Something deep down emerges from the blur and takes form.At 40 meters I see the wreck, its huge. My heart beats, the wreck looks intact and unspoiled. I remembered that Giese took more than 21 direct artillery hits before fire broke lose. Will there be more damage to her hull and superstructure than being revealed from up here?

ndant ordered the crew to abandon the sinking destroyer. Of the crew of 315 men, 83 followed the destroyer down into the deep.

The wreck of Erich Giese is located just outside the marina on Ankenes, 250 meters from land at a depth of sixty to seventy meters. At present it is not permissible to dive on this wreck... but Ocean Discovery, the Scandinavian GUE exploration team, managed to get the first permit ever to dive, explore and video the once so formidable destroyer. You, as a reader of Quest, will be among the very first to experience the results of our journey to the bottom of the sea – to the pride of the once so mighty Kriegsmarine, der zerstörer Erich Giese.

The birth of a "Zerstörer"

The destroyers of the "Zerstörer 1934A" class were the first four destroyers built in Germany after World War I. Based on similar design principals as the torpedo boats, those ships showed some serious problems after completion, which was partly caused by the rushed naval construction programs after 1933.

The sea-worthiness of the ships were, like most other German vessels, poor and they took on a high amount of water during heavy seas, making their forward artillery unusable. Further, they showed a structural weakness since the hull started to bend in heavy seas and were also burdened with vibrations produced by the engines. Their turbine engines caused problems during operations and their operational range was limited. The idea was to equip the ships with the newly designed high pressure turbines, because this system seemed to have several advantages compared to normal turbine systems - at least on the paper. Test installations on land were very promising, but when installed on board on the destroyers, the engines rooms got very cramped making maintenance both difficult and time consuming. Like all other German destroyers, they were all equipped for mine laying, which was intensively used during the first months of the war. Most ships of this class did not survive the second year of the war, two of them were even sunk by their own bombers, but in their few operational months, and they did some successful mining operations near the British coast.

The occupation of Norway

One of the reasons behind the German occupation of Norway was actually quite plain and uncomplicated; it was about assets and demand. Hitler’s grip around Europe tightened and his aggressive foreign politics rendered a massive buildup of the weapon industry production. Steel, produced out of iron ore, soon became limited both for the third riche and for some of the allied forces. Narvik, situated north of the Arctic Circle, was a important link in the distribution network between the iron ore mines in Sweden and the German war industry. This was the situation in April 1940 when the dark clouds of war came over Norway.

and was forced to import up to 70% of its needs. The iron ore mined in Sweden was especially sought after because of its rather unique high quality and suitability for making canon pipes and refinement into steel, and the iron was soon to be referred to as “the black gold of Sweden”. Sweden exported millions of tons of iron ore freighted on the sea from the harbors in Narvik and Luleå. A stop or even interruptions of the iron ore export would result in serious consequences. The German mining of iron would have to increase up to a staggering 20 million tons to be able to compensate for the loss. This was impossible.

Something had to be done. Hitler and his high command worked out a cunning plan on how to secure the transportation of iron ore. Operation Weserübung, the invasion plan of Norway, was given birth and one of its goals was to secure the harbor in Narvik.

England on the other hand was not depending on the export of Swedish iron ore, and realized how important the iron export was for the German weapon industry. A disturbance or even better, a permanent end to the export, would be an ideal solution for the British. Winston Churchill, whose most prominent characteristics were not patience and carefulness, was at this time foreign minister in the English government. Churchill proclaimed that England, sparing no means, had to stop the export of Swedish iron ore. He not only suggested securing Narvik, but he also looked at the possibility to either bomb and destroy or, by using special forces, secure the mine fields situated in neutral Sweden.

The attack

The Norwegian port commander was up before the sun, as always -his duty demanded it and he did not mind. He was walking his way down to the harbor to what promised to be a quite ordinary, uneventful day at work. The cold wind carried snow and did not yet bring words of the longed awaited spring. 23 cargo ships, 4 of them Swedish, lay at port or anchored in the fjord. His keen and experienced eyes noticed something breaking the everyday pattern, making him a bit surprised. “That’s odd,” he muttered to himself, still a bit sleepy. “She sure looks like a German oil supply ship,” he reflected. He had, however, no time to further speculate over this -duty called and he sure did have a lot of ships to load with precious iron ore.
Commander Bontes’ fleet,composed of modern German Kriegsmarine destroyers, was steaming at high speed in the rough and unforgiving North Sea, soon to enter the tight fjords of Norway. The wind whipped up rough seas, making the German destroyerscut through the high waves and often making the stern dive deep under the waves. At times the destroyers looked more like submarines than surface vessels, with water completely covering the steel coated decks. Bontes looked down from the bridge - the deck was crowded with “Gebirgsjäger”, elite Special Forces rangers who desperately and in vain tried to take shelter from the shilling waves overthrowing them.

dated dreadnought Norway turned to his signal officer. The young officer’s voice was high and nervous. Askim did not have to read the full length of the decoded message to determine its terrible importance. Alarming reports from the south of Norway… sea battles… losses. “Order all hands on deck, highest battle readiness immediately,” he whispered with a deep tremble in his voice. “We are at war. We are being occupied.”

The time was 03.10. In the shelter of heavy snow, nine German destroyers swept, still undetected at flank speed, 38 knots, into the Ofotsfjord. The missing 10th destroyer was delayed due to the rough sea conditions.

The Norwegian dreadnoughts Norge and Eidsvold were preparing for battle. Shortly thereafter, two German destroyers were spotted from Eidsvold as they emerged rushing through the heavy shelter of snow. Eidsvold fired a warning shot and the German destroyer commander halted and reversed.

“We demand your unconditional and immediate surrender,” the German taskforce leader signaled. The Norwegian forces refused admirably in spite of the overwhelming German force. The outcome of the battle was no surprise for any of the combating parties.

Simultaneously, as Eidsvold gave order to open fire, she was hit by three German torpedoes and sunk in less than 15 seconds. 175 souls were lost in the blink of an eye.

The dreadnought Norge confronted two German destroyers who had sneaked all the way into the harbor. The destroyer torpedoes hit their target, and Norge followed Eidsvold into the deep along with 101 of its crew.

After the sinking of Norge and Eidsvold, no time was wasted and the harbor was soon conquered and the city occupied by the German “Gebirgsjäger” Special Forces. All of the cargo ships in the area were captured and implemented into the third riche fleet of cargo ships.

However, everything did not go as planned. Only one of the German oil supply ships had reached its port of call, limiting the refueling capacity of the destroyers severely. Only two destroyers could refuel at the same time, making operational range and strategic use limited. This made the Germans feel uneasy, and they were worried.They knew that things were not over yet, and that the feared British high sea fleet patrolling the Vestfjord may come to the Norwegians’ rescue. The German destroyers did not have enough oil to make the return journey back home to the relative safety of Germany. The departure is postponed until the night of the 10th of April at the earliest. They are trapped.

The response

The Germans did not have to wait long for the British counterattack. Less than 24 hours after the German attack, five British destroyers, concealed by a heavy snowstorm, entered in tight formation the Vestfjord heading for Narvik.

The early and swift counterattack completely surprised the German forces. The British destroyers opened fire with all of the torpedoes and guns they had with violent fiery and aggression, only to reload and continue to spread death and disaster in the harbor of Narvik.

The German destroyer Wilhelm Heidkampf had its aft blown off by a torpedo, killing the German Marin commander in Narvik. The destroyer Anton Schmidt took a direct hit midship and sunk immediately. In a matter of minutes, all of the cargo ships were either sunk or severely damaged.

Filled with the sweet sense of victory and glory, the British taskforce headed out in the fjord; but happiness sometimes does not last very long. Six unhurt German destroyers, among them Erich Giese, raging with fury and vengeance quickly surrounded the British. The violent battle ended with the sinking of the British Destroyer HMS Hunter. 111 sailors followed the ship to the bottom. The British taskforce, now low on ammunition, slipped out from the fjord towards safety. On their way out, they stumbled upon a German ammunition and oil supply ship heading for theNarvik and she was, without further hesitation, sunk. The loss of this particular supply ship would prove to be fatal for the Germans, as they lost badly-needed ammunition reserves. They were now not only short on fuel, but they also lacked means to reload their destroyers.


The end

In contrast to the events during the 10th of April, the German taskforce had been warned this time of a forthcoming British naval attack on the 13th. Commander Bonte ordered highest battle readiness, and grouped his assets in strategic positions, enabling them to surround and destroy an attacking taskforce. However, they did not expect that the British taskforce would be led by the battleship HMHS Warspite, supported by the carrier HMS Furios.

During the morning, the British taskforce made its way through the Ofotfjord towards Narvik. The taskforce was led by the battleship HMS Warspite. She was supported by nine destroyers and under air cover from the carrier HMS Furios.

The German destroyers soon found them combating an overwhelming force. They had no place to run and were caught between the anvil and the stead. Despite the apparent obvious defeat and the seemingly hopeless situation, they were still determined to fight to the bitter end - –No use getting dressed for nothing.

The battle was intense and violent, smoke from canons and burning ships clouded the sky. The water was burning as oil leaked like blood from damaged destroyers. Explosions and the sounds from the mighty 15-inch guns from the battleship Warspite echoed between the mountains climbing high into the sky on both sides of the fjord.

Men were lost and the terrible face of war was plain to see for the terrified Norwegian bystanders on shore.One after another the German destroyers were either sunk or deliberately beached to avoid sinking after having ran out of ammunition and torpedoes. Finally there was only one German destroyer left floating, George Thiele, who desperately and alone tried to fight off five British destroyers. Badly damaged, she fired her last torpedo and hit the British destroyer HMHS Eskimo in the stern and blew it clean off. At last, George Thiele was beached at 15.00. The naval battle of Narvik was over.

During the three days of naval battle in the harbor of Narvik and its surrounding fjord, Germany lost all of the taskforce’s ten destroyers and one U-boat. However, the German special forcestill held the occupied land areas including the harbor. The British fleet did not escape without losses - two destroyers were sunk and another three badly damaged.

The harbor was turned into a formidable ship cemetery, with masts and superstructure breaking the waterline all over. The harbor was unusable due to all of the sunken ships blocking the entrance of the harbor. England had managed to, with a devastating blow, effectively put an abrupt end to the export of iron ore through the port of Narvik.

The export of iron ore did not stop completely, however. The loading of cargo ships was concentrated to the Swedish harbor in Luleå. This resulted in the loss of several neutral Swedish cargo ships. CF Liljevalch, Luleå, Ada Gorthon and Margareta all fell prey to hunting Russian U-boats. The export of iron ore by neutral Sweden to Hitler Germany during the war has been questioned on several occasions, and it was troublesome for Swedish governments for many years. Churchill did not come in person to claim his Nobel Prize in literature 1953. Instead he sent his wife Clementine - but this is another story.


Present day 2004

At present day, 2004, the harbor has been rebuilt and cleared since ships load large quantities of iron ore there every day. Today, as during the war, Narvik serves as an important link in the distribution network for the Swedish iron ore mining industry.

During the last 15 years, a new bread of tourists have found their way to this remote little town - wreck divers. They travel from all parts of the world to be able to experience first-hand the remains of the famous naval battle of 1940. There are few places on earth that are able to compete with the numbers, magnitude, diversity and history of the wrecks. The fact that the nature surrounding the fjords, with its steep and high snow topped mountains is simply-put irresistible and breathtaking does not make things worse.


The scope

It is an early October morning. The air is a bit chilly, promising the forthcoming arrival of the harsh arctic winter. The mountains completely surrounding the fjord are already partially covered with snow. I’m on my way out to the wreck site where the German destroyer Erich Giese rests on the sea bed.

The wreck site has been undisturbed and protected from human influence for 64 years, ever since the naval battle of Narvik 1940. I’m deeply affected by this, and I will dive and act accordingly to the obvious fact that the wreck site of Erich Giese is also the last resting-place for 83 German sailors who meet their fate that day on the 13th of April. My intentions are honest; I will leave only bubbles and take only video and pictures for the local war museum.