The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser), or merchant or commerce raider of the Kriegsmarine, which, in World War II, travelled more than 161,000 km (100,000 mi) in 602 days, and sank or captured 22 ships with a combined tonnage of 144,384.

Commerce raiders do not seek to engage warships, but rather attack enemy merchant shipping; the measures of success are tonnage destroyed (or captured) and time spent at large.

Atlantis was second only to Pinguin in tonnage destroyed, and had the longest raiding career of any German commerce raider in either world war.

A version of the story of Atlantis is told in the film Under Ten Flags with Van Heflin appearing as Captain Rogge.

Built by Bremer Vulkan in 1937,[2] she began her career as the cargo ship Goldenfels, owned and operated by DDG Hansa, Bremen.

Goldenfels was powered by two Six-cylinder Single Cycle Double Action diesel engines, built by Bremer Vulkan.

The cruiser carried a dummy funnel and variable-height masts, and was well supplied with paint, canvas, and materials for further altering her appearance, including costumes for the crew and flags.

Diesel engines allowed her to drift when convenient to conserve fuel, and unlike steam machinery, instantly restart her powerplant.

Commissioned in mid-December, she was the first of nine or ten merchant ships armed by Nazi Germany for the purposes of seeking out and engaging enemy cargo vessels.

She also had rising sun symbols on the gun flaps and Japanese characters (copied from a magazine) on the aft hull.

Scientist turned to flee, but on the second salvo from Atlantis flames exploded from the ship, followed by a cloud of dust and then white steam from the boilers.

The minefield was successful, but the deception was foiled and the ship's presence revealed by a German propaganda broadcast boasting that "a minefield, sown by a German raider" had sunk no fewer than eight merchant ships, three more were overdue, three minesweepers were involved, and the Royal Navy was not capable of finding "a solitary raider" operating in "its own back yard".

A copy of the report sent by City of Exeter was found, describing Atlantis in minute detail and including a photograph of the similar Freienfels, confirming that the "Japanese" identity had not been believed.

Then she encountered King City, carrying coal, which was mistaken for a British Q-Ship due to its erratic maneuvering caused by mechanical difficulties.

Yugoslavia was neutral at the time, but Captain Rogge was desperate for an opportunity for Atlantis to get rid of the POWs that had accumulated on board, so the ship was captured because it had been carrying coal from Cardiff to Oran before its current voyage.

[6]: 19  Captured documents and 260 POWs were transferred to Durmitor, which, with a prize crew of 14 Germans commanded by Lt. Dehnel, was dispatched to Italian-controlled Mogadishu.

[13] Lacking sufficient fuel, the Durmitor resorted to sails and, after a "hellish" voyage, made landfall in Warsheikh, north of Mogadishu, on 22 November, five weeks after departure.

[15] At about 07:00 on 11 November 1940, Atlantis encountered the Blue Funnel Line cargo ship Automedon about 250 mi (400 km) northwest of Sumatra.

At a range of around 2,000 yd (1,800 m), Atlantis shelled Automedon, ceasing fire after three minutes in which she had destroyed her bridge, accommodation, and lifeboats.

[citation needed] The Germans boarded the stricken ship and broke into the strong room, where they found fifteen bags of Top Secret mail for the British Far East Command, including a large quantity of decoding tables, fleet orders, gunnery instructions, and naval intelligence reports.

After wasting an hour breaking open the ship's safe only to discover "a few shillings in cash", a search of the Automedon's chart room found a small weighted green bag marked "Highly Confidential" containing the Chief of Staff's report to the Commander in Chief Far East, Robert Brooke Popham.

It painted a gloomy picture of British land and naval capabilities in the Far East, and declared that Britain was too weak to risk war with Japan.

Rogge was rewarded for this with an ornate katana; the only other Germans so honoured were Hermann Göring and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

[5]: 134 In late January 1941, off the eastern coast of Africa, Atlantis sank the British ship Mandasor and captured Speybank.

Perla was making its way from the port of Massawa in Italian East Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, to Bordeaux in France.

Rogge wrote in his memoirs that, after seeing the small coastal submarine and its emaciated crew, he told the commander, Lt. Bruno Napp, his perplexity about his mission and suggested him to reach either Brazil or Argentina to be interned; by his account, Napp politely rejected the advice, telling that he would do his utmost to obey his orders, much to Rogge's admiration.

They seized most of his films when the prisoners returned to Europe aboard the German blockade runner Dresden  [de], but he smuggled four rolls back to New York.

[citation needed] Atlantis then patrolled the South Pacific,[21] initially in French Polynesia between the Tubuai Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago.

At 08.37 the British cruiser fired two warning salvoes and in response Atlantis transmitted a raider report posing as the Dutch ship Polyphemus.

Between 14 and 18 December in the Cap Verde region the four big Italian submarines Enrico Tazzoli, Pietro Calvi, Giuseppe Finzi and Luigi Torelli took 260 Germans aboard so that all survivors had a place below decks and the U-boats were able to dive again.