Action of 8 May 1941 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Action of 8 May 1941
Part of the Second World War
Location map of the Seychelles
Date 8 May 1941 Location off the Seychelles, Indian Ocean 3°30′N 57°48′E / 3.5°N 57.8°E / 3.5; 57.8 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
P. C. W. Manwaring	Ernst-Felix Krüder   †
Strength
Heavy cruiser Cornwall	Auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
Casualties and losses
1 killed c. 200 imprisoned sailors killed 22 liberated Cornwall slightly damaged	323 killed 60 captured Pinguin sunk

The Action of 8 May 1941 was a naval battle during the Second World War. It happened between two ships: the British heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall and the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin. An auxiliary cruiser was a warship disguised as a regular cargo ship. The battle took place in the Indian Ocean, near the Seychelles islands, north of Madagascar.

During the fight, Pinguin caused some minor damage to Cornwall. However, Cornwalls shots hit Pinguin, causing a huge explosion that sank the German ship. One British sailor was killed on Cornwall. Sadly, about 200 British and Indian merchant sailors, who were prisoners on Pinguin, also died. These prisoners had been captured from over thirty merchant ships. From Pinguins crew of 401 men, 323 were killed, and 60 were rescued. Twenty-two of the merchant sailor prisoners were also saved. Cornwall then went to Durban for repairs.

Background to the Battle

Meet the Warships: HMS Cornwall

HMS Cornwall in 1929

HMS Cornwall was a large, powerful warship called a heavy cruiser. It was built in the mid-1920s and was part of the Kent class of cruisers. Captain P. C. W. Manwaring commanded the ship.

Cornwall was about 10,000 tons in size. It carried eight large 8-inch guns in four turrets. It also had anti-aircraft guns to shoot down planes, and smaller machine guns. Cornwall even had a special catapult to launch three small planes called Supermarine Walrus. These planes could land on water and helped with scouting. The ship could travel very fast, up to about 36 miles per hour (58 km/h).

Meet the Warships: Pinguin

Pinguin in 1941

The German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin was originally a cargo ship named Kandelfels, launched in 1936. The German Navy (called the Kriegsmarine) changed it into a warship. Captain Ernst-Felix Krüder was its commander.

Pinguin was armed with six 150 mm guns, a 75 mm gun, and several anti-aircraft guns. It also had torpedo tubes and could lay 300 naval mines. Like Cornwall, it carried a small plane, an Arado Ar 196 floatplane, for scouting. Before this battle, Pinguin had captured 14 Norwegian merchant ships. It also sank three British merchant ships in the Indian Ocean in April 1941.

The Chase Begins

After sinking a ship called Clan Buchanan on April 28, Pinguin sailed northwest. On May 4, it met another ship, Adjutant, to refuel and get supplies. Adjutant then went to wait at a meeting point.

Early on May 7, Pinguin found and sank a tanker ship called British Emperor. This happened about 375 nautical miles (694 km) east-southeast of Cape Guardafui. The British Emperor sent out a distress message.

Cornwall was on its way to refuel at the Seychelles Islands. It heard the distress call when it was about 520 nautical miles (963 km) south of the attack. Cornwall immediately changed course and sped up to 20 knots (23 mph or 37 km/h) to try and catch the German raider.

The British planned to use Cornwall's Walrus planes to search for Pinguin. Other British ships were also ordered to join the search. These included HMNZS Leander, HMS Liverpool, HMS Glasgow, and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Hector.

On the afternoon of May 7, Cornwall's two planes flew for three hours, searching for the German ship. At dawn on May 8, Cornwall sent both planes out again. At 7:07 a.m., one plane spotted a ship heading southwest. It was about 65 nautical miles (120 km) west of Cornwall. The plane reported the sighting after landing around 8:00 a.m.

At 8:25 a.m., Cornwall changed course and increased its speed to 23 knots (26 mph or 43 km/h). The second plane was launched again at 10:15 a.m. At 12:23 p.m., it reported that the unknown ship was moving at 15 knots (17 mph or 28 km/h). The ship had raised flags that showed it was a Norwegian motor-vessel called Tamerlane. However, this ship was not on the list of expected ships, making it suspicious.

The Battle of 8 May 1941

Cornwall sped up even more, reaching 26 knots (30 mph or 48 km/h), then 28 knots (32 mph or 52 km/h). At 1:45 p.m., a plane was launched to give Cornwall the exact location and speed of the suspected ship.

At 4:07 p.m., Cornwall could see the ship. The ship started sending out "raider reports," pretending to be Tamerlane. Cornwall ordered the ship to stop and even fired two warning shots. But the ship kept going for over an hour, until Cornwall was less than 12,000 yards (11,000 m) away.

At 5:10 p.m., Cornwall turned to its left. The suspected raider also made a big turn to its left and began firing its guns just before 5:15 p.m.

Cornwall had some mechanical problems and couldn't fire back for about two minutes. German shells landed very close to Cornwall many times. But then, Cornwall fired two salvos (a group of shots fired at once) from its front 8-inch guns. A 5.9-inch shell hit Cornwall, damaging its front steering system. For a moment, Cornwall was out of control, but its back steering system was quickly used.

By 5:18 p.m., all of Cornwall's guns were firing. Cornwall had better range finders and fire-control systems, which helped its aim. A salvo from Cornwall hit Pinguin. At 5:26 p.m., Pinguin exploded and sank. It went down about 500 nautical miles (926 km) north of the Seychelles. This was about 300 nautical miles (556 km) from where it had sunk the British Emperor.

Aftermath and Casualties

A British sailor at the back of Cornwall was killed when Pinguin first opened fire. On Pinguin, there were 222 British and Indian merchant sailors who had been captured. Of Pinguin's crew of 401 men, the captain and 322 others were killed. Sixty German crew members were rescued, along with 22 of the captured merchant sailors.