Adjutant
History
NamePol IX
OwnerHvalfangerselskapet "Polaris" A/S
Port of registryLarvik
BuilderSmiths Dock Company , Middlesbrough
Yard number1050
Launched1937
FateTaken as prize on 14 January 1941
Germany
NameAdjutant
Acquired14 January 1941
Commissioned10 February 1941
Reclassified24 May 1941
FateScuttled in Cook Strait, 1 July 1941
General characteristics
Tonnage354 GRT
Length42.80 m (140 ft 5 in)
Beam8.02 m (26 ft 4 in)
Draught3.47 m (11 ft 5 in)
Propulsion1,600 ihp (1,200 kW) steam engine
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement2 officers, 14 enlisted
Armament

Adjutant was a Kriegsmarine (German Navy) commerce raider that served during World War II. The vessel was initially the Norwegian whaler Pol IX until captured in 1941 by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin. Renamed Adjutant, the vessel was used as a minelayer in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans. After suffering engine trouble, the ship was scuttled on 1 July 1941.

Construction and career

Built as the Norwegian whaler Pol IX, she was captured on 14 January 1941 by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin. She was renamed Adjutant and used as a commerce raider. Captained by Adjutant Hemmer and used a first as a scout, she then was used as a minelayer in the South Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean.

On the night of 24–25 July 1941 the ship lay ten mines in the approaches to Lyttleton Harbour, New Zealand. She was not detected at all, and this action was not discovered until four years later when they were revealed by captured German documents.[1]

She was scuttled in the Pacific Ocean on 1 July 1941 by the German auxiliary cruiser Komet after suffering engine trouble off the Chatham Islands.

References

  1. ↑ Ogilvie, Gordon (4 January 1975). "Godley's Head defences". The Press. Retrieved 3 June 2023 – via paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

41°36′S 173°07′W / 41.600°S 173.117°W / -41.600; -173.117

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