El Kantara X16 auxiliary cruiser

Mathll · June 20, 2026, 2:46am

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Hello everyone and welcome to this new suggestion.

Today I’m presenting a new auxiliary cruiser from the French fleet during World War II, the X16, or its real name, the El Kantara.

At the beginning of World War II, France possessed colonies and territories all around the globe, making it one of the world’s major powers. However, the number and diversity of these territories represented a significant weakness in the event of a conflict, requiring a large number of ships to defend them all. For this reason, in 1939, just as had been done during World War I, the French government launched a mobilization of all possible resources to defend the country’s interests. This requisition required shipowners to provide vessels that would be armed and equipped to serve as auxiliary combat ships. The El Kantara was one of these ships.

Launched in 1932 by the British shipbuilder Swan Hunter, the El Kantara was commissioned by the Compagnie de Navigation Mixte. Assigned to passenger transport between France and its North African colonies, particularly Algeria and Tunisia, the ship performed this task for several years. In 1939, the ship and its two sister ships operating on the same routes were requisitioned by the French Navy for the war effort. The ship was then armed to carry out its various missions. Immediately after being armed, the ship sailed to Norway to disembark the French expeditionary force.

Once this task was completed, the ship returned to France. The country was then in the midst of collapse, and in an attempt to salvage what remained, the gold reserves of the Bank of France were transported to Brest by train. This gold was then loaded onto the various ships in the harbor, notably the El Kantara, which, along with several other vessels, narrowly escaped the German advance. The small fleet sailed to Dakar, then a French colony, to store the gold out of reach of the Germans. Once this was done, the ship was recalled to France, where the government had just capitulated. The ship was then decommissioned and returned to its owner for continued operation.

However, this was not the end of the story. German restrictions on French ports made fuel supplies difficult, and the El Kantara was left in port, where it was requisitioned by the Germans in 1943 and given to the Italians. Renamed Aquino, the ship then served as a troop transport between the Italian peninsula, the islands, and the coasts of North Africa. Some time later, while in a convoy bound for Tunisia, the ship was bombed by American forces and sank off the coast of Sicily.

The ship is named in honor of the city of El Kantara in northeastern Algeria, a city particularly known for its historical heritage dating back to antiquity as well as for its landscapes with impressive reliefs.

Characteristics

Length : 120.70 m

Width : 16.40 m

Draft : 6.80 m

Mass : 2317 tons

The ship is powered by two triple-expansion engines fed by two coal-fired boilers, giving it a total power output of 8,000 hp. This allows it to reach a speed of 21 knots.

The crew consists of 89 sailors, and the ship can accommodate up to 360 passengers.

Weapons

Like its sister ships, the El Kantara boasts a rather good armament capable of defending against both maritime and aerial threats. This includes:

7 x 138.6mm guns
2 x 75mm guns
2 x 37mm guns

In-game this ship would be an interesting addition to the French tree, providing a medium tonnage ship with interesting armament without being too powerful, while remaining limited by its average speed.

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