Supply ships of the Kriegsmarine. The tragic fate of the "Altmark"

We will not dwell on the details of what followed. Despite the protests of the Norwegians, the opposition of three destroyers and even torpedo tubes aimed at the English ships, the destroyer Cossack entered the fjord and landed a boarding party of 33 people on board the Altmark.

Destroyer "Cossack"

Norwegian destroyers Kjell and Skaev in Jøssingfjord.
These and subsequent actions of the British were a gross violation of the XIII Convention on the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War of the Hague Convention of 1907, to which the United Kingdom was also a party:
Article 1
Belligerents are bound to respect the supreme rights of neutral Powers and to refrain on neutral territory or in neutral waters from any action which would constitute, on the part of the Powers which permit them, a breach of their neutrality.
Article 2
Any hostile act, including seizure and exercise of the right of inspection, committed by warships of belligerents in the territorial waters of a neutral power constitutes a violation of neutrality and is strictly prohibited.
Article 3
When a vessel has been captured in the territorial waters of a neutral Power, that Power must, if the prize is still within its jurisdiction, use the means at its disposal to have the prize released with its officers and crew, and to have the crew placed on board by the captor taken into custody.
During the storming of the Altmark, seven German sailors were killed, most of them shot while trying to lower a boat, and six more were wounded. The nature of the wounds suggested that the British had used illegal dum-dum explosive bullets. All prisoners on board the Altmark were safely released, and the cry of the storming party, "The Navy's here!" fleet here!) entered the annals of British stories. However, there was a fly in the ointment: the Germans accused the British of simple robbery. Thus, Captain Dau's watch, chronometer and Iron Cross were taken away. The Altmark, which was maneuvering during the attack by the Kossak, ran aground on underwater rocks and was damaged.

Destroyer Kossack approaches Altmark

Coffins with dead German sailors on the poop deck of the Altmark

Captain Dau delivers a speech at the graves of fallen German sailors

A memorial plaque erected in memory of the crew of the Altmark who perished at the hands of "British sea pirates". Currently kept in the English Maritime Museum
While the attack on the Altmark was seen as a heroic act in Great Britain, Norway regarded it as a gross violation of neutrality and sent a corresponding note of protest to the British government, including a demand to return the prisoners held on board the Altmark to Norwegian territory. However, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain not only did not express regret about what had happened, but also praised the actions of the Royal Navy in every possible way!
It is widely believed that the Altmark incident was almost the main reason for Germany's invasion of Norway, but this is far from true. For the German leadership, the most optimal would have been a neutral status for Norway, as it was during the First World War. After all, deliveries of Swedish iron ore, including through the ice-free Norwegian port of Narvik, were of strategic importance for the German economy. At the same time, Norwegian nickel should not be forgotten.
Here is what Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, who was Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy at the time, wrote about this in his memoirs:
"But the situation could change at any moment. And if the enemy established bases in Norway, our entire northern front would be in mortal danger. The whole question was: how long and to what extent would the Allies respect the neutrality of a small country whose own interests and, to a large extent, sympathies were with England?"
The Anglo-French coalition tried to introduce its troops into the territory of Norway and Sweden back in late 1939 under the pretext of their transit to help Finland from “Soviet aggression,” but the authorities of the Scandinavian countries refused them this.
Later, the British developed plans "Wilfred" and R4. The first of these involved laying mines in Norwegian territorial waters in order to force German ships to move beyond them, thus becoming a completely legitimate target. Then, in the event of a thus provoked landing of German troops in Norway (or a clear intention to carry it out), plan R4 would come into effect - the occupation of the ports of Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Narvik by Anglo-French-Polish troops.
According to the R4 plan, the landing of troops on ships and vessels in British ports took place from April 3 to 7, 1940. Early in the morning of April 8, the Allied radio reported the laying of minefields in Norwegian waters, defining their boundaries. The Norwegian government protested and demanded the immediate removal of the mines. German intelligence received information about the Allied plans in good time, and on April 9 the Wehrmacht began Operation Weserübung - the landing in Norway and Denmark.
Since the Altmark had damaged its rudder and propellers when it ran aground, it was towed to Kiel on March 28. After repairs, the ship was renamed Uckermark on August 6, 1940.
In January–March 1941, under the command of Captain Zatorski, together with her sister ship Ermland, she took part in Operation Berlin (Unternehmen Berlin) – a raid by the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the North Atlantic.

Actions of German surface raiders in the Atlantic in January-May 1941
The participants in the operation left German bases and returned to ports in occupied France. During "Berlin", 22 ships with a tonnage of 115 GRT were sunk or captured.
On September 9, 1942, the Uckermark, in the role of blockade breaker, left the French port for Japan with a cargo of vegetable oil, fuel, two Arado seaplanes for the German auxiliary cruiser Thor, etc.
During the passage, the Uckermark supplied the auxiliary cruiser Michel and arrived in Yokohama on November 24. On November 30, while cleaning the cargo tanks, probably due to a safety violation, a powerful explosion of fuel vapor occurred, which became fatal not only for the Uckermark, but also for three other ships, including the Thor.
The fate of the captain of the Altmark, H. Dau, was also tragic. Germany's capitulation was such a heavy blow for him that the seasoned sailor shot himself.
By the time of Germany's capitulation, only two of the ships described remained in service. By decision of the Allied Commission, Dithmarschen was transferred to the United States, and Nordmark to Great Britain. The new owners highly appreciated the qualities of the "Germans", and they were included in their navy under the names USS Conecuh (AO-110) and RFA Northmark (later renamed HMS Bulawayo), respectively. At the same time, the trophies underwent modernization, including the installation of devices for the traverse transfer of cargo.

USS Conecuh

Transfer of liquid and dry cargo from USS Conecuh using the traverse method


HMS Bulawayo
In the American Navy, the former "Dithmarschen" served as a prototype for the creation of fast combat support ships (AOE). The British followed a similar path.

"Berezina" supplies warship
The first and only integrated supply ship appeared in the Soviet fleet only in December 1977 (Berezina, Project 1833, codename Pegas).
Sources of
1. Diego M. Lascano. Historia en imágenes del acorazado alemán Admiral Graf Spee. Buenos Aires, 1998
2. Wiggan Richard. Hunt the Altmark. London, 1982
3. Willi Frischauer, Robert Jackson. The Altmark Affair. New York, 1955
4. Thomas Wildenberg. Gray Steel and Black Oil. Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the US Navy, 1912-1995.
5. WR Carter. Beans, Bullets and Black Oil.
6. Naval Ships' Technical Manual. Chapter 571. Underway Replenishment.
7. The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907.
8. Report of Interrogation of Prisoners of War from German Supply Ships. September, 1941.
9. Methods and technical means of transferring cargo at sea.
10. Ruge Friedrich. The Navy of the Third Reich. 1939-1945. Moscow, 2003
11. Kofman V.L. Pocket battleships of the Fuhrer. Corsairs of the Third Reich. Moscow, 2007
12. Kranke T., Brenneke J. Pocket Battleship. "Admiral Scheer" in the Atlantic
13. Raeder E. Gross-Admiral. Memories of the Commander of the Navy of the Third Reich. 1935–1943.
Information