HNo MS Draug (1908) - Draug and The Invasion

Draug and The Invasion

The beginning of April 1940 saw Draug part of the 2nd Naval District's 1st destroyer division, covering an area roughly the same as the Vestlandet and Trøndelag regions. She was based in the small south western port of Haugesund and carrying out escort missions along the western coast. The day before the invasion, on 8 April Draug escorted the 7,369 ton German merchant vessel Seattle, a ship that would be sunk outside Kristiansand the next day, when she got caught in the crossfire between the German invasion fleet and Norwegian coastal artillery at Odderøya Fort. The crew of the Seattle was captured by Norwegian troops and held as PoWs until freed by the advancing invasion force on 10 April. As she was finishing her escort mission, Draug received orders from the Norwegian Naval Command to return at full speed to Haugesund and refuel her coal stores. When Draug arrived at Haugesund at about 1500hrs, the ships' commander, Captain (later Vice Admiral) Thore Horve, was told of the German naval advance through Danish waters and of the sinking of the 5,199 ton clandestine German troop transport Rio de Janeiro by the Polish submarine Orzeł outside the southern port of Lillesand. In the same time period reports started coming in over the radio of British mining operations off the Norwegian coast.

After receiving this information, Captain Horve had several personal telephone conversation with Rear admiral Carsten Tank-Nielsen, the Commander of the 2nd Naval District, who told him that he had ordered the navy's ships in Bergen to open fire at any and all foreign warships that might try to force their way into that port. The rear admiral gave him permission to use his own judgement in the coming hours. The conversation left Horve in no doubt that war was coming and he therefore ordered his ship to be made ready for war, guards to be posted, all leaves to be cancelled and the lights on the ship and in the harbour area to be blacked out.