German Raider Atlantis

by Alfred Kuntz
(Beaumont, Texas United States)

The model is a scratch built model at 1/192 scale. It is 31 inches long mounted on stained hardwood. I acquired it at a local estate sale and the children of the model maker said their father was a master craftsman. They believe the model was crafted in the early 1950s. I also obtained a 36 inch model of the USS Richmond. The Atlantis had a sort of personal connection to me because a similar German Raider 'The Michel' torpedoed the Texaco Owned USS Connecticut in 1942 in the South Atlantic on which my grandfather served in Route from Port Arthur, Texas to Cape Town South Africa. 38 of the 56 crew members unfortunately burned to death as the ships cargo was gasoline. The Atlantis sunk 22 merchant ships and sailed over an amazing 100,000 miles in 600 days. It was 2nd in the war in total tonnage sunk.