World War IIDS Dronning Maud
The DS Dronning Maud was requisitioned by Norwegian authorities in Northern Norway. On 1 May 1940, the ship was transporting a medical company of 119 people, eight horses, and three trucks from Sørreisa to Foldvik in Gratangen. During the journey, the ship flew a large Red Cross flag over the deck. As the ship was approaching the quay in Foldvik, it was attacked by two German bombers. Two out of seven bombs hit, one striking the cold storage room, killing seven people. Many of those on board jumped into the water and were shot at by the aircraft, but no one was killed. The ship caught fire.
The fishing vessel Lance arrived later, and with assistance from Britannia, they managed to tow the Dronning Maud away from the quay, but it was completely burned out and eventually sank around 400 meters from shore at Foldvik.
Later, several of the wounded from Dronning Maud were taken to Harstad by the British destroyer HMS Cossack, while those with lighter injuries were sent to Salangsverket aboard the Betel ship Elizer 4. Four months earlier, Dronning Maud had rescued 36 German sailors when the freighter Johan Schulte lost its rudder and propeller off Folla and drifted toward the rocks. The rescue operation, which took place in the middle of the night and lasted over two and a half hours, successfully saved the entire German crew. The rescue has been described as one of the most remarkable ever carried out along the Norwegian coast.
About DS Dronning Maud
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Nationality
Norway
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Built
1925
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Wrecked
01.05.1940
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Carrier
Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab,Trondheim
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Tonnage
1489 brt
