Late October 1939: At this point, there was a substantial number of Scandinavian ships and sailors in Kirkwall that were not originally destined to be there. Some had been diverted with or without Royal Navy prize crews onboard. Others had ended up there without their ships, shipwrecked, like the Lorentz W. Hansen crew. Kirkwall wasContinue reading “Repatriation”
Tag Archives: wwii
S/S Lorentz W. Hansen
The patrol boat did not take the soaking wet crew directly to Kirkwall; they first had to come along on a 14-hour patrol. Once in Kirkwall, the Wanja crew were accommodated in the Old Town Hall, where they experienced simple conditions but true Orkney hospitality and warm food. They were safe, dry and no longerContinue reading “S/S Lorentz W. Hansen”
On the reef
15 October 1939: The ship was not in immediate danger, but was stuck on the rocky reef on Whitemill Point. The crew was safe and unharmed and remained onboard to try and refloat their vessel. Early in the morning the day after the grounding, a Prize officer and a couple of crew rowed ashore toContinue reading “On the reef”
The fall of The Mighty Oak
14 October 1939: HMS Royal Oak was back in Scapa Flow after taking part in the search for the German battleship Gneisenau, the cruiser Köln and nine destroyers which were on an operation in the North Sea. This was part of a German diversionary manoeuvre to lure units of the British Home Fleet out ofContinue reading “The fall of The Mighty Oak”
Atlantic crossing
October 1939: Having crossed the North Atlantic during a massive storm that delayed her considerably and also forced the crew to take a literal bite into their food supplies, S/S Wanja was approaching the waters south of Iceland. She had already encountered the British Royal Navy once, off the coast of Nantucket on 26 September.Continue reading “Atlantic crossing”
X marks the spot 