Aramis X1 auxiliary cruiser

Mathll · May 28, 2026, 2:27am

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Hello and welcome to this new suggestion.

Today I’m presenting a new ship from the French Navy, the auxiliary cruiser Aramis.

At the beginning of World War II, the French Navy requisitioned several hundred ships and their crews to create a massive fleet capable of patrolling and protecting all French waters. Among these vessels were trawlers, passenger ships, and merchant ships. The Aramis was a ship of the Messagerie Maritime (MesMar), a French shipping company that transported mail between the various French colonies using passenger ships (and therefore also carrying passengers).

Laid down in 1931 in La Seyne-sur-Mer, the Aramis was one of a class of three ships, along with the Georges Philippar and the Félix Roussel. Originally intended for passenger transport, the ship’s interior was entirely decorated in a style inspired by the reconstruction of Knossos in Greece (a blend of classical Greek and Art Deco styles). It was assigned to routes between France and the colonies in East Asia and underwent several modifications over the years, notably to improve its engine. In 1939, it was ordered to become an armed vessel and entered the shipyard to be transformed into a true warship. In March 1940, the ship became operational and began its new mission as an auxiliary cruiser under the name X 1 in the South China Sea. However, the French surrender brought its career to an end, and the ship was repatriated to Saigon and decommissioned for return to its owners.

However, this was not the end of the ship’s story. The Japanese captured Saigon during the war and decided to lease the ship to the French company under the name Teia Maru. Initially used as a prisoner transport ship for exchanges with the Allies (transporting prisoners from Singapore to neutral exchange zones), it later served to transport Japanese reinforcements to the Philippines. However, during one of these voyages, the convoy (Convoy H71) was spotted by several American submarines, which attacked, torpedoing the former Aramis and sinking it with 2,665 Japanese still on board, marking the end of the ship’s story.

The Aramis is named after the eponymous character in Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers (1844). He is a particularly well-known figure in French literature, a symbol of loyalty and courage.

Characteristics

Length : 165.70 m

Width : 21.20 m

Draft : 10.20 m

Mass : 17365 tons

The ship is powered by two diesel engines. Initially, these produced a total power of 11,000 hp, giving it a top speed of 16 knots. They were upgraded in 1935 to 15,600 hp and a top speed of 19 knots. Its crew consists of 260 members, and it can carry nearly 2,000 additional passengers.

Weapons

Initially unarmed, the Aramis received a surprising number of guns upon its outfitting, including:

8 x 138.6mm guns
2 x 175mm guns
2 x 137mm guns
8 machine guns

In-game this ship would be an interesting addition as a low Br light cruiser, adding a ship to the French tree with substantial but still limited armament while having a large size and a lower point speed than most ships, making it particularly interesting.

Picture

Sources

jon_man1199 · May 28, 2026, 2:38am

A +1 from me! Armed Merchant Cruisers would be pretty neat to see in-game, especially something as well-armed as this!

CharAznable3 · May 28, 2026, 6:52am

She is going to be more powerful then you think in game. All that cabin space will be the best no armor is best armor. Though IRL auxillary cruisers had issues due to size to crew size resulting in fires not being fought well or there water tight bulkheads not working because military weapons are very painful.