Secret German Far East Raider

The story of the commerce raider Michel, one of the most successful German warships of WW2 that, with Japanese help, ranged through the Indian and Pacific Oceans sinking lots of Allied merchant ships.

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[mitchthibeau]

Years of consuming documentaries about everything WWII and this is the first I've encountered about armed german freighter ships used like this. Just fantastic content.

[royjudson]

Its mind-boggling when you think how much Cargo is on our Ocean's floors.

[gazzgarage]

Would like to see a video on the german raider Kormoran that sank the Australian Crusier HMAS Sydney

[Mr_Welch]

That's the ship that was responsible for the death of my uncle Arthur Ray Moss. He was Merchant Marine and it sank his ship. He survived they turned him over to the Japanese as a POW. He didn't live too long after that

[austint]

The shit going on in the ocean during Ww2 is absolutely insane. They were some brave mfers to even get on a boat during that time period

[seanmitchell]

Start off your mornings right, with some Mark Felton and a nice cuppa.

[northerncaptain]

Great video! Early in my career as a merchant ship deck officer, I worked with a Chief Engineer who’d been a young seaman captured when “Michel” captured and sunk the Texaco tanker “Connecticut”. He was among those turned over to the Japanese and spent the balance of the war at slave labor in the coal mines. However he spoke well of his earlier treatment by the Germans. It was a privilege to work and talk with many WW2 survivors of sinking.

[infantryattacks]

The SS Tarpon lies on the bottom off the coast of North Carolina. I dove on her with my best buddy Tom Edwards several years ago. If I recall correctly, she is about 130-feet deep. She sank after being decommissioned following WWII while being towed to a scrap yard. I'm glad she did not end up as razor blades. Our dive was spectacular. Visibility was about 100 feet that day and the submarine had a plethora of pelagics hovering around her pressure hull. Sand Tigers, Barracuda, and schools of massive Tuna galore. I'll never forget that dive and will always honor the SS Tarpon and her brave crew who sank the Michael so long ago during the height of WWII.

[josephryan]

Thanks for a detailed account of yet another obscene topic of WW2. Decades ago, when I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in the German Navy and started reading about it. One of the books on this topic that really grabbed my attention was Raider 16, " by Edwin Hoyt. The success of this vessel (the Atlantis) stood in stark contrast to the rest of the German surface fleet being sunk or bottled up in harbor by the Royal Navy. As your audio presentation shows, the Atlantis was not the only German surface raider to achieve success.

One could certainly apply the SBS motto to these vessels: "Not by strength, by guile."

[AustrianChaos]

Interesting, entertaining and presented with the utmost professionalism as usual. I really appreciate these videos!

[avadelvisco]

Dr. Felton: I would love to see a video by you about the battle between the German auxiliary cruiser Stier and the U.S. Liberty Ship Stephen Hopkins. Thank you.

[jonny-b]

I read a book about these ships when I was younger. Can't remember the name. Always found the concept of being a merchant raider/pirate so fascinating. Especially in a modern age. So interesting to think out there all alone in the ocean, only to stumble upon prey, deal with them, capture them and imprisoner them within your hold and move onto the next one.

[robertschlesinger]

Interesting, informative and worthwhile video on a little known topic from WW2 history.

[tinkeringinthailand]

I just love Mark Felton Productions. Some of the best, and regular, WW1/2 historical content (along with diversity) on YT.

[stephenrickstrew]

TheCommerce Raiders were the best deal the KM ever got ….in terms of cost vrs tonnage sunken and aggravating the RN …..I am curious about Dr Feltons opinion, concerning the capture of the Singapore Report by The Atlantis …. And did it influence Japanese strategic thinking… Many Thanks for yet another Great Episode …..

[TankerBricks]

Thanks Mark for providing my Tuesday afternoon entertainment!

[kaijudirector]

In a topic as obscure as this, Pinguin, Atlantis, and Kormoran are usually the most talked about. Good work!

[williamlloyd]

What a story!
What a movie this story would make.

[ebdhudnav]

I read about this years ago and thank you for covering this. It's relatively unknown to a lot of people.

[williammiller]

Keep them coming Mark, these episodes are absolutely fascinating! 🤔