
Kulmerland (ship)
    
    Encyclopedia
    
        The Kulmerland was a supply ship of the Kriegsmarine
that operated during the Second World War in the Indian Ocean
and Pacific Ocean
. It was named after the Kulmerland region of Prussia, with the city of Kulm
, which in 1920 was made part of the Polish Corridor
.
It supplied German auxiliary ships (surface raiders) such as the Kormoran
, Orion
and Komet
, for a time disguised as a Japan
ese merchant ship Tokyo Maru.
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine  was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
that operated during the Second World War in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean  in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres  in area, this largest division of the World...
. It was named after the Kulmerland region of Prussia, with the city of Kulm
Kulm
The name Kulm  is a German language toponym which is derived from the Latin culmen, meaning hill. It may be used as follows:-Places:Austria* Kulm bei Weiz, a municipality in Styria* Kulm am Zirbitz, a municipality in Styria...
, which in 1920 was made part of the Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland  with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
.
It supplied German auxiliary ships (surface raiders) such as the Kormoran
German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
The German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran  was a Kriegsmarine  merchant raider of World War II. Originally the merchant vessel Steiermark, the ship was acquired by the Kriegsmarine following the outbreak of war for conversion into a raider...
, Orion
German auxiliary cruiser Orion
Orion  was an auxiliary cruiser of the German navy which operated as a merchant raider during World War II. Built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg in 1930/31 as the freighter Kurmark, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine at the outbreak of World War II and converted into the auxiliary cruiser Orion,...
and Komet
German auxiliary cruiser Komet
Komet   was an auxiliary cruiser of the German Kriegsmarine in the Second World War, intended for service as a commerce raider...
, for a time disguised as a Japan
Japan
Japan   is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese merchant ship Tokyo Maru.

