German Commerce Raiders WW2

A 1/1250 scale metal model of Orion HSK-1 by Navis Neptun 1020.

Originally built for the Hamburg Amerika Line the Orion commissioned on the 9th December 1939 and sailed on 6th April 1940. Almost survived the war, not being sunk until 4th May 1945 by aircraft at Swinemunde. In an epic voyage of 510 days she had shared in the destruction or capture of 10 ships.

Rather than paint all the raiders grey, Neptun have tried to represent the disguises adopted during their cruises!

Die-cast metal model to Neptun's usual standard of one of the most successful commerce raiders of WW2.

A 1/1250 scale secondhand model of KMS Michel by Navis Neptun 1026. This model is in good condition but has lost the small torpedo boat  which was present when new.

The model has the monogram "HF" underneath, meaning that it was mastered by Helge Fischer, one of the very best model makers in this scale.

Building in Copenhagen for the Glen Line, Hansa never broke out of German waters after being taken over. Known to the Kriegsmarine as HSK5 (II), the first ship so designated having been Pinguin. After being repatriated in 1945 she finally became the Glengarry, the originally intended name.

A 1/1250 scale second-hand model of Hansa a German auxiliary that was taken over when building in Denmark for Glen Line in 1940. The model is by Navis Neptun 1027 and is in good condition apart from missing the top of a derrick forward of the bridge, see photograph.

A 1/1250 scale model of Osorno as a blockade runner in 1941 by CM Miniaturen CM-P 120.

A 1/1250 scale model of the KMS Memelland, a Germany armed navy tanker during WW2. The ship was built in 1936 for the Dutch shipping firm of La Corona, a subsidiary of Anglo-Saxon petroleum company and was commandeered for the German Kriegsmarine when Germany invaded Holland in 1940. The Memelland was in Kiel when WW2 ended in May 1945.

A 1/1200 scale second-hand metal model of Admiral Scheer by Superior Models 204G. The model is painted overall blue with wood effect painted decks and is in excellent condition, see photograph. Provenance of this model suggests to us that it is a Clydeside casting made under licence from Superior Models in the 1980s.

A 1/1200 scale second-hand metal model of Lutzow from 1940-44. Superior model 206G. This model is in very good condition, see photograph. The provenance of this model leads us to believe that it was probably cast under licence in the UK by Clydeside and painted by the previous owner in light grey with wood effect painted decks.

Prowling the South Atlantic early in WW2, and having sunk 11 British merchant ships, the pocket battleship Graf Spee was spotted by the cruisers Ajax, Exeter and Achilles. Damaged she sought refuge for repairs in a neutral port in Uruguay. Refused more time and facing what they believed were superior forces the crew scuttled the ship at the mouth of the River Plate giving the British their first great victory of WW2.

The kit version, requires assembly and painting.

A 1/1250 scale metal model of the German commerce raider Atlantis by Navis Neptun 1021. This model is fully finished and painted, see photograph.

Originally built for Hansa Line, commissioned 19th December 1939 and sailed on 11th March 1940 for a voyage of 622 days, during which 22 ships totalling 145,697 succumbed. Atlantis was finally sunk by HMS Devonshire on 23rd november 1941. The survivors were picked up by supply ship Python, herself sunk 1st December by HMS Dorsetshire, with those now surviving rescued by German and Italian submarines.

A 1/1250 scale metal model of the German commerce raider Thor by Navis Neptun 1022.

Painted to a nondescript livery to disguise her German identity before the introduction of all gray by the Allies, she cruised round the world to Japan.

A 1/1250 scale metal model of the German commerce raider Stier by Navis Neptun 1023.

The famous supply tanker that supported German raiders and was conveying prisoners to Germany when intercepted by HMS Cossack in a Norwegian fjord! A new model in 2013 that is a welcome addition.
The model is finished with the black hull and grey upperworks worn in 1939/40 to break through the British blockade.

A 1/1250 scale model of the German repair ship Huascaran in 1943 by CM Miniaturen CM-P 72