''Pol III'' was a patrol boat of the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

, used for guarding the inlet of the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...

in early April 1940. She was a small vessel, originally a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

, of 214 tons. She is best known for being the first Norwegian unit to engage the German invasion forces during the 1940

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

Operational history

''Pol III'' was built by

Akers mekaniske verksted Akers mekaniske Verksted (often abbreviated ''Akers mek. Verksted'' or ''Akers Mek.'') was a workshop, later a shipyard which was established in Fossveien by the Aker River in Oslo in 1841. In 1854 the company moved to Holmen on the west side of ...

as build no. 429 in 1926. She was requisitioned by the

in 1939 and pressed into service as a guard vessel in the Oslofjord. Late on 8 April 1940 the guard vessel spotted the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or " battlegroup") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germa ...

5 heading north as part of the German

invasion of Norway Invasion of Norway may refer to: *1033 invasion by Tryggvi the Pretender *1567 Swedish invasion during the Northern Seven Years' War *1658 Swedish invasion during the Second Northern War *1716 Swedish invasion during the Great Northern War *1808 S ...

. Despite being seriously outnumbered - the Kampfgruppe consisted of the heavy cruiser ''Blücher'', the heavy cruiser ''Lützow'', the light cruiser ''Emden'', three torpedo boats and eight

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 ...

s carrying 2,000 troops to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

- ''Pol III'' engaged the German forces. After firing a warning shot, ''Pol III'' closed with the German torpedo boat ''Albatros''. Realising that the enemy would not turn away, but was going to violate Norwegian

neutrality Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

, ''Pol III'' fired flares to alert Norwegian

coastal batteries Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed Artillery battery, gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery ...

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. ''Albatros'' hit the small Norwegian vessel with

anti aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

fire, wounding the captain, Leif Welding-Olsen, and starting several fires. As ''Pol III'' was burning, her crew abandoned the vessel and was captured. Leif Welding-Olsen, weakened by blood loss, did not manage to enter the lifeboat and drowned, becoming the first Norwegian fatality in open war between Norway and Nazi Germany. Damaged Pol III

Kampfgruppe 5 was temporarily turned back by

Oscarsborg Fortress Oscarsborg Fortress () is a coastal fortress in the Oslofjord, close to the town of Drøbak in Akershus County, Norway. The best known part is situated on two small islets: ''Nordre Kaholmen'' and ''Søndre Kaholmen''. In addition, the main art ...

a few hours later, with the loss of the heavy cruiser ''Blücher''. The next day, 9 April, ''Pol III'' was towed to Tønsberg. The German

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 military branch, branche ...

captured her on 14 April, and after repairs utilised the vessel as a

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 ...

under several names (NO-05 Samoa, V-6105 and NH-05). After the war, ''Pol III'' became part of the Norwegian mine sweeping fleet before she was sold off. Later ''Pol III'' had several different owners and names, the engines replaced and her structure rebuilt. In 1949 she was sold to

Hareid Hareid may refer to: Places *Hareid Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Hareid (village), a village within Hareid Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Hareid Church, a church in Hareid Municipality in Møre ...

where she was rebuilt as a fishing vessel and given the name ''Johan E''. In 1978 she was sold to

Ørnes Ørnes is the administrative centre of Meløy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located along Norwegian County Road 17, about south of the village of Reipå and about north of the village of Eidbukta. The island of Mesøya lies ...

and rebuilt as a fish transport vessel and named ''Odd Oscar''. Five years later she was sold to Bodø and given the name ''Fisktrans''. Although in essence a different vessel than in 1940, the hull of ''Pol III'' remained afloat and in use for many years. In her last guise, she was owned in

Salten Salten is a traditional district in Nordland county, Norway. It includes the municipalities of Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy. Salten covers an area of about and has a population (2016) of about ...

and had the name ''Arnøytrans''. She ran as a fish transport vessel along the Norwegian coast. On 1 October 2011, she was sailed on own power to '' Fosen Gjenvinning'' breaker's yard at Revsnes in

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...

for scrapping. Some of her hull plates survived and are in the care of the Larvik Maritime Museum.

References

External links

Details of Pol III wartime and post-war career

Pol III, in Norwegian and English

Krigsseilerregisteret Krigsseilerregisteret (English: The War Sailor Register, established on 19 January 2016) is a Norwegian website whose purpose is to create a register of all Norwegian sailors and ships that sailed in the period 1939 to 1945 for the neutral countri ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pol Iii Steamships of Norway Naval ships of Norway captured by Germany during World War II Ships built in Oslo Patrol vessels of the Royal Norwegian Navy World War II patrol vessels of Norway Merchant ships of Norway 1926 ships Fishing vessels of Norway Whaling ships