List of auxiliary and merchant cruisers


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.

Ships by period

Spanish–American War

American auxiliary cruisers

NameComment

Russo-Japanese War

Japanese merchant cruisers

Russian merchant cruisers

Note: This listing is incomplete.
NameComment

World War I

Allied merchant cruisers

Royal Navy
Royal Australian Navy
French Navy

German auxiliary cruisers

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Nationalists, whose navy was substantially outnumbered by the Republicans, made an extensive use of auxiliary cruisers during the Spanish civil war, two of them on loan from Italy:
NameComment
Mar CantábricoFormerly a merchant ship under Republican control, she was captured by the Nationalist cruiser on 8 March 1937 off Santander. Assisted by the minelayer Vulcano, she took the largest foreign prize of the war with the capture of the Greek steamer Victoria, of, on 16 May 1938.
Mar NegroA freighter under Republican flag at the beginning of the war, her captain and crew changed loyalties off Bone, Algeria in September 1937, while returning to Barcelona from the Soviet Union. She seized the last foreign cargo ship captured during the civil war, the British Stangate off Valencia on 16 March 1939, despite the opposition of.
Ciudad de ValenciaShe used the alias Nadir for operations in the North Sea. She sank the Republican merchantman SS Cantabria off Cromer, Norfolk, on 2 November 1938. The Republican steamers Josiña and Guernica were forced to seek shelter in Norwegian and Swedish waters, where the latter ran aground on 19 November at the island of Nidingen, in the Kattegat. Josiña reached Kristiansand, and she remained interned there until 1939.
Ciudad de AlicanteShe supported the Ciudad de Valencia in the North Sea, where she played a secondary role in the capture of the Republican steamers Sil and Río Miera. Both Ciudad de Alicante and Ciudad de Valencia used the German port of Emdem as a resupply base.
Ciudad de PalmaConverted to a warship in Italy in 1936. She assisted the minelayer Júpiter in the capture of the British cargo ship Candlestone Castle in Biscay on 17 July 1937.
Ciudad de MahónCaptured by the rebels at Palma, she was armed and dispatched to Spanish Guinea, still under Republican control, on 14 October 1936. Once there, waving the Portuguese flag, she entered the ports of Santa Isabel and Bata, where she sank the Republican freighter Fernando Poo.
Vicente PucholAfter an initial deployment as an improvised minelayer, she was later converted to an auxiliary cruiser. She seized the 1,743-ton steamer Pomaron on 21 February 1938. The ship was the property of Strubin & Co. of London, and was sailing under Estonian flag. The freighter was confiscated and placed under Spanish flag as Castillo Butrón.
Antonio LázaroAfter an initial deployment as an improvised minelayer, she was later converted to an auxiliary cruiser. The British liner Llandovery Castle was badly damaged when she struck a mine laid by Lázaro off Cap de Creus on 25 February 1937.
DomineActive as auxiliary cruiser in the bay of Biscay from September to December 1936. Converted into a fast transport to carry allied moor pilgrims to Mecca in January 1937, she was later deployed in the Mediterranean as supply ship.
MallorcaUsed primarily as a military transport, she captured a number of merchants in the Strait of Gibraltar in 1937.
Italian BarlettaRenamed Rio during operations in the Spanish war. She captured the Greek tanker Burlington in the central Mediterranean in 1937. Attacked at Palma de Mallorca by Republican bombers on 26 May 1937. After carrying out four missions, she was disarmed and used as supply ship by Nationalist forces before being returned to Italy. She saw service also during WWII under Italian flag.
Italian AdriaticoRenamed Lago during operations in the Spanish war. After three unsuccessful missions, she was disarmed and used as supply ship by Nationalist forces before being returned to Italy. She saw service also during WWII under Italian flag. Sunk by light cruiser off Cape Bon on 1 December 1941.

World War II

Allied merchant cruisers

The Armed merchant cruisers were made by requisitioning large ships and providing them with guns and other equipment. They ranged from. The armament varied but six guns with guns as secondary was usual. From 1941, many served as troopships.
[Royal Australian Navy]
[Royal New Zealand Navy]
[Royal Navy]
[French Navy] (''Marine Nationale'')
French auxiliary cruisers were armed with 138 mm, 152 mm or 150 mm guns, 75 mm and 37 mm AA guns and 13.2 mm or 8 mm AA HMG
At the outbreak of war, the Kriegsmarine requisitioned a number of fast merchantmen and immediately sent them into naval shipyards to be converted into offensive auxiliary cruisers. These ships had at the time of building been fitted with extra strong decks specifically to facilitate the installation of military equipment when required, but this was the only difference between them and other merchantmen of the period. No precise plans had been drawn up for the conversion of these ships into warships, and consequently the conversion process was painfully long. Compared to the diversity of British auxiliary cruisers, the Hilfskreuzer were standardized insofar as possible. The ships themselves averaged approximately. Armament usually consisted of six 6 in guns, two to six torpedo tubes, and an assortment of, 37 mm, and automatic weapons. Most of these merchant raiders carried an Arado Ar 196 floatplane for reconnaissance.,, and 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.
Japan converted fourteen merchant ships to "armed merchant cruisers" but, by the end of 1943, five had been sunk and seven had been converted back to merchant ships.
Unlike the Germans and the Japanese, none of the armed merchant cruisers of the Italian Royal Navy were deployed to destroy or capture Allied merchant ships and were mostly used as supply ships or escorts. All of them mounted two guns.
The Romanian Navy only had one auxiliary cruiser, named Dacia. She was built in France in 1907 as a passenger ship, having a displacement of up to 4,105 tons. She measured 109 meters in length, with a beam of 13 meters and a draught of 8 meters. Her top speed was of 18 knots. Initially, she was employed as an auxiliary minelayer, being armed only with two 20 mm anti-aircraft guns and able to carry up to 200 mines. In 1942, she was also armed with three 105 mm naval/AA guns and designated as auxiliary cruiser.