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Page I: At Sea, 17.1.1940. [typo 1941] |
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Statement of the Captain J. Normann Andersen |
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of the Norwegian Whale Cooking Plant "SOLGLIMT". |
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When questioned by the Prisoner Officer Captain Andersen said the following: |
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He only served as Captain of the "SOLGLIMT" since the end of October 1940. As Second Officer with the whale-cooking ship "THORSHAMMER," he set sail from Norway to Antarctica for whaling at the end of September 1939. After the end of the catching season in April 1940, they were ordered to the Mississippi. They replenished bunker fuel in Port of Spain and then unloaded their whale oil in New Orleans. They went to Mobile for repairs, then on to Carapita (Venezuela) in ballast. As a tanker, they were carrying a cargo of oil to Montevideo. After discharging the cargo in ballast, they left the port with the intention of sailing to Halifax. "THORSHAMMER" remained there until the start of the catching season. |
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In Halifax, Andersen became captain of the "SOLGLIMT"; his predecessor had to leave the ship due to illness. Currently, only one auxiliary cruiser, a passenger steamer of approximately 15,000 tons, and approximately five smaller units, probably minesweepers or gun boats, are berthed in Halifax. He could not provide details, as their berth was further away. Before his arrival, the "SOLGLIMT" was to be loaded with whale oil from the "PALAGOS" for transport to Curacao. Three days after leaving Halifax, he received orders by telegraph to dock in New York, where he would load four guns (American 4" guns, built in 1918) and 200 shells. One gun and 50 shells each were intended for the ships "SOLGLIMT," "THORSHAMMER," "OLE WEGGER," and "PELAGOS." After a mere 14-hour stopover, they continued on to their destination port of Curacao. After unloading their cargo of whale oil, they took on 5,800 tons of fuel oil for the "THORSHAMMER," "OLE WEGGER," and "PELAGOS" cooking plants, as well as 3,700 tons of bunker fuel. When cargo loading operations were completed, he was instructed to first stop in Montevideo to take over a motorboat. He didn't take over a motorboat, but instead, workers immediately came on board to build the pivot and stiffeners for the gun. After eight days, this work was suddenly canceled without being fully completed. When he asked his agent what this meant, he was told that the work had to be stopped by order of the Government of Uruguay because they did not allow the gun to be installed in the harbor. They worked for another eight days to repair the deck that had been torn during installation. Even with this work unfinished (the wooden deck had not been completed), they left Montevideo on 28 December. The guns, except for two that had already been delivered to "THORSHAMMER" and "OLE WEGGER," were stored in the forward cargo hold. |
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Upon arrival at Montevideo on 13 December, he found a large, modern English cruiser, whose name was unknown to him, which had sailed on the 16th or 17th. He was unable to provide any more precise details about the departure. Shortly before Christmas, two English passenger steamers, one of approximately 15,000 GRT and the other of approximately 20,000 GRT, arrived and left the port the next day. From his berth, he could make out two guns aft and one along the side. He thought he recognized the smaller one as a Castle Liner and identified both as auxiliary cruisers. A main representative of the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission, Room 1400, 80 Broad Street, New York City, informed him through the Montevideo office that he had to select eight men from the crew to be trained as gun crew. All eight men he selected agreed to operate the guns. |
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From the departure from Montevideo until the capture on 14 January 1941, he did not see any ships until the encounter with the "THORSHAMMER" and "OLE WEGGER." Radio communications were not used. A secret key from the British Admiralty was not on board. In each port he received papers with course instructions from the Naval Officer at the British Consulate, where every Captain must appear on arrival and on departure, which he had to |
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