German auxiliary cruiser Stier

Stier (HSK 6) was an auxiliary cruiser of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her Kriegsmarine designation was Schiff 23, to the Royal Navy she was Raider J.

Stier under way.
History
Germany
Owner	Atlas Levant Line
Builder	Germaniawerft
Launched	1936
Christened	Cairo
Fate	Requisitioned by Kriegsmarine, 1939
Nazi Germany
Name	Stier
Namesake	Taurus
Operator	Kriegsmarine
Yard number	6
Recommissioned	10 May 1942
Renamed	Stier, 1939
Reclassified	Auxiliary cruiser, 1939
Nickname(s)	HSK-6 Schiff 23 Raider J
Fate	Scuttled in the South Atlantic, 27 September 1942
General characteristics
Tonnage	4,778 GRT
Displacement	11,000 tons
Length	134 m (440 ft)
Beam	17.3 m (57 ft)
Draught	7.2 m (24 ft)
Propulsion	1 × 7-cylinder diesel engine, 3,750 hp (2,796 kW)
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range	50,000 nmi (93,000 km; 58,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance	173 days
Complement	324
Armament	6 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 1 × 75 mm (3 in) L/35 gun 1 × twin 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 4 × single 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 guns 2 × submerged 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried	2 × Arado Ar 231 floatplanes

The name Stier means "bull" and also represents the Taurus constellation in the German language. She was the last German raider to break out into the Atlantic in World War II.

Early history

Built by Germaniawerft in 1936 as the freighter Cairo, she was operated by the Atlas Levant Line (ALL) until being requisitioned for Kriegsmarine services in November 1939. After merchant warfare operations in the Baltic Sea, she was converted into a mine layer and was planned to be used during Operation Sea Lion. After this operation was canceled, the now renamed Stier was modified into an auxiliary cruiser in April 1941, first at the Wilton shipyard Rotterdam and later at Oderwerke, Stettin, and Kriegsmarinewerft, in Gotenhafen (Gdynia).

Raiding voyage

On 10 May 1942 she left Germany for operations in the Atlantic. Moving by stages down the English Channel, and after an engagement with British coastal forces on the 13th which saw the loss of two torpedo boats (German) and one MTB (British), Stier reached Royan in occupied France on the 19th. From there she departed under the command of Fregattenkapitän (later Kapitän zur See) Horst Gerlach for operations in the South Atlantic. On a cruise of 4½ months she sank three ships. On 27 September 1942, she engaged and sank American cargo ship SS Stephen Hopkins, whose resistance inflicted so substantial damage that Stier had to be scuttled by her crew.

Stier sinking an allied merchant ship.

During her operation the Stier sank four ships, totalling 29,409 tons (GRT).

Final engagement

On 27 September 1942 Stier encountered the American Liberty ship Stephen Hopkins en route from Cape Town to Paramaribo.

Closing in foggy conditions, the two ships sighted each other around 08:52 AM at a distance of 4,000 yards. Gerlach sent his men to action stations; the master of the Stephen Hopkins was suspicious of the unidentified vessel and did the same. The Stephen Hopkins had a small defensive armament (1 × 4 inch gun astern, 2 x 37mm guns of an unknown model forward, and 6 x machine guns), but when firing commenced, around 08:55, she put up a spirited defense. She scored several hits on Stier, damaging her engines and steering gear. However, overwhelmed by fire from Stier, the Hopkins drifted away; by 10 a.m. she had sunk. Forty-two of her crew were killed in the action, and three more died later; the fifteen survivors finally reached Brazil 31 days later. Stephen Hopkins's commander, Captain Paul Buck, was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. So was United States Merchant Marine Academy cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara, who single-handedly fired the last shots from the ship's 4-inch gun.

Stier possibly showing battle damage during battle with Stephen Hopkins (speculation based on picture contents).

Meanwhile, Stier had been heavily damaged: unable to make headway, and not responding to the helm. Gerlach made the decision to scuttle the ship and prevent her from falling into Allied hands. After the scuttling charges were exploded, Stier sank at 11:40 AM. All but two of her crew survived the fight, and returned to France on the German supply ship Tannenfels, which was accompanying Stier at the time of the action.

Raiding career

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
4 June 1942	SS Gemstone	British	4,986	Sunk
6 June 1942	SS Stanvac Calcutta	American	10,170	Sunk in combat
9 August 1942	SS Dalhousie	British	7,250	Sunk
27 September 1942	SS Stephen Hopkins	American	7,181	Sunk in combat

References

• Paul Schmalenbach (1977). German Raiders 1895–1945. ISBN 0-85059-351-4.
• August Karl Muggenthaler (1977). German Raiders of World War II. ISBN 0-7091-6683-4.
• Stephen Roskill (1956). The War at Sea 1939–1945 Volume II.