Travel to Narvik - Norway - Norwegen - Europe - History

Narvik - History

Most dramatic is the wreck of the German Dornier seaplane, a DO 26 VI named Seeadler ("Sea Eagle"), which still has the black and white lines of the German military cross partially visible on its fuselage. Seeadler and another Dornier seaplane, the Seemove ("Sea Gull"), were sunk during a British air raid on May 28, 1940. Seemove was removed long ago, but Seeadler is still there, having been rediscovered only in 1991. The plane rests not far from the Georg Thiele, its tail in 13 meters/43 feet of water and its nose in 26 meters/86 feet, as if it were flying down the fjord. Seeadler makes an interesting second dive after a visit to the Thiele. Today, the plane is stripped of most parts: the cockpit instrument panel, one engine and a propeller are on display in the Narvik War Museum. Another propeller can be seen just outside the flying club in Bodo, Norway.

The German destroyer Hermann Kunne rests opposite Narvik. When it was grounded during the Second Battle of Narvik, it was in sight of the city. "The wreck was blown up and sunk after the war because the people of Narvik didn't want to be reminded of those terrible days," says Jorgen Michaelson, who heads up the local dive club. Wreckage from the Kunne can be found starting in less than 3 meters/10 feet of water. Although the bow no longer exists, the wreck is intact from 10 meters/30 feet and goes down to 41 meters/134 feet, resting on its starboard side. Visibility is usually very good at this site and 20-25 meters/60-80 feet is not uncommon.

NARVIK was established less than a century ago as an ice-free port to handle the iron ore brought by train from northern Sweden, and the iron ore docks are immediately conspicuous upon arrival here, slap-bang in the centre of town, the rust-coloured machinery overwhelming the whole waterfront. There are guided tours around the dock area, interesting if only for the opportunity to spend an hour inside such a hellish mess. Otherwise the town centre lacks appeal, with modern stone replacing the wooden buildings flattened during the last war. Try and devote an hour or so to the Krigsminne Museum , in the main square close to the docks. Run by the Red Cross, it documents the wartime German saturation bombing and bitter sea and air battles for control of the ore supplies, in which hundreds of foreign servicemen died alongside the local population.

This Arctic Circle location was the scene of intense fighting during April and May 1940. Allied forces, headed by Great Britain, and Axis forces, headed by Germany, clashed fiercely to secure Narvik, which was a main shipping port for high-grade Swedish iron ore. The ore was a key element for the production of high-quality steel, and therefore critical to the armaments industries of both Great Britain and Germany. The fight for Narvik resulted in more than 55 surface ships, submarines, U-boats and airplanes being sunk in the clear water in and around the port city.
When World War II broke out, the Scandinavian nations, including Norway, remained neutral. Because Norway represented an important strategic location, Britain and Germany both decided to violate Norwegian neutrality at almost the same time. Unknown to the other side, and only hours apart, Britain and Germany dispatched large fleets to secure Norway. The German attack was designed to capture all of Norway's important airports and urban centers during simultaneous attacks involving its navy, troops landed from ship and paratroops dropped from the air. The British fleet was just behind the German vessels, and both sides battled a fierce gale to achieve their objective.

Using a force of 10 destroyers, each of which carried 200 specially trained Austrian mountain troops and coastal artillery personnel, Germany captured Narvik on April 9-10, 1940, after blowing away the ancient Norwegian coastal defense vessels Eidsvold and Norge. The British counterattacked on April 10, 1940, in what became known as the First Battle of Narvik. German destroyers Wilhelm Heidkamp and Anton Schmitt were sunk in this battle and Dieter von Roeder was put out of action by fire resulting from a hit. The British lost destroyers H.M.S. Hardy and H.M.S. Hunter, and H.M.S. Hotspur was badly damaged. The British withdrew, only to mount a counterattack on April 13. This time, they brought more firepower to what became known as the Second Battle of Narvik: the battleship H.M.S. Warspite was accompanied by no less than nine destroyers. The German fleet, low on fuel and ammunition, tried to flee from the British onslaught, but they had nowhere to go. All of the remaining German destroyers were annihilated, many of them running aground on the sides of the fjords.

Second Battle of Narvik - 13th April 1940

The British force consisted of the Battleship HMS Warspite and eight Destroyers under the command of Vice Admiral William Whitworth. The German force consisted of eight destroyers under the command of Captain E. Bey, there where also two U-boats in the Fjord. The first battle of Narvik had left most of the German Destroyers damaged and the Admiralty was in no mood to let them rest. Whitworth was ordered to mount the second attack with a Battleship for support. Bey had amble warning of the attack as Germany's 'B' Service enabled Raeder to warn him of an attack to be expected on the 13th.

At 1300 hours the Kunne was escorting the damaged Koellner towards Lindstrand, where she was to ambush any entering ships, when Whitworths ships were sighted entering the narrows. On seeing HMS Warspite the Kuinne retired up the fiord, leaving the Koellner to head for Bjervik Bay. She may have remained unsighted except that HMS Warspite had launched her Walrus amphibious aircraft and was spotted. She was sunk with torpedoes, and gunfire from HMS Bedouin and HMS Eskimo as well as 15" salvos from HMS Warspite.

The Walrus amphibious aircraft then spotted the U64 in Herjangs Fiord, and sank her with a 350lb bomb.

Further up Ofot Fiord Whitworths force meet Kuinne, Ludemann, Zenker and Armin. HMS Eskimo pursued Kuinne into Herjangs Fjord where she was beached and sunk with a torpedo. Zenker and Armin retired up Rombaks Fjord

Whitworth's force now was entering Narvik's harbour where the Giese was quickly reduced to a hulk. Roeder came under fire from HMS Warspite then HMS Cossack before blowing up.

HMS Eskimo, HMS Bedouin, HMS Forester, HMS Hero and HMS Icarus set off after the German destroyers who had fled towards Rombaks Fiord.

Thiele blow the bow off HMS Eskimo as she entered the Fiord, before Theile was run aground before capsizing. Ludemann was pursued up to the head of the Fiord, where the Arnim and Zenker had been scuttled by their crews. The Ludemann was boarded by the British crews, before being destroyed by a torpedo

Of the German forces in Narvik only the U51 survived by escaping out to sea.

click to go back

Back to Europe

Back to WTG