HNo MS Draug (1908) - Towing Mtbs

Towing Mtbs

In addition to her coastal duties, Draug also carried out more unconventional operations, such as towing Norwegian motor torpedo boats to and from the coast of southern Norway. This greatly increased the range of the small MTBs, thus allowing them to carry out attacks on German-controlled convoys in the occupied homeland. The first attack made by a Norwegian MTB in Norwegian waters happened on 3 October 1941, when MTB 56 was towed into position by Draug and proceeded to torpedo and sink off Kyrholmen the escorted 3,015 ton Norwegian tanker MT Borgny of Oslo, which had been requisitioned by the Germans and was carrying 3,500 tons of aviation fuel for the Luftwaffe in Norway. After the successful attack MTB 56 dodged shells from both the escorts and a coastal battery at Korsneset and met Draug the next morning to be towed back to Lerwick on Shetland. Fourteen Norwegian sailors died on the Borgny, which was escorted by two German naval vessels at the time of the attack.