An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. While researching the arming of some merchant ships lost in the english channel, i consulted one of these documents and found it listed many ships and gave details of the types of guns issued. The illustrated guide to the royal navy and foreign navies. He retired from the us army reserve after 27 years of service. Ijn cruisers minelayers auxiliary ships 1700 scale profiles. Britain armed merchant ships in world war ii to provide additional warships for duties such as convoy escort and stopping merchant ships suspected of aiding the enemy. May 19, 2016 ships that had been in reserve for years were being called up, first rate ships were heading to distant stations, and merchant ships and liners that had been subsidized to be taken up as armed merchant cruisers were being called into dockyards. Armed merchant cruisers naval historical society of australia.
This style of organization lends itself well to the scope of the subject being covered making the book easy to follow. Hms rawalpindi was a british armed merchant cruiser a converted passenger ship that was sunk in a surface action against the german battleships scharnhorst and gneisenau during the first months of the second world war. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. As in ww1, the royal navy again in ww2, to augment its naval ships made use of selected merchant ships by converting them to armed merchant cruisers. They were found to be of limited usefulness because they lacked warship armour and used local control of guns rather than director firecontrol system s. Today we take a look at one aspect of armed merchantmen, when they end up fighting each other. Armed merchant cruisers dont have any protection against shells, and they must therefore compensate this shortcoming with size and speed. They were royal navy warships with hms designations, and not to be confused with armed merchant ship, which was not a warship but merely a merchant ship with some self. Jun 17, 2017 armed merchant cruisers are a type of auxiliary warship, converted from merchant ships. The book is the standard singlevolume reference work on ships of the royal navy, and colledges conventions and spellings of names are used by museums. Armed merchant cruisers and converted gunboats of the imperial japanese navy 1894.
Defensively armed merchant ships dams great war forum. Beatty, sole proprietor of jdb communications, llc, is a professional writer of more than forty years experience in military science and in industry. Cruisers, auxiliary cruisers, armed merchant cruisers, minelayers, and gunboats. Buy armed merchant cruisers book online at best prices in india on. Soon after the war broke out the british government decided to retain lusitania in commercial passenger service, while it took over mauretania, which served as a trooper and later a hospital ship. Hms patroclus british armed merchant cruiser ships hit. Hms rawalpindi project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. They were both sunk within seven hours in which the uboat fired ten torpedoes and four rounds with the deck gun, while the vessels returned fire without damaging the uboat. The advent of the seaplane, floatplane, carriers along with landbased bombers makes the armed merchant ship just a target. An amc is simply a fast liner that is requisitioned and armed by the government in wartime for naval service, manned by a naval crew. List of auxiliary and merchant cruisers military wiki fandom.
They ranged from 6,00022,000 long tons 6,10022,400 t. Want to know our editors picks for the best books of the month. Feb 04, 2020 in the early part of the war, as armed merchant cruisers equipped with antique guns and very little armour, prince david and her sisters were sent to hunt enemy submarines and surface ships, tasks better suited to warships. Tom grover and harry spong, this book explores the origins, capabilites and uses of amcs in 1885, 19141918 and. Armed merchant cruisers g ermany dominated the atlantic ferry for a decade from 1897. At the very beginning of world war i british passenger liners were requisitioned by the royal navy for conversion to armed merchant cruisers in part to form the 10th cruiser squadron and also to relieve the strain on the regular cruisers by. The book principally covers british amcs in wwi and wwii.
List of auxiliary and merchant cruisers military wiki. Armed merchantmen academic dictionaries and encyclopedias. Hmcs prince robert was classed as an armed merchant cruiser amc. They were royal navy warships with hms designations, and not to be confused with armed merchant ship, which was not a warship but merely a merchant ship with some selfdefence capability. Rms carmania sinking sms cap trafalgar near the brazilian islands of trindade, 14 september 1914. His subsequent book admiralty job numbers 1939 1945 2004 has also become an important work of reference.
Volume 2, first published in 1970, covers navybuilt trawlers, drifters, tugs and requisitioned ships including armed merchant cruisers. In the early part of the war, as armed merchant cruisers equipped with antique guns and very little armour, prince david and her sisters were sent to hunt enemy submarines and surface ships, tasks better suited to warships. During ww1, the problem of providing ships to man a blockade of the gap between the uk, iceland and greenland had been solved using armed merchant cruisers amcs. Her distress messages brought the armed merchant cruisers hms laurentic f 51 capt e. An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes. They ranged from 6,00022,000 long tons 6,10022,000 t. Armed merchant cruisers are a type of auxiliary warship, converted from merchant ships. They ultimately proved to have limited value and many, particularly ocean liners, were later converted into troopships, a role for which they were more suited. The armed merchant cruisers amc of the british royal navy were employed for convoy protection against enemy warships. Armed merchant cruisers amcs were generally passenger liners armed with old 6 guns and used as substitutes for scarce regular cruisers.
Auxiliary cruisers and armed merchant cruisers were civilian ships, often passenger ships, which were fairly heavily armed during wartime to become warships for convoy escort or attacking other merchant ships commerce raiders or merchant raiders. In both world wars the royal navy was short of cruisers and attempted to make up the deficiency by attaching a few guns and white ensigns to selected liners. The resulting ships were classified as armed merchant cruisers and used mainly as escorts. As the needs of the rcn changed, the prince ships adapted to new roles. Its usual duties are to patrol trade routes, convoy merchant ships, and intercept warships that may be engaged in.
Dutch armed merchant cruisers royal netherlands navy. The book covers almost all armed merchant cruiser and merchant raider actions by dedicating individual chapters to cover each ship and action. In more modern times, auxiliary cruisers were used offensively as merchant raiders to disrupt trade chiefly during. Armed merchant cruisers and converted gunboats of the imperial japanese navy the ijn warship series volume 2 2nd edition by alexandr nicolaevich batalov author 2. The armed merchant cruisers amc of the british royal navy were employed for convoy. Generally, they would be equipped with older weapons, and feature limited fire control with no armor. Normally, old and large liners were chosen for conversion, armed with a few old guns. It has an initial chapter on british amcs before wwi and a final chapter on the latter years of wwii through to the falkland islands campaign of 1982. Wynter, rtd, rn to the scene and the uboat began a dramatic battle at 22. Armed merchantman is a term that has come to mean a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. Gwpda maritime war section rn armed merchant cruisers. Adm1161463 and 1464 1916, adm1161465 and 1466 19141916 and adm1161536 19161917. Submarines are part of my fleet and are deployable almost immediately.
Atlantis had been operating there since may 1940 steadily increasing her list of victims that eventually totalled twenty two. Defensively armed merchant ships dams sailors, navies. The book uses a set of events to paint moving portrayals of the crew and the. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. This first book in the series is a description of the service in early world war ii of the armed merchant cruiser hms arawa with bobby forbes on board. My concept of operations is to use the stealthiest ship or boat that i have to attack merchant ships in trade warfare. Armed merchant cruisers and converted gunboats of the imperial. Pdf armed merchant cruisers and converted gunboats of the. Drawings of imperial japanese naval vessels, volume 2. The following is a list, by period and country, of armed merchant ships used since late 19th century in the role of auxiliary cruisers, also called armed merchant cruisers.
The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one. No stranger to drama, for 15 years she transported passengers between australasia and england amid financial collapses, corporate restructures, route changes and even a name change. World war ii armed merchant cruisers of the united. Buy armed merchant cruisers book online at low prices in.
In addition the book is very informative and makes for a valuable reference and guide. Volume 1, first published in 1969, covers major ships. The book is illustrated with more than 200 photographs and drawings, showing the raiders, their victims, supply ships, other german warships available or suitable for the war against commerce, the armament of the armed merchant cruisers and the routes of all their voyages. The same approach was followed during ww2 and many merchant ships were requisitioned for this purpose. Auxiliary cruisers were merchant ships converted into armed vessels and employed either for convoy protection or commerce raiding. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade. The evolution of the armed merchant cruiser p and o. The famous armed merchant cruisers atlantis and pinguin were now joined by the pocket battleship admiral scheer which entered the indian ocean and on 6th january was to the south of madagascar. Armed merchant cruisers had no better fate in the 2nd war than in the 1st. Auxiliary cruisers of the united states, commerce raiders, royal navy auxiliary cruisers, merchant raider. Armed merchant cruisers and converted gunboats of the imperial japanese navy the ijn warship series volume 2 9781548649340.
U99 attacked the armed merchant cruisers hms laurentic and hms patroclus. These vessels ranged from 6,000 to 22,000 tons, and were fitted out, usually with old ww1 type 6 inch guns, complemented with a meagre and totally inadequate antiaircraft armament. The dramatic war service of an unglamorous armed merchant cruiser men and ships at war book 1 ebook. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Armed merchant cruisers jervis bay, national doughnut day, and scheduled release day first i have to make sure that you all have your fireworks ready for guy fawkes day, which is of course today. Home shipping history record other publishers companies who we are site search contact us. Their epic story by poolman, kenneth and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Written by richard osborne, tom grover and harry spong, this book. The american cruiser omaha left marseilles after a successful goodwill visit. They were vulnerable ships, being highsided, unarmoured, and not highly compartmented. Armed merchant cruisers were commissioned naval vessels, not to be confused with the defensively armed merchantmen discussed above. On occasion, buoyancy was increased by stowing empty barrels in the cargoholds. The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. The armament varied but six 6 in 150 mm guns with 3 in 76 mm guns as secondary was usual.
These ships come about because of commerce raiding as both the wolves and the sheepdogs around helpless merchants. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. The following is a list, by period and country, of armed merchant ships used since the late 19th century in the role of auxiliary cruisers, also called armed merchant cruisers. Raiders german auxiliary cruisers of world war two naval.
The armed merchant cruisers amc of the british navy were employed for convoy protection against enemy warships. In 1914, the kaisers navy, like britains, had converted big passenger liners into armed merchant cruisers. Ahoy macs web log allied armed merchant cruisers of ww2. Contentsshow ships by period spanishamerican war american auxiliary cruisers russojapanese war japanese merchant cruisers russian merchant cruisers note. Ships that had been in reserve for years were being called up, first rate ships were heading to distant stations, and merchant ships and liners that had been subsidized to be taken up as armed merchant cruisers were being called into dockyards.
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