SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - Could a Commerce Raider work on the modern Ocean? , What would it look like ?

Stealhead · 05-23-11, 08:58 PM

I think he means more like what the Germans had in WWII and WWI a ship looking like a merchant but really not.I think they have used similar set ups in the Straights of Malacca and in South East Asia sometimes.

Of course they both take advantage of looking non-threatening until ready to strike.There was an article some years back in the 90s in Popular Mechanics about the tech that the Malacca/South East Asian pirates based on what captured ones had on them and they had some pretty bad stuff NVGs all kind of things and they also loved to attack at night time.

I saw a doc a while back about South East Asian pirates who are much better organized than the Somalis they seem to know when the heat is on them to find other lines of work where as the Somalis seem totally desperate maybe this is because the South East Asian pirates have been active for 30 or 40 years to some extent and Im sure that they also earn money via other illegal activities.While the Somalis are just kind of running around.

I'd say a German style raider would be overkill when you could achieve the same goal with smaller boats if you want the cargo(at least in SEA)then you can take the ship to a safe sanctuary and take what you want.

And for an official military modern weapon systems make the need for a commerce raider not needed.

05-23-11, 08:58 PM	#3
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	I think he means more like what the Germans had in WWII and WWI a ship looking like a merchant but really not.I think they have used similar set ups in the Straights of Malacca and in South East Asia sometimes. Of course they both take advantage of looking non-threatening until ready to strike.There was an article some years back in the 90s in Popular Mechanics about the tech that the Malacca/South East Asian pirates based on what captured ones had on them and they had some pretty bad stuff NVGs all kind of things and they also loved to attack at night time. I saw a doc a while back about South East Asian pirates who are much better organized than the Somalis they seem to know when the heat is on them to find other lines of work where as the Somalis seem totally desperate maybe this is because the South East Asian pirates have been active for 30 or 40 years to some extent and Im sure that they also earn money via other illegal activities.While the Somalis are just kind of running around. I'd say a German style raider would be overkill when you could achieve the same goal with smaller boats if you want the cargo(at least in SEA)then you can take the ship to a safe sanctuary and take what you want. And for an official military modern weapon systems make the need for a commerce raider not needed.