MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONTRIBUTED to this book, some from a lifetime of their own research, others with a small but important detail. Their contributions are highly appreciated.
Above all, the selfless help and support from David Goodey is gratefully acknowledged. Were it not for him, this project would have been shelved a long time ago. Erling Skjold, Andrew Smith and Andrew Lambert are also thanked sincerely. Without their help and constant support nothing would have been achieved.
Albert Goodey, Peter Taylor, Roy Stevens, Dagfinn Kjeholt, Jan Reimers, Wilfred ‘Robbie’ Robinson, Bernhard Hallis, Derek Morris, Ronald Crocker, John Ballam and Vic Hiscock were all there when the war commenced, and a lifetime later I was privileged to listen to their thoughts and memories. Often sad, sometimes troubled, but inevitably low key and with an understatement I could not fully fathom, they spoke of the little things that are not in the reports. Many have crossed the bar since and precious few are left. Let us never forget them or their mates.
The nameless staffs of The National Archives at Kew, the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz and Freiburg, the Imperial War Museum in London and Riksarkivet in Oslo deserve thanks for patience and professional dedication. The Naval Museum in Horten and Nordland Røde Kors Krigsminnemuseum (War Museum) in Narvik are thanked for their enthusiastic support.
Horst Bredow and Peter Monte at the U-boot Archiv in Cuxhaven are warmly thanked for sharing their time and enthusiasm with me and for letting me use their files and archives.
Alf Muffett of the Royal Naval Patrol Service Museum in Lowestoft is gratefully acknowledged for friendly help and advice regarding the Little Ships. Likewise, I owe George Malcomson at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport great thanks for repeated support and assistance.
Julian Mannering at Seaforth Publishing deserves many thanks for believing in me and giving me the deadlines I needed. Without his support the project might never have seen completion.
Ken Satterthwaite, Keith Batchelor, Peter Harrison and the others at HMS Cossack Association are thanked for their friendly support. I am proud to have known Ken Robinson.
Gudmundur Helgason, John Dell, Erik Ettrup, Hans Christian Bjerg, Rob Hoole, Roald Gjelsten, Atle Skarsten, Odin Leirvåg, Robert Pearson, Reinhard Hoheisel-Huxmann, Merry Swan, David Isby, Tore Eggan, Ulf Eirik Torgersen, Sonia Law, Alexander Dietzsch, Atle Wilmar, Øystein Berge, Jon Asmussen, Halvor Sperbund, Paul Sedal, Svein Aage Knudsen, Finn Nesvold, Olve Dybvig, John Weal, Stephen Dent, Øyvinf Lamo, Richard Osborne, Jostein Berglyd, Ian Thomas, Dag-Jostein Andressen, Jeremy Pond, Trond Erik Tveit, Roal Gjelsten, Tor Ødemotland, Robert Briggs, Nils Aukan, Pamela Jacobsen, Alister Williams, Alf R Jacobsen, Peter French, Jak P Mallmann Showell, Robert Gehringer, Ian Gazely and Tor Jevanord all deserve acknowledgement.
Last, but not least, thanks to my beloved wife Gro, for accepting that my passion for her is shared with that for history, listening patiently when I needed to discuss some detail and skilfully distracting me when I needed to relax.
Sola, Stavanger, July 2013
Geirr H Haarr
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THERE WAS NO ‘PHONEY war’ at sea at the start of WWII. The hostilities commenced literally within the hour of war being declared. This book describes those early events at sea as they are remembered through the accounts of those that were actually there.
The accounts of the men who went to war is challenging material. Inevitably written sometime after the events, hours, days or years, room is made for the individual or his superiors to add, interpret or omit events. Many of the documents contain corrections or comments that could have been made by the author, his superiors, staff members or readers, not always obviously distinguishable from the first-hand accounts.
Most individuals saw little beyond their own decks and had limited knowledge of what was actually happening. Quite often, accounts from different persons present at the same event describe quite different experiences, giving contradictory information, resulting in more questions than answers. The confusion of combat and lost sense of time often resulted in accounts from otherwise level-headed individuals that, when compared to others also at the scene, gives an interesting insight into the nature of war itself. There are also direct errors in some of the reports, typically in names of persons, places or ships, but also in relative position and results of their own fire. In a few cases, there are also what appear to be deliberate over-statements or manipulations, probably intended to increase the apparent importance of the effort of the author or his comrades.
Nevertheless, I have found scores of individual stories from which, together with the formal reports and memoirs, paints a picture of the war at sea in the first seven months of the war. There is lots of tedium, routines and boredom, but also heroism, self-sacrifice and fear. Both sides faced ‘the cruel sea’. The winter of 1939–40 was appalling and, often, the ocean was a worse enemy than the men from the other side.
The research material has come in many languages: English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Polish and French. All translations into English are my own responsibility and, where necessary, I have striven to maintain the significance of what was said or written rather than give a word-for-word translation. For documents written in English, the quotations have been kept as much as possible as the original, except for a few minor changes to improve the readability. The account is mainly based on primary sources, where possible combining official and private material to achieve the best insight. In some cases, secondary sources have been used after a thorough assessment of their credibility.
In compiling the manuscript, I have attempted to make a balanced account from each side, each theatre of war and each type of ship involved. The amount of detail available makes it impossible to cover everything, and faults, mistakes or misinterpretations are inevitable. Hence, anyone who has corrections, comments or alternative information that might lead to modifications or improvement of the account is encouraged to contact me, either directly or through the publisher.
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Scant Resources
IN 1919 THE ROYAL Navy could muster 438,000 men, 58 capital ships, 12 aircraft carriers, 103 cruisers, 456 destroyers and 122 submarines. Great Britain was the unchallenged master of the seas. Economic and social reforms were necessary, though, and reduced military spending was inevitable. Arguments that sustaining an armaments industry would help maintain employment and stimulate new industries were dismissed. The British politicians had no choice but to follow a course that would lead to a dramatic development for the armed forces. The army was cut to little more than an imperial police force. The Royal Navy and the newly established Royal Air Force fared relatively better but still faced dramatic cutbacks. The Royal Navy would fall to almost insignificance within ten years. One by one, the shipbuilding and ordnance companies collapsed or merged to preserve a minimum of employment and competence. First Sea Lord Admiral Beatty was shocked and stubbornly continued to plan for a renewal of the fleet, including battleships and carriers, arguing that the strategic needs of the empire could only be met by naval superiority.1 This was not to be.
The Washington Naval Treaty signed on 1 February 1922 allowed the Royal Navy to retain twenty-two capital ships, most of them of the 25,750-ton, 15-inch gun Queen Elizabeth-class, with the notable exception of Hood, which floated a substantial 41,200 tons. In the ‘Special Programme of Naval Construction’ of 1923 that gave the priorities for the remainder of the decade, some of the retained capital ships were listed for upgrading while four were scrapped, allowing for the building of two new ones – Nelson and Rodney. To remain below 35,000 tons while keeping their 16-inch guns, all three triple turrets were positioned forward, with the after hull trimmed short.