View source for German auxiliary cruiser Komet

{{Short description|German commerce raider}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Komet (auxiliary cruiser).jpg
|Ship caption=''Komet'' {{circa}} 1941
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|civil}}
|Ship name=''Komet''
|Ship namesake= [[Comet]]
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=[[Norddeutscher Lloyd]]
|Ship registry=
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[A.G. Weser|Deschimag A.G. Weser]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=16 January 1937
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=''Ems''
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=[[Bremen]]
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship honors=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Requisitioned by [[Kriegsmarine]], 1939
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=[[Nazi Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}
|Ship name=''Komet''
|Ship namesake=[[Comet]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship operator=[[Kriegsmarine]]
|Ship builder=[[Howaldtswerke]], Hamburg (conversion)
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=
|Ship acquired=1939
|Ship renamed=''Komet'' (1940)
|Ship reclassified=[[Auxiliary cruiser]] (1940)
|Ship commissioned=2 June 1940
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship yard number=7
|Ship nickname=*HSK-7
* Schiff-45
* Raider B
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sunk on 14 October 1942 after hit by a torpedo near Cap de la Hague.
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship displacement=7,500 tons
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|3287}}
|Ship length={{Convert|115.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{Convert|15.3|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{Convert|6.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship propulsion=2 Diesel engines
|Ship speed={{convert|16|kn}}
|Ship range={{Convert|35100|nmi|km}}
|Ship complement=274
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=* 6 × [[15 cm SK L/45|{{convert|15|cm|in|abbr=on}} SK L/45]]
* 1 × [[Canon de 75 modèle 1897#Naval and coastal artillery|{{convert|75|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}]]
* 1 × [[3.7 cm SK C/30|{{convert|3.7|cm|in|abbr=on}} SK C/30]]
* 4 × [[2 cm FlaK 30|{{convert|2|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} C/30]] AA guns
* 6 × 53.3&nbsp;cm [[torpedo tube]]s
* 30 × EMC [[naval mine|mines]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=2 [[Arado Ar 196]] A-1
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''''Komet''''' (German for [[comet]]) (HSK-7) was an [[auxiliary cruiser]] of [[Nazi Germany]]'s ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' in the Second World War, intended for service as a [[commerce raider]].<ref name="Komet1">{{cite web |title=Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) Komet |url=http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/komet.html |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-date=15 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015175903/http://bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/komet.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Known to the Kriegsmarine as '''Schiff 45''',<ref name="Downing">{{cite book |last=Downing|first=David|date=2009|title=Sealing Their Fate: The 22 Days That Decided World War II|publisher=Da Capo Press Book|page=[https://archive.org/details/sealingtheirfate0000down/page/176 176]|isbn=978-0-306-81620-8|url=https://archive.org/details/sealingtheirfate0000down|url-access=registration|quote=komet.}}</ref> to the [[Royal Navy]] she was named '''Raider B'''.

After completing one successful raid in the South Pacific, she was sunk by a British [[motor torpedo boat]] in October 1942 whilst attempting to break out into the Atlantic on another.

==Construction and conversion==
Launched on 16 January 1937 as the [[merchant ship]] ''Ems'' at [[A.G. Weser|Deschimag A.G. Weser]] shipyard in [[Bremen (city)|Bremen]] for [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]] (NDL), she was requisitioned at the start of the Second World War in 1939, converted into an auxiliary cruiser at [[Howaldt]]swerke in [[Hamburg]], and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 2 June 1940. The ship was 115.5 m long and 15.3 m wide, had a draught of 6.5 m, and registered {{GRT|3,287|metric|disp=long}}. She was powered by two diesel engines that gave her a speed of up to 16 knots (30&nbsp;km/h).

As a commerce raider, ''Komet'' was armed with six 15&nbsp;cm guns, one 7.5&nbsp;cm gun, one 3.7&nbsp;cm and four 2&nbsp;cm AA guns, as well as six [[torpedo tube]]s. She also carried a small 15-ton fast boat ("Meteorit", of the "LS2" class) intended to lay [[Naval mine|mines]] and an [[Arado Ar 196|Arado 196 A1]] seaplane.

[[File:Komet schematics.svg|thumb|right|305px|upright=1.5|Drawing of the ''Komet''. Note the Arado 196 seaplane]]

==First raid voyage==

===Breakout into the Pacific===
After a long period of negotiations between Nazi Germany and the [[Soviet Union]], the Soviets agreed to provide Germany with access to the [[Northern Sea Route]] through which Germany could access   the Pacific Ocean.<ref name="philbin131">Philbin III, Tobias R., ''The Lure of Neptune: German-Soviet Naval Collaboration and Ambitions, 1919–1941'', University of South Carolina Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-87249-992-8}}, pages 131–7</ref> Although the two countries had signed the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] (with secret protocols dividing Eastern Europe) and an undisclosed [[German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (1940)|commercial agreement]] (extensive military and civilian aid pact), the Soviet Union still wished to maintain the veneer of being neutral, and secrecy thus was required.<ref name="philbin131" /> Initially, the two countries had agreed to send 26 ships, including four armed merchant cruisers, but because of a variety of difficulties, this was soon reduced to just one vessel, the ''Komet'',<ref name="philbin131" /> the smallest one of the units that Germany wanted to use as auxiliary raiders.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite book |last=Robinson|first=Stephen|date=2016|title=False Flags: Disguised German Raiders of World War Two|location=Auckland|publisher=Exisle Publishing Ltd.|isbn=978-1-77559-302-7|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpI1DQAAQBAJ&q=komet&pg=PA69}}</ref>

Prior to being sent on the Northern Sea Route, the ''Komet'' was equipped with a specially strengthened bow and a propeller suitable for navigating through ice.<ref name="philbin138">Philbin III, Tobias R., ''The Lure of Neptune: German-Soviet Naval Collaboration and Ambitions, 1919–1941'', University of South Carolina Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-87249-992-8}}, page 138–39</ref> Under the command of ''Kapitän zur See'' (later ''Konteradmiral'') [[Robert Eyssen]], HSK7 departed for her first raiding voyage from [[Gotenhafen]] (now [[Gdynia]] in [[Poland]]), on 3 July 1940 with a crew of 270.<ref name="philbin138"/> The ship stopped in [[Bergen]] on 9 July to refuel and resupply.<ref name="philbin139">Philbin III, Tobias R., ''The Lure of Neptune: German-Soviet Naval Collaboration and Ambitions, 1919–1941'', University of South Carolina Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-87249-992-8}}, page 139</ref> Then she started again her route towards the Arctic Ocean.

With the consent of the then supposedly neutral Soviet Union, ''Komet'' initially made her way along the Norwegian coast disguised as the Soviet icebreaker ''[[Icebreaker Semyon Dezhnev|Semyon Dezhnev]]''.<ref name="philbin138" /> While waiting in [[Teriberka]] Bay in July and August because of Soviet security concerns, she took the fake name the ''Donau''.<ref name="philbin138" /> With assistance from the Soviet [[Lenin (1916 icebreaker)|icebreaker ''Lenin'']], she passed through the several Arctic Ocean passages in August.<ref name="philbin140">Philbin III, Tobias R., ''The Lure of Neptune: German-Soviet Naval Collaboration and Ambitions, 1919–1941'', University of South Carolina Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-87249-992-8}}, pages 140–1</ref> She also later received help from the [[Sibir (1937 icebreaker)|''Joseph Stalin'']].<ref name="philbin140" /> In early September, the ''Komet'' crossed the Bering Strait into the Pacific Ocean.<ref name="philbin140" />

[[File:Raider Komet.svg|thumb|left|''Komet'' disguised as the ''Manyo Maru'']]
The passage was an amazing achievement and would have ended in disaster had it not been for the Soviets, whose help had come at a price: 950,000&nbsp;[[German Reichsmark|Reichsmarks]].<ref name="philbin140" /> For many of the German crew, this was their first experience in Arctic waters.<ref name="Duffy130">{{cite book|last=Duffy|first=James P.|date=2001|title=Hitler's secret pirate fleet|location=Lincoln|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]|page= 130|isbn=0803266529|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXt8iTfDNacC&pg=PA138}}</ref>

[[File:German WWII on West Pacific Ocean map-en.svg|thumb|305px|right|alt=The South Pacific showing the routes taken by the German vessels and locations where Allied ships were sunk as described in the article|Movements of the three German ships in December 1940 and January 1941]]
Once in the Pacific, Eyssen sailed down to the Japanese island of [[Lamotrek|Lamutrik]] and met the ''[[German auxiliary cruiser Orion|Orion]]'' and ''[[Kulmerland (ship)|Kulmerland]]'' in mid-October. After a conference on strategy, the three captains decided to work together, concentrating on the New Zealand to Panama passage taken by most of the Allied merchant ships. They decided on Japanese disguises – ''Komet'' and ''Kulmerland'' had the names ''Manyo Maru'' and ''Tokio Maru'' painted on their hulls.

===Raiding in South Pacific waters===
In early November, ''Komet'' resupplied and refueled in Japan, disguised as the Japanese merchantman ''Manio Maru''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Komet raider |url=http://argo.net.au/andre/raiderKOMETENFIN.htm |work=argo.net.au |access-date=24 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230162240/http://www.argo.net.au/andre/raiderKOMETENFIN.htm |archive-date=30 December 2006}}</ref> She operated with the [[German auxiliary cruiser Orion|''Orion'']], disguised as ''Mayebashi Maru'' and the supply ship ''[[Kulmerland (ship)|Kulmerland]]'', posing as the ''Tokio Maru''.

Together with the other two ships, on 25 November she sank the coaster ''Holmwood''<ref name="Komet1" /> and two days later, when  300 miles east of New Zealand, the passenger liner [[MS Rangitane (1929)|''Rangitane'']], raiding her precious food load.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ariannaeditrice.it/articolo.php?id_articolo=21276|title=La crociera della nave corsara Komet e l'attacco all'isola di Nauru|trans-title=The cruise of the Komet and the raid on Nauru island|language=IT|last=Lamendola|first=Francesco|date=23 September 2008|access-date=31 August 2017}}</ref> By that time, ''Komet'' had already been at sea for 140 days and Eyssen admitted in his war diary that he had become depressed and frustrated at not having encountered the enemy.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070721080102/http://www.thebells.btinternet.co.uk/rangitane/story.htm Rangitane story]</ref>

During December, ''Komet'' and ''Orion'' casually<ref name="Waters36">{{cite book |last=Waters|first=S.D.|date=2008|title=German raiders in the Pacific|location=Bennington|publisher=Merriam Press|page=36|isbn=978-1-4357-5760-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mswXAwAAQBAJ&q=anneliese+essberger+komet&pg=PA51}}</ref> met in the waters surrounding [[Nauru|Nauru Island]] and proceeded to sink [[German attacks on Nauru|five Allied merchant ships]], with a combined tonnage of about 41,000 tons, that had been waiting off the island to load [[phosphate]].<ref name=asmussen>John Asmussen, [http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/komet.html ''Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) Komet''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015175903/http://bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/komet.html |date=15 October 2016 }} Retrieved 16 October 2010</ref><ref name=kaczmarek>Rafal Kaczmarek (in Polish): ''Korsarski rejs wsród lodów obu biegunów'' [Corsair raid through ice of both poles] in: Okrety Wojenne Nr. 11 (1994 r.), p.32–39</ref> Three of these ships -- ''Triona'', ''Vinni'' and ''Komata''<ref name="Robinson128-130">Robinson, pp. 128–130</ref>—were sunk between 6 and 7 December by ''Komet'', which took more than 500 prisoners; the prisoners were landed a few days later on [[Emirau Island]].<ref name= "Duffy134">Duffy, p. 134</ref>

===Attack on Nauru===
{{Main|German attacks on Nauru}}

At the end of December Eyssen planned to lay a minefield at the entrance of the [[Rabaul]]'s harbour. He was forced to abandon his plan due to an engine failure on the ''Meteorit'' boat that was designed for the mission.<ref name="Komet1" /> He, therefore, decided to set course towards [[Nauru Island|Nauru]], wanting to land his troops and occupy the [[phosphate]] processing and loading facilities on the island. The bad weather though convinced Eyssen to change his plans into a direct attack to the island infrastructures.<ref name="Duffy134" />

On 27 December 1940 the ''Komet'' sent a warning to the island and announced that the attack was about to begin. She shelled and heavily damaged the loading plants and mooring buoys of the port. The bombardment lasted an hour, and it caused the loss of 13,000 tons of oil.<ref name="Duffy134" /> The Nauru phosphate extraction facilities did not resume their pre-war output levels until the end of the conflict.<ref name="Waters 1956p148">{{cite book |last=Waters|first=S.D.|date=1956|title=Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45 - The Royal New Zealand Navy|location=Wellington|publisher=Historical Publications Branch|page=148|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy-c10.html}}</ref> The action also led to the promotion of Eyssen to ''Konteradmiral'' on 1 January 1941.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fellgiebel|first=Walther-Peel|date=2003|title=Elite of the Third Reich - The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-45|location=Solilhull|publisher=Helion & Company Limited|page=148|isbn=88-7108-127-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inwd2rDaLm4C&q=eyssen+iron+cross+komet&pg=PA148}}</ref>

After the Nauru attack (probably the major German success in the Pacific operational area during the war) the ''Komet'' received the order to set a new course towards south, crossing the [[Indian Ocean]] and scouting the presence of Allied [[whaler]]s.<ref name="Robinson200">Robinson, p. 200</ref> After a few months with no success, the ship reached the shores of [[Antarctica]] on 16 February 1941; later on 6 March she had a stop on the French [[Kerguelen Islands]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Kauffmann|first=Jean-Paul|date=1993|title=L'arco delle Kerguelen - Le isole della desolazione|trans-title=Kerguelen, the desololation islands|language=it|location=Milan|publisher=Feltrinelli Traveller|page=142|isbn=9788871081274|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8LOJpFeEXQC&q=komet&pg=PA142}}</ref> and had there a brief meeting with the other German auxiliary ship [[German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin|''Pinguin'']].

===Operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Galapagos Islands===
The hunt for allied ships in the Indian Ocean had no success; after some months, Eyssen sailed towards the [[Panama Canal]], hoping to find more convoys in the [[Pan-American Security Zone]], recently opened to military actions from the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' high command. From 14 July 1941 until 25 July the ''Komet'' was resupplied by the German freighter ''Anneliese Essberger'' near the [[Tuamotu Archipelago]].<ref name="Waters51">Waters, p. 51</ref> At this time, the ''Komet'' was disguised as the [[Osaka Shosen Kaisha]] line ''Ryoku Maru''.

On 14 August the ship met near the [[Galápagos Islands]] the British freighter ''Australind'' and sunk it.<ref name="Duffy 138">Duffy, p. 138</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?184946|title=MV Australind (+1941)|author=<!--Not stated--> |access-date=18 October 2017}}</ref> Three days later the German cruiser met the Dutch 7,300 ton freighter ''Kota Nopan'', loading more than 2,000 tons of [[tin]] and [[manganese]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bertke |first1=Donald A. |last2=Kindell |first2=Donald |last3=Smith |first3=Gordon |year=2012 |title=World War II Sea War - Volume II: germany sends Russia to Allies |location=Dayton, Ohio |publisher=Bertke Publications |page=205|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULQOBAAAQBAJ&q=komet&pg=PA368|isbn=978-1-937470-04-3}}</ref> Due to her precious load, the supply ship was spared from sinking and captured. On 19 August ''Komet'' met the freighter ''Devon'' and sank it.<ref name="Komet1" /> Except for some casualties, the German sailors saved the crew members of the enemy ships, who became prisoners of war.<ref name="Bertke 205">Bertke, p. 205</ref>

===Pacific Ocean and return voyage===
After these three successes, Eyssen decided to move out of the area, fearful of the reaction of the Allied navy. ''Komet'' headed towards [[New Zealand]] accompanied by the captured ''Kota Nopan''. At the end of September she had a brief meeting with the auxiliary cruiser [[German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis|''Atlantis'']]<ref>{{cite book |last=Williamson|first=Gordon|date=2009|title=Kriegsmarine auxiliary cruisers|location=Oxford|publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd.|page=38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0i21CwAAQBAJ&q=komet&pg=PA38|isbn=978-1-78200-001-3}}</ref> and transferred to her a part of the prisoners and cargo load.<ref name="Duffy 30">Duffy, p. 30</ref>

''Komet'' then received the order to return to Germany. The ship set a new course towards [[Cape Horn]], sailing at a slower speed in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] disguised as the Portuguese freighter ''S. Thomé''.<ref name="Downing" /> The captured ''Kopa Notan'' was sent as a prize to [[Bordeaux]], in [[occupied France]], arriving there on 17 November. ''Komet'' reached the French port of [[Cherbourg]] on 26 November,<ref name="Komet1" /> disguised as the freighter ''Sperrbrecher 52''. The day after she had a short stop in [[Le Havre]] and then sailed towards Germany. Some British [[torpedo bombers]] spotted her in the [[English Channel]] but were not able to sink her. After having landed all her prisoners of war at [[Cuxhaven]],<ref name="Komet1" /> the auxiliary cruiser finally reached [[Hamburg]] on 30 November 1941<ref name="Bertke 368">Bertke, p. 368</ref> after a voyage of 516 days and about {{convert|100000|nmi|km}}. The ship had sunk seven ships (two in conjunction with the raider ''Orion'') for a total of 41,568 tons.<ref name="Komet1" />

==Second raid==
The ''Komet'' was prepared for a second raiding voyage in October 1942, after 11 months of complete repair. Only two of her original officers had remained on board and ''Kapitän zur See'' Ulrich Brocksien took over command.<ref name="PacificWrecks">{{cite web |url= https://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/german/komet.html|title= Pacific Wrecks - Komet (Schiff-45, HSK-7)|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=22 May 2017|access-date= 26 October 2017}}</ref>

On 7 October 1942 the raider, disguised as a [[minesweeper]], departed from the Dutch-occupied port of [[Vlissingen]] with the objective 
of reaching the Atlantic. After a short stay in [[Dunquerque]], on 12 October the ''Komet'' set course towards Le Havre.

Initial attempts by the Royal Navy to attack the ship in the Straits of Dover had failed. On 13 October, ''Komet'' sailed from Le Havre with an escort of four or
five [[Type 35 torpedo boat]]s.{{efn|[[Type 37 torpedo boat]]s may have been included in the escorts, as well as the type 35s.}} Unsure of the exact route that the German ship would follow, and aware of the fast speed of the German vessels, four groups of warships were assembled to make an interception to the West of the [[Cherbourg Peninsula]]. Group A, consisted of HMS ''[[HMS Cottesmore (L78)|Cottesmore]]'', ''[[HMS Quorn (L66)|Quorn]]'', ''[[HMS Albrighton|Albrighton]]'', ''Glaisdale'' and ''Eskdale''. Two flotillas of [[Motor torpedo boat|MTB]]s made up Groups C and D. These three groups headed for a position near Cap de la Hague. Group B (the destroyers ''[[HMS Brocklesby (L42)|Brocklesby]]'', ''[[HMS Fernie|Fernie]]'', ''[[HMS Tynedale (L96)|Tynedale]]'' and the Polish ''[[ORP Krakowiak (L115)|Krakowiak]]'') were further West, near the Channel Islands.

The German convoy were spotted by a [[Coastal Command]] aircraft in the middle of the [[Baie de la Seine]], travelling at 16 knots, and groups A,C and D hurried to get into position. In the particularly dark night and moderately rough sea conditions, the MTB flotillas became separated from the destroyers.

At just before 1:00 am, ''Cottesmore'' sighted the German vessels. The Allied ships fired star shells to illuminate the target and then opened fire. To the British attackers, the Germans appeared taken completely by surprise and in the confusion, opened fire on each other, until eventually firing torpedoes at the Allied ships (all of which missed). Two of the escorts were on fire and the other German ships turned inshore to gain the protection of the coastal artillery batteries.

The most junior commanding officer in group D was [[Sub-Lieutenant]] [[Robert Drayson]], who had just taken over in MTB 236 after the previous C.O. had gone sick. As junior, Drayson was last in the line of MTBs and became separated from the rest of the flotilla as they crossed the Channel. Drayson continued independently to Cap de La Hague. None of the other Allied MTBs arrived in the area. After a while, Drayson saw star shells and tracer as the battle started and increased speed. He decided to approach the action from the shoreward side to catch any German vessel trying to get away. This put MTB 236 in position to see ''Komet'' illuminated by a star shell. The German ship was travelling at more than 15 knots, exchanging fire with the Allied destroyers who were in pursuit. Drayson's MTB was ahead of the German ship and crept in at slow speed to fire two torpedoes at a range of 500 yards. MTB 236 immediately turned away and "crash-started" her main engines to escape under cover of a smoke-screen. ''Komet'' had now sighted her and switched fire. Within a few seconds, both torpedoes struck ''Komet,'' followed by a huge secondary explosion. The force of this blast lifted the stern of MTB 236 out of the water and put out of action two of the boat's three engines, leaving her to return home at reduced speed.

Group B had moved to join the battle and engaged some of the remaining German vessels, but with the main target gone and shore battery fire now becoming more accurate, broke off the action and returned home.

''Komet'' sank with no survivors. Sub-Lt Drayson was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]] for his part in the action. The Allied forces experienced only two minor casualties, despite being under heavy fire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Peter |title=The Battle of the Narrow Seas: The History of Light Coastal Forces in the Channel and North Sea 1939-1945 |date=1945 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1-84832-035-2 |edition=Kindle, 2009}}</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3264111/Bob-Drayson.html Bob Drayson] (Obituary) dated 26 October 2008 at telegraph.co.uk/news. Retrieved 13 December 2013</ref>

==''Komet'' discovered==
The wreck of HK ''Komet'' was discovered by nautical archaeologist [[Innes McCartney]] off Cap de la Hague in July 2006 and was surveyed by a team led by him in 2007. She is in two halves and upside down, with a large part of the center section blown away by the explosion that sank her. She lies in {{convert|55.0|m|ft|1}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Komet that turned fireball|publisher=Divernet – Diver Magazine Online|author=Innes McCartney|url=http://www.divernet.com/Wrecks/wrecks_general/159386/komet_that_turned_fireball.html|access-date=6 December 2009|archive-date=17 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017175131/http://divernet.com/Wrecks/wrecks_general/159386/komet_that_turned_fireball.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.188476614626259.45490.133017106838877&type=3|title=Log In or Sign Up to View|via=Facebook}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2020}} of water.

==Raiding career==
:Victims: (Source)<ref name=asmussen /><ref name=kaczmarek />
* 25 November 1940 ''Holmwood'' {{GRT|546|metric}}
* 6 December 1940 ''Triona'' {{GRT|4,413|metric}}
* 7 December 1940 ''Vinni''<ref name="Vinni">{{cite web|title = MV Vinni (+1940) |url= http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?181099 |publisher=Wrecksite|access-date= 5 December 2013}}</ref> {{GRT|5,181|metric}}
* 7 December 1940 ''Komata''<ref name="Komata">{{cite web|title = SS Komata (+1940)|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?136334|publisher=Wrecksite|access-date= 5 December 2013}}</ref> {{GRT|3,900|metric}}
* 14 August 1941 ''Australind'' {{GRT|5,020|metric}}
* 17 August 1941 ''Kota Nopan'' {{GRT|7,322|metric}} (captured)
* 19 August 1941 ''Devon'' {{GRT|9,036|metric}}

Sunk together with ''Orion''
* 27 November 1940 [[RMS Rangitane|RMS ''Rangitane'']]<ref name=" Rangitane">{{cite web|title =MV Rangitane (+1940)|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?138639|publisher=Wrecksite|access-date=5 December 2013}}</ref> {{GRT|16,712|metric}}
* 8 December 1940 ''Triadic''<ref name="Triadic">{{cite web|title =MV Triadic (+1940) |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?31189 |publisher=Wrecksite|access-date=5 December 2013}}</ref> {{GRT|6378|metric}}
* 8 December 1940 ''Triaster''<ref name="Triaster">{{cite web|title =MV Triaster (+1940) |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?138653 |publisher=Wrecksite|access-date=5 December 2013}}</ref> {{GRT|6032|metric}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|author=Paul Schmalenbach|title=German Raiders 1895–1945|year=1977|isbn=0-85059-351-4}}
* {{cite book|author=August Karl Muggenthaler|title=German Raiders of World War II|year=1977|isbn=0-7091-6683-4}}
* {{cite book|author=Stephen Roskill|title=The War at Sea 1939–1945 Volume I|year=1954}}
* {{cite book|author=Stephen Roskill|title=The War at Sea 1939–1945 Volume 2|year=1954}}
* {{cite book |last=Duffy|first=James P.|date=2001|title=Hitler's secret pirate fleet|location=Lincoln and London|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=0-8032-6652-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Robinson|first=Stephen|date=2016|title=False flags - Disguised german raiders of World War Two|location=Auckland|publisher=Exisle Publishing Ltd.|isbn=978-1-77559-302-7}}
* New Zealand Official War History: [http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/name-110459.html The German raider ''Komet'']

{{Norddeutscher Lloyd ships}}
{{German auxiliary cruiser}}
{{Nazi-Soviet relations}}
{{October 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{Coord|49|44|0|N|1|32|0|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komet}}
[[Category:World War II commerce raiders]]
[[Category:Germany–Soviet Union relations (1918–1941)]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1942]]
[[Category:World War II cruisers of Germany]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel]]
[[Category:1937 ships]]
[[Category:Auxiliary cruisers of the Kriegsmarine]]
[[Category:Germany–Soviet Union military relations]]