Re: Battleships and Merchants

----- Original Message -----
From: "Derek Fulton" <derekfulton@bigpond.com>
> >"Endeavour" is not really a counterexample. It was not a real
warship,
but
> >an exploration vessel.
>
> I think the Endeavor is a excellent example, Or perhaps the 'Alfred'
> formerly the 'Black Prince' or 'Andrew Doria' formerly a merchant
named
> 'Defiance' or many of the other American ships used in the American
War of
> Independence. These were merchant vessels refitted for naval service.

As late as WWII, the Germans fielded converted civilian vessels in their
Navy for fighting purposes. Fishing vessels for coastal patrols and
such,
and various freihgters as "Hilfskreuzer" (Auxiliary Cruisers) for
commerce
raiding. In WWI, these included passenger liners and even a Tall Ship
(sailing vessel), the "Seeadler".

Legally, they were commisioned as naval vessels, with military crews and
under full navy control, but their operational function was pretty muvh
the
same as that of earlier privateers.

Good enough against unarmed merchantmen, but nobody would confuse them
with
a real warship. Ad would any of the American ships you mention have
stood up
to a ship of the line ? I think not.

Even more trivia: My grandfather was aboard the "Kaiser Wilhelm der
Große",
a converted luxury liner. After a brief career as a commerce raider,
they
met a real warship, the cruiser HMS "Highflyer" off the coast of Spanish
Morocco - end of story. For the ship, that is. The crew was saved and
spent
the rest of the war interned on the Canary Islands. A pleasant enough
place
(nowadays a popular tourist resort), and many chose to stay there after
the
war.

Greetings
Karl Heinz