atlantis". From June 1940 on, the "Pinguin" mainly operated in the Southern Atlantic. She sunk several merchant ships and became famous for capturing a whole whaling fleet. With a total of 28 ships sunk or captured, she is regarded as the most successful of all German commerce raiders. Her luck ended when she was discovered by the British cruiser HMS Cornwall in May 1941. In the following firefight Cornwall managed to hit the mine storage of the Pinguin. The resulting explosion blew the German ship to pieces, and it disappeared from the surface within seconds.
Atlantis did not fare much better. She starts her raider career in March 1940, sinking or capturing 22 ships in the following months. From January 1941 on, she operated in the Indian Ocean and in the South Pacific. Due to Allied decoding of the German enigma, the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire was eventually able to intercept her when she met a German submarine to supply it. Created as a merchant ship, Atlantis was not made to take punishment from 20,3cm guns. The crew abandoned the ship when the cruiser opened fire. It was then fully hit by the third salvo from Devonshire, which send it down rapidly.
The Ehrenfels-class Hilfskreuzer in BattleGroup42 is armed with four 150mm guns, two torpedo launchers, and a 20mm FlaK 38 anti-aircraft gun. The 150mm guns and torpedo tubes are hidden behind hatches of the ship's side structure, which can be raised or lowered using directional up or down keys while controlling the weapons. Two Kutters spawn at the sides near the stern of the ship, as well as a Flettner Fl 282 helicopter near the bow of the ship. Although such ship is not designed to fight a proper warship head-on, its armament is nonetheless not to be underestimated.
It appears in 4209-Wolves at Night and 4210-Wolfpack.
Trivia[]
- The ship is simply known as "Hilfskreuzer" in the game, which means "auxiliary cruiser" in German.
Gallery[]
