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.jpg) Pol III as a whaler before the Second World War | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Norway | |
| Name | Pol III |
| Laid down | 1926 |
| Launched | July 1926 |
| Out of service | 8 April 1940 |
| Captured | by the Germans on 14 April 1940 |
| Service record | |
| Operations: | Opposing theGerman invasion of Norway |
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | NO-05 Samoa |
| Acquired | 14 April 1940 |
| Renamed | V-6105 andNH-05 |
| Fate | Handed back to Norway afterVE Day |
| Service record | |
| Operations: | Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany |
| Norway | |
| Name | Pol III |
| Acquired | 1945 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5172597 |
| Fate | Sold off to civilian interests post-World War II, scrapped in 2011. |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 214 tons |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion steam engine |
| Speed | 11.0knots (20.37 km/h) |
| Complement | 15 men |
| Armament |
|
Pol III was a patrol boat of theRoyal Norwegian Navy, used for guarding the inlet of theOslofjord in early April 1940. She was a small vessel, originally awhaler, of 214 tons. She is best known for being the first Norwegian unit to engage the German invasion forces during the 1940Operation Weserübung.
Pol III was built byAkers mekaniske verksted as build no. 429 in 1926. She was requisitioned by theRoyal Norwegian Navy in 1939 and pressed into service as a guard vessel in the Oslofjord. Late on 8 April 1940 the guard vessel spotted theGermanKampfgruppe 5 heading north as part of the Germaninvasion of Norway. Despite being seriously outnumbered - the Kampfgruppe consisted of the heavy cruiserBlücher, the heavy cruiserLützow, the light cruiserEmden, three torpedo boats and eightminesweepers carrying 2,000 troops toOslo -Pol III engaged the German forces. After firing a warning shot,Pol III closed with theGerman torpedo boatAlbatros. Realising that the enemy would not turn away, but was going to violate Norwegianneutrality,Pol III fired flares to alert Norwegiancoastal batteries and rammedAlbatros in the side. FromAlbatros it was clear that the guns onPol III were manned, and that the Norwegians intended to fight.Albatros hit the small Norwegian vessel withanti aircraft fire, wounding the captain,Leif Welding-Olsen, and starting several fires. AsPol III was burning, her crew abandoned the vessel and was captured. Leif Welding-Olsen, weakened by blood loss, did not manage to enter thelifeboat and drowned, becoming the first Norwegian fatality in open war between Norway and Nazi Germany.
Kampfgruppe 5 was temporarilyturned back byOscarsborg Fortress a few hours later, with the loss of the heavy cruiserBlücher.
The next day, 9 April,Pol III was towed to Tønsberg. The GermanKriegsmarine captured her on 14 April, and after repairs utilised the vessel as aVorpostenboot 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. LaterPol III had several different owners and names, the engines replaced and her structure rebuilt. In 1949 she was sold toHareid where she was rebuilt as a fishing vessel and given the nameJohan E. In 1978 she was sold toØrnes and rebuilt as a fish transport vessel and namedOdd Oscar. Five years later she was sold toBodø and given the nameFisktrans. Although in essence a different vessel than in 1940, the hull ofPol III remained afloat and in use for many years. In her last guise, she was owned inSalten and had the nameArnøytrans. She ran as a fish transport vessel along the Norwegian coast.
On 1 October 2011, she was sailed on own power toFosen Gjenvinning breaker's yard atRevsnes inSør-Trøndelag for scrapping.[1][2]
Some of her hull plates survived and are in the care of the Larvik Maritime Museum.[2]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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