''Albatros'' was the fourth of six
Type 23 torpedo boat
The Type 23 torpedo boat (also known as the ''Raubvogel'' (bird of prey) or the ''Möwe'' class) was a group of six torpedo boats built for the '' Reichsmarine'' during the 1920s. As part of the renamed '' Kriegsmarine'', the boats made multiple ...
s built for the
German Navy
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
(initially called the ''Reichsmarine'' and renamed the ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' in 1935). Completed in 1927, ''Albatros'' often served as a
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of torpedo boat units. The ship made multiple
non-intervention patrols during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
in the late 1930s. After
an attack by aircraft of the
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
killed German sailors in 1937, she participated in the retaliatory
bombardment of Almería.
At the beginning of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1939, ''Albatros'' helped to lay
minefields
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatic ...
and made anti-shipping patrols before participating in
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign.
In the early morning of 9 Ap ...
, the German invasion of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in April 1940. The ship fired the first shots of the campaign when she encountered and crippled a Norwegian
patrol boat
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...
. She was lightly damaged during the
Battle of Horten Harbor. ''Albatros'' then
ran aground and was wrecked.
Design and armament
Derived from the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
-era torpedo boat ,)., group=Note the Type 23 torpedo boat was slightly larger, but had a similar armament and speed.
[Gröner, p. 191] The Type 23s had an
overall length
The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of and were
long at the waterline.
The ships had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , and a mean
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
of . They displaced at
standard load
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
and at
deep load
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
.
[Whitley 1991, p. 202] ''Albatros'' was fitted with a pair of
Schichau geared
steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
sets, each driving one
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
, that were designed to produce using steam from three
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s, which propelled the ship at .
[Whitley 2000, p. 57] The torpedo boats carried enough
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
to give them an intended range of at ,
[ but it proved to be only at that speed in service. Their crew consisted of 4 officers and 116 sailors.][
As built, the Type 23s mounted three SK L/45 guns, one forward and two aft of the ]superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
; the aft superfiring
Superfiring armament is a naval military building technique in which two (or more) turrets are located in a line, one behind the other, with the second turret located above ("super") the one in front so that the second turret can fire over the ...
gun was on an open mount while the others were protected by gun shield
A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield
A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...
s. They carried six rotating torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s in two triple mounts amidships
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
and could also carry up to 30 mines.[Sieche, p. 237] After 1931, the torpedo tubes were replaced by tubes and a pair of C/30 antiaircraft guns were added.[ At least some of the ships were fitted with depth charges, but details are lacking.
]
Construction and career
''Albatros'' was laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
at the (Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
Navy Yard) on 5 October 1925 as 105, launched on 15 July 1926 and commissioned on 15 May 1927. After working up, ''Albatros'' became the flagship of the 4th Torpedo Boat Half-Flotilla, which also consisted of her sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s , and . The half-flotilla was under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän
() is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies.
Austro-Hungary
Belgium
Germany
Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy.
Address
The offici ...
'' Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
, who later became grand admiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet.
Grand admirals in individual n ...
of the ''Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
In the spring of 1929, ''Albatros'' was departing Wilhelmshaven to take part in a fleet cruise in Spanish waters, and collided with ''Möwe'' at the exit from the harbor. Both ships followed the fleet four days later after repairs. In 1931, the 4th Torpedo Boat Half-Flotilla and the light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
were present during the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Latvian Navy
Latvian Naval Forces ( lv, Latvijas Jūras spēki) is the naval warfare branch of the National Armed Forces. It is tasked with conducting military, search and rescue operations, mine and explosive sweeping on the Baltic Sea, as well as ecological ...
in Libau. The following year, ''Albatros'', again with her sisters and ''Königsberg'', represented Germany at the celebration of the betrothal of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund; 22 April 1906 – 26 January 1947) was a Swedish prince, who for most of his life was second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. He was the eldest ...
of Sweden, the oldest son of the then crown prince of Sweden, to the German princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. On 7 December 1932, ''Albatros'' was decommissioned and replaced by ''Greif'' as flagship of the 4th Half-Flotilla.[Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz, p. 86]
On 5 October 1933, ''Albatros'', commanded by ''Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
'' (Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
) Werner Hartmann
Werner Hartmann (11 December 1902 – 26 April 1963) was a German U-boat commander in World War II. He was credited with sinking 26 ships, amounting to over sunk. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi ...
, was put back into service, replacing the pre-war boat ''T151'' in the 2nd Torpedo Boat Half-Flotilla based at Swinemünde (now Świnoujście, Poland). ''Albatros'' became the flagship of the 2nd Half-Flotilla, which consisted of ''Möwe'' and the two Type 24 torpedo boat
The Type 24 torpedo boat (also known as the (german: Raubtier (Carnivore) class) was a group of six torpedo boats built for the '' Reichsmarine'' during the 1920s. As part of the renamed '' Kriegsmarine'', the boats made multiple non-intervention ...
s and , on 1 October 1934.
Spanish Civil War
From July 1936 to October 1937, ''Albatros'' carried out three non-intervention patrols in Spanish waters which were intended to prevent men and material from reaching the participants of the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. On the first mission from 28 July to 27 August 1936, the four ships of the 2nd Half-Flotilla escorted the light cruiser and the heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
s and to the north Spanish coast where they evacuated Germans and other refugees to France. The warships not only transported refugees, but also escorted the many merchant ships that were chartered by Germany for the repatriation of their citizens. The half-flotilla returned to Spain with ''Albatros'' from 28 September to 29 November. Her sister ran aground while leaving Cadiz harbor that same month and had to return to Germany on one turbine, escorted by ''Albatros''.[
The 2nd Half-Flotilla returned to Spain for the third time from May to June 1937. On 24 May, ]Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
aircraft attacked the town and harbor of Palma de Mallorca
Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...
causing ''Deutschland'' to depart for Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
, although ''Albatros''s captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
chose to remain in port. During subsequent attacks later that day, several bombs fell near the ship and she steamed to join the cruiser in Ibiza. Five days later, another attack was carried out on ''Deutschland'' which killed several dozen crewmen. As retaliation, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
ordered ''Admiral Scheer'' to bombard the Republican-held city of Almería
Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
. The four boats of the 2nd Half-Flotilla[Whitley 1991, p. 79] escorted the ship as she did so on 31 May, targeting Republican coastal artillery, naval buildings and ships in the harbor, which killed 19 people. On 24 June ''Albatros'' was replaced by ''Möwe'', and returned to Germany escorting the light cruisers ''Köln'' and .
Interwar
In fall 1937, the 2nd Half-Flotilla was disbanded, and ''Albatros'' served as a training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
until she was decommissioned on 16 February 1938. The boat was placed back into service on 1 July 1938 and was assigned to the 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla. She was transferred four months later to the 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, which included her sisters ''Greif'', ''Möwe'', , and ''Falke''.
Second World War
At the start of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, ''Albatros'' was used in the defensive mining operations in the North Sea that began on 3 September 1939 that were intended to prevent the British Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
from entering the German Bight
The German Bight (german: Deutsche Bucht; da, tyske bugt; nl, Duitse bocht; fry, Dútske bocht; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and ...
. From 3 to 5 October ''Albatros'', together with three destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s and her sisters ''Greif'' and ''Falke'', was tasked with anti-shipping patrols in the Kattegat
The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...
and Skaggerak
The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea.
The ...
that captured four ships.
During Operation Weserübung, ''Albatros'' was assigned to Group 5 under ''Konteradmiral'' Oskar Kummetz
__NOTOC__
Oskar Kummetz (21 July 1891 – 17 December 1980) was an admiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He also served in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I. Kummetz was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his ac ...
on the heavy cruiser , tasked to capture Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. ''Albatros'' transported about 100 men of the invasion force and was one of the cruiser's escorts through the Baltic and Kattegat. While passing Skagen
Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...
, Denmark, on 8 April 1940, the British submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
unsuccessfully attacked the cruisers of the group with torpedoes. ''Albatros'' spotted their tracks and unsuccessfully depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
d the submarine. Later that night the group encountered the Norwegian patrol boat in heavy fog at 23:00. After firing a warning shot and realizing that ''Albatros'' would not turn away, and was going to violate Norwegian neutrality, ''Pol III'' fired flares to alert Norwegian coastal batteries and rammed ''Albatros'' in the side. From ''Albatros'' it was clear that the guns on ''Pol III'' were manned, and that the Norwegians intended to fight. Despite clear orders from Kummetz to fire only if fired upon, the torpedo boat's captain, ''Kapitänleutnant'' Siegfried Strelow
Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace".
The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
, opened fire, hitting ''Pol III'' with at least two 10.5 cm shells and raking
Raking (also called "raking ratio estimation" or " iterative proportional fitting") is the statistical process of adjusting data sample weights of a contingency table to match desired marginal totals.
References
{{Statistics-stub
Estimation m ...
her with machine guns, thus firing the opening shots of the campaign. The Norwegian ship's crew attempted to abandon ship in the only intact boat remaining, but it capsized
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
and they were taken aboard ''Albatros''. ''Albatros''s crew set the patrol boat on fire and abandoned it, proceeding up the foggy Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
independently. The torpedo boat was finally able to get a bearing from her sister ''Kondor'' and followed her towards the naval base at Karljohansvern
Karjohansvern (''Karljohansvern Orlogsstasjon, KJV'') at Horten was the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1850 to 1963.
Background
In 1818, it was decided to establish a naval base in Horten. It was first called ''Hortens verft'', an ...
, in the town of Horten
is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...
. En route, she was spotted by the lightly armed Norwegian minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
which sheered off after radioing a report at 04:03 on 9 April.[Haarr 2009, pp. 83–84, 119–123, 129]
The German force tasked to occupy Karljohansvern was scheduled to do so at dawn on 9 April, but ''Kondor''s captain, the commander of the force, decided to assault the harbor directly since the Norwegians had already been alerted. About 140 soldiers were transferred to the small motor minesweepers ''R17'' and ''R21'' and the former was in the lead as they steamed through the harbor entrance at 04:35 at high speed, slowly followed by ''Albatros'', while ''Kondor'' was transferring her embarked troops to another ship. The minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
engaged ''R17'' ten minutes later and set her on fire, but not before she unloaded her troops. The minelayer was only able to get a few shots off at ''R21'' before she steamed behind an island in the harbor. About this time, ''Albatros'' was approaching the harbor mouth and exchanged fire with ''Olav Tryggvason'' without effect. Strelow, with only a single gun able to bear on the minelayer, withdrew behind one of the outer islands and started blindly bombarding the harbor. The minelayer was occasionally struck by shrapnel, but she hit the torpedo boat with one shell at 06:30, killing two and wounding another pair of sailors. ''Albatros'' withdrew not long afterward and the German troops that had made it ashore bluffed the Norwegians into surrendering at 07:35.
Later that morning, ''Kondor'' and ''Albatros'' were ordered to land their troops at Son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
and then, reinforced by ''R21'', she was ordered to secure the submarine base at Teie Teie is a part of the urban area of Tønsberg, located on the island of Nøtterøy, as well as in Nøtterøy municipality, Norway.
It is located at the northern end of the island, near Vestskogen. The newspaper ''Øyene
''Øyene'' (the Islands) ...
. On the morning of 10 April, ''Kondor'' and ''Albatros'' were engaged by coastal batteries on the island of Bolærne
Bolærne is an archipelago in the outer part of Oslofjord, in the municipality Nøtterøy in Vestfold, Norway. The islands have a total land area of 2.6 km². The largest island, Mellom Bolæren, covers 1.1 km². The easternmost island is ...
and forced to turn away. Later that day, ''Albatros'' was escorting the merchant ship while also landing men on the island of Rauøy; Strelow decided to steam east of the island to avoid any further attention from the guns on Bolærne. Unbeknownst to him, sea ice had removed the marker for the Gyren shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
a few weeks earlier and ''Albatros'' struck it at a speed of . The impact ripped open at least one fuel tank and holed the turbine and boiler rooms. The ship settled with a pronounced list
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
to port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
and her stern in the air. She quickly lost all electrical power and several fires were ignited that caused several small explosions; ''Albatros'' was declared a total loss. The crew were rescued by the ''Vorpostenboot
''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...
'' and was later assigned to after the Norwegian surrender. The minelayer was initially renamed ''Albatros II'' and then became ''Brummer''.[Haarr 2009, pp. 153, 155, 163, 380, fn. 11, p. 458]
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Albatros, German torpedo boat
Type 23 torpedo boats
1926 ships
Ships built in Wilhelmshaven
Military units and formations of Nazi Germany in the Spanish Civil War
Maritime incidents in April 1940