Pinguin

The auxiliary cruiser Pinguin left Germany on 15.06.1940. Besides merchant warfare, it had the secondary task to resupply German U-Boats, therefore it had a payload of 25 spare torpedoes on board. After a short operation time in the Atlantic, the ship operated most of its time in the Indian Ocean. It got famous during a raid into Antarctic waters where it captured three whale factory ships and 11 whale hunters. After 357 days of operation, the Pinguin was surprised by the British cruiser Cornwall near the Seychelles on 08.05.1941. After a hit in the mine storage, the Pinguin exploded and sunk. On its operation between 15.06.1940 and 08..05.1941 in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Antarctica, the Pinguin sunk or captured 32 ships with 154619 t.