Overview

They were the deadliest ships of World War II--nine German commerce raiders disguised as peaceful cargo ships, flying the flags of neutral and allied nations. In reality, these heavily armed warships roamed the world's oceans at will, like 20th-century pirates. They struck unsuspecting freighters and tankers out of the darkness of night or from behind a curtain of fog and mist. For almost three years they led the Royal Navy on a deadly chase from sea to sea, seeding Allied ports with hundreds of mines and, on one occasion, even bombarding a shore installation. Masquerading as unarmed merchantmen, the raiders carried an awesome array of weapons cleverly hidden behind false structures and concealed inside empty packing crates on their decks. Seaplanes and motorboats helped them seek out their victims on the vast seas. They then fed off of these unsuspecting targets, pumping fuel from their prey into their own tanks and taking food from captured pantries to feed their own crews and the thousands of prisoners that they picked up along the way. These secret ships also acted as supply ships for U-boats, helping their fellow hunters remain at large for longer periods. At sea for months--or even years--those raider sailors lucky enough to survive were hailed as heroes when they returned home.

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A fascinating account of a little-known facet of the German Navy of World War II--the fleet of nine warships that cruised the seven seas disguised as merchantmen, and sank or captured more than a million tons of allied shipping. Their stories are exciting reading and form a significant part of the naval history of World War II. Author Duffy tells them well, in these high tension accounts of adventure on the high seas. A valuable addition to any WW II collection. -Edwin P. Hoyt author of 199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad

""A fascinating account of a little-known facet of the German Navy of World War II--the fleet of nine warships that cruised the seven seas disguised as merchantmen, and sank or captured more than a million tons of allied shipping. Their stories are exciting reading and form a significant part of the naval history of World War II. Author Duffy tells them well, in these high tension accounts of adventure on the high seas. A valuable addition to any WW II collection.""-Edwin P. Hoyt author of 199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad

Author Information

JAMES P. DUFFY is a writer specializing in military history. He is the author of 12 books, including Hitler Slept Late and other Blunders that Cost Him the War (Praeger, 1991), The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: A Complete Book of Facts with Vincent L. Ricci (1992), Target Hitler: The Plots to Kill Adolf Hitler with Vincent L. Ricci (Praeger, 1992), Czars: Russias Rulers for Over One Thousand Years with Vincent L. Ricci (1995), and Lincolns Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut (1997). is a writer specializing in military history. He is the author of 12 books, including two on World War II and one on the American Civil War.

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