Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940, Henrik Lunde [new ebook reader TXT] 📗

short of fuel and water and she was sent on her way along with the hospital ship without an escort. Hipper sank the 20,000-ton Orama, carrying 100 German prisoners, and successfully jammed her last radio message. Two hundred seventy-five survivors were taken aboard the cruiser and two destroyers. In accordance with the rules of war, the Germans did not attack Atlantis, carrying over 600 wounded, and in accordance with the same rules, Atlantis did not report the presence of the German ships until she made a visual signal to the battleship Valiant about 24 hours later.

Hipper’s reconnaissance aircraft also reported seeing an enemy cruiser and a merchant ship to the south and the two German battleships and the destroyers searched unsuccessfully for these ships while Hipper took care of Orama. The reported sighting must have been a mistake since there was no British cruiser near that location. It is possible that the aircraft had spotted the Devonshire but if this is the case it was serious mistake in position and direction since that cruiser was located to the northwest of the German fleet.

Soon after this encounter, Marschall sent Hipper and the destroyers to Trondheim to refuel and to participate in that part of his mission that called for securing the sea route along the coast of Nordland Province. He discontinued his search for additional British transports and headed north with the two battleships, intending to operate between Harstad and Tromsø. He was particularly interested in the two aircraft carriers, which had been reported repeatedly.

Several groups of British ships were meanwhile well within range of the German battleships. Two divisions of the slow convoy were approaching from the northeast. The second troop convoy, carrying about 10,000 troops and escorted by the cruisers Southampton and Coventry, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, and five destroyers, was also approaching from the northeast. This convoy was heavily outgunned by the two German battleships. The cruiser Devonshire, carrying the Norwegian royal family, Government, and Allied diplomats and their families (400 passengers), was located only 80 nautical miles northwest of the German battleships. Then there was the aircraft carrier Glorious with its two destroyers, Acasta and Ardent, about 100 nautical miles behind Devonshire.

The land-based British fighter aircraft had maintained their patrols over the evacuation area until the very last moments around midnight on June 7. The original plan was to destroy the aircraft but it was decided to try to land them on the aircraft carriers despite expert opinions that the flight decks were too short for Hurricanes. Ark Royal had a slightly longer flight deck, but since the aircraft could not be brought under deck because their wings could not be folded, it was decided that they should land on Glorious. The ten Gladiators and eight Hurricanes landed successfully on this aircraft carrier in the early hours of June 8. The landings on an aircraft carrier by pilots who had never before done so and in aircraft not intended for carrier operations was a courageous accomplishment. However, problems for air operations were thereby created. The Gladiators and Hurricanes, whose wings could not be folded, made for a disorderly storage situation.

Glorious and her escorts were thus about 100 nautical miles behind Devonshire when one of the worst calamities in British naval history began to unfold. The catastrophe could have been far worse if the Germans had their reconnaissance aircraft aloft since they would undoubtedly have discovered both the Devonshire and the second troop convoy.

At 1645 hours on June 8, the lookout on Scharnhorst sighted smoke off the starboard bow. The Germans immediately altered course and headed towards the sighting. As they approached they recognized the silhouette of an aircraft carrier. Glorious, recognizing the danger, turned away and tried to escape from her pursuers. Admiral Marschall continued on a course that would bring his battleships to the windward of the carrier, forcing that ship to turn towards the Germans if she attempted to turn into the wind to launch her aircraft.

Gneisenau opened fire with her secondary armament against the escorting destroyers at 1728 hours and Scharnhorst opened fire on the carrier with her 11-inch guns four minutes later, at a range of 25,000 meters. Gneisenau opened fire on the Glorious with her main armaments at 1746 hours. This distance far exceeded the range of the 4.7-inch guns on the aircraft carrier. The radio operators on Glorious tried to report the presence of the Germans but the Germans believed that they had succeeded in jamming the transmission. The British version is that the initial report was interrupted when a salvo from Scharnhorst struck the bridge. No signals were received from the two destroyers, which is strange. The Devonshire received a garbled and incomplete message with the words “2 PB” (2 Pocket Battleships). Its authenticity was suspect and Cunningham decided not to break radio silence and possibly give away his position because of the important passengers the cruiser was carrying.

Scharnhorst found the range with her third salvo and a projectile penetrated and exploded in the forward hanger among the Hurricanes that were stored there. The spreading fire made it impossible to get any of the Swordfish aircraft aloft. About 1800 hours, an 11-inch shell hit the carrier’s bridge, killing the captain and destroying the steering controls. The two destroyer escorts laid a smoke screen that successfully concealed the carrier, now on a southeasterly course, for about 20 minutes.

The destroyer Ardent turned back through the smoke and launched her torpedoes at Gneisenau. The German battleship avoided the torpedoes by evasive maneuvers that bought the carrier a few more minutes of survival but both German ships opened fire at the British destroyer with their secondary armaments. The devastating German fire tore the British destroyer apart and caused her to capsize and sink within four minutes.

Glorious now emerged into view from behind the smoke and both German battleships opened fire on her with their main armaments. An 11-inch shell struck the aft part of the carrier and this sealed her fate. At 1820