Hitler's Ghost Ships

by G.H. Bennett

Originally published as a classified Battle Summary, Hitler's Ghost Ships is a unique record written by naval officers during World War II, and soon after 1945. Stamped restricted as classified texts and held at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, South West England. These historical accounts also contain naval maps, plans and first-hand accounts. A substantial contemporary introduction by a naval historian and foreword written by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, a naval veteran of the highest order, provides new insights. Hitler's Ghost Ships explores the use of disguised Auxiliary cruisers that could sidle up to merchant vessels undetected as they were flying a neutral flag, similar to 17th century pirate ships. The German Navy used disguise in attempting to oust the British fleet and isolate island Britain. The war mission of the German surface fleet included keeping the Royal Navy out of the Baltic, with the primary task of German submarines being to strangle Britain's imports of food and war materials. From the German pocket battleship Graf Spee to the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, key units were sent into action. The major warships were supported by a fleet of auxiliary cruisers. These were merchant ships which retained their outward appearance but were fitted with heavy armament. Disguised as innocent trade vessels, they would approach Allied merchant ships sailing alone, then reveal their true identity. Hitler's Ghost Ships unites three of the original Battle Summaries compiled by the Royal Navy in one volume, containing, word-for-word, the operations against Hitler's commerce raiders, Battle of the River Plate the destruction of the Graf Spee, 1939 Operations against Disguised Enemy Raiders - 1940 1941 Battle of North Cape the sinking of the Scharnhorst, 1943.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

G. H. Bennett is Associate Professor of History at Plymouth University.

Reviews

[Derek Nudd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book comprises three sections on the short, eventful life of the Graf Spee, the sinking of the Scharnhorst, and actions with a number of disguised German merchant raiders. A Foreword by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band and Introduction by Dr G H Bennett help to provide context.
The book's strength and weakness is that it draws on, and often reproduces, Admiralty material published during and immediately after the war. Material declassified later is ignored. For example, the section on Scharnhorst includes the (reluctant, unsatisfactory) interrogation of survivors during their passage to Orkney in Duke of York, but not the far more comprehensive debriefing at Latimer House and Wilton Park after their arrival. Equally the writers presumably did not know that Graf Spee had lost her desalination and oil purification plant in the first day of the Battle of the River Plate, making it impossible for her to reach home. This must have influenced Langsdorf's decision to order her scuttling.
The third section, on disguised merchant raiders, is in many ways the most interesting precisely because of the lack of hindsight. The authors document a number of engagements between British Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMCs) and enemy raiders which highlight the shortcomings of the former. The British armed liners had the speed to catch suspect vessels but not the endurance for an extended search. Their old six-inch guns were no match for the heavy armament carried by most raiders and their high freeboard and poor protection made them vulnerable targets. If they ran into a real warship they were toast.
Where a raider ran into an allied warship, however, the boot was on the other foot - so long as the warship captain was cautious enough in his approach. The section also documents, as far as possible, the encounter between the Kormoran and HMAS Sydney which ended with the sinking of both vessels. All accounts of the action came from Kormoran survivors, there were none from Sydney.
The book is well produced with heavy paper and bespoke cover art that I find very attractive. There are no photographs but numerous, helpful maps. I can't help suspecting that these were designed in large-format colour than shrunk to fit the page and reproduce in mono - separating ship tracks and reading legends can take a bit of peering.
Each section of the book deserves a weighty volume of its own. Graf Spee and Scharnhorst are well served by modern literature, the raiders perhaps less so. Hitler's Ghost Ships: Graf Spee, Scharnhorst and Disguised German Raiders does not add new knowledge on its own account but allows the reader to parachute back to the state of knowledge in the immediate aftermath of the war. For that, it has a place on the shelf.