This is the second part in Chuck’s ongoing series of articles discussing some of the lesser known ships you will command and fight against in Seas of Thunder. (You can read the first article here.)

The Armed Merchantmen were surely the most unusual and intriguing ships we made for the game and their unique abilities give the game a layer of strategy and depth far beyond their measure. Sure everyone knows about the Bismarck and the Hood and the Yamato, but it is in the converted workhorses that the precious few points may be eeked out to separate victory from defeat.

Previously we discussed the German Raider SMS Pinguin and summarized what she did during the war. Now we focus on HMS Jervis Bay, a Commonwealth Line steamer that was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in August 1939. Her wartime duties started off working convoy escort in May 1940 operating out of Bermuda. She was armed with seven 152 mm main guns and two 76 mm AA guns. The steamer was not much to look at but had a dedicated crew.

She was only commissioned for a short time when she was on lone escort duty for convoy HX 84 (HX indicating that she was running the Halifax, Nova Scotia to ports in the UK) and encountered German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer (sometimes known as a “pocket battleship” due to her large main guns and small size).

Captain Fegen, at the helm of Jervis Bay, did the only thing he could do. He ordered the convoy to scatter and drove HMS Jervis Bay directly towards the enemy ship. It was a one sided battle, with Jervis Bay’s 6” guns being no match for the 11” guns of the Scheer. It took 24 minutes for the German warship to dispatch of the converted liner, but that was 24 minutes for the convoy to disperse. Out of the 37 merchant ships in the convoy, only five were sunk by the Admiral Sheer.

There were 254 crew on the Jervis Bay but only 68 were picked up afterwards and three later died. To this day there is a monument to Jervis Bay at Albouy’s Point in Bermuda. The spot where the doomed Jervis Bay had departed on her final mission.

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