11
THE CHINA MAIL, FEBRUARY 27, 1940. EYE-WITNESS ON ALTMARK DRAMA
THRILLING STORY OF EXPLOIT IN JOSSING FIORD
London, To-day. A DESCRIPTION OF the release by H.M.S. Cossack of the prisoners from the Altmark was given this evening in a broadcast by a "Naval Eyewitness" who related how, but for the description of the Altmark given by the Graf Spee's prisoners who were released in Montevideo that the ship would have passed from knowledge until she and her 299 prisoners reached Germany.
•
But, that description was known to three R.A.F. recon- naissance machines who on February 16 sighted a ship answering the Alt mark's description. Diving low over the stern, they were able to read her name and re- ported her position.
On the afternoon of that day the force of destroyers sent to intercept her,.sighted the Altmark. She was then steaming south, hugging the Norwegian coast and escorted by two Norwegian gunboats. At the point where the southern end of Norway curves a little east there is a little ford called Jossing Fiord.
The entrance is only 200 yards wide and the inlet extends inland a little over mile,
NO-ONE VISIBLE
Immediately the ships were secur- ed, the boarding party" leaped on board. The upper deck of the Alt- mark was brightly illuminated
and there not a soul visible Followed by a party of men, the First Lieutenant ran forward along the plank bridge spanning the after welldeck and came to a steel door leading to the bridge and superstructure.
Bursting through, they were con- fronted by a German officer with pistol levelled at them.
The Altmark turned into this flord Realising the futility of it, he shrug- accompanied by her Norwegian escort.ged his shoulders and threw it on the It seemed incredible to the Senior deck. Officer of H.M.S. Cossack that the Altmark should be ceremoniously con- ducted on a voyage to Germany by Norwegian men-of-war if she really had three hundred prisoners on board. Cossack, accordingly, followed the Norwegian gunboats into Jossing Fiord to ask for enlightenment. mark proceeded some distance up the flord and the two gunboats turned to meet Cossack.
Alt-
NORWEGIAN ASSERTION The Norwegian officers stated em- phatically that the Altimark had been examined the previous day, she was authorised to travel through terri- torial waters with a Norwegian pilot
on board, that she carried no arma- ment and that he was ignorant of the presence of any British prisoners.
Accepting the statement without question, Cossack immediately with- drew outside territorial waters and asked for Admiralty instructions.
They were curt and perfectly clear. If the British prisoners were not on board Altmark, where were they? Only one person could answer the question and that was the captain of the Altmark.
Cossack again entered Jossing Fiord to solve the mystery. The beam of Cossack's searchlight immediat- ely located the Altmark in the pack
ice at the far end of the flord. The Altmark also switched on a search- light and directed it on Cossack's bridge trying to impede her naviga- tion and began signalling with a morse lamp the rather redundant Informa- tion that she was in Norway.
GUNBOAT CLOSES
The Captain and officers were found graphs and sullenly admitted that they on the bridge, working the engine tele- had British prisoners on board. The telegraphs were promptly stopped, but by this time the Altmark had so much stern way that she grounded stern of the flord. first on the rocks on the opposite side
COSSACK SLIPS CLEAR Cossack cast off and slipped clear of the Altmark to sharing her fate on the rocks.
avold
While the First Lieutenant was getting control of the bridge, a Lieu- tenant and a Gunner were rounding up the German crew between decks, Suddenly a shot rang out in one of the alley-ways and the Gunner fell seriously wounded. He taken to the sick bay where a German doctor attended him.
Little melees were going on all over the ship as the Germans were overpowered and placed un- der guard. A boat full of Ger- mans had been lowered and dropped through the ice, smashing it.
These men
stayed where they Another were, clinging to life lines, party escaped with rifles across the ice to the shore.
on
INTERMITTENT FIRE They, presumably, were the armed guard from the Graf Spee put board to guard the prisoners. They kept up an intermittent land but hit nobody.
Are from
Once the officers were under guard, the First Lieutenant took the Captain down to show him where the pri- soners were. The sentries had fled with the keys.
One Norwegian gunboat closed Cos- sack and the latter asked permission to send a joint British and Norwegian
The British boarding party smash- search party on board the Altmark ind the locks with rifle butts and the Norwegian gunboat.
prised off the heavy hatches to the hold.
The Norwegian captain replied that his ship was not able to reach the Altmark through the ice but he fin- ally consented go in Cossack and ac- company the boarding party.
"The Navy's here," they shouted, "Come up out of it." The 299 men came out and mustered on the fore- castle, cheering wildly.
the
Cossack then came alongside bow and the prisoners were trans- ferred with their belongings.
GERMAN RESCUED
The Altmark was now manoeuver- ing stern first out of the ice towards Cossack in an endeavour to ram. her. By most dexterous handling, the cap- 'tain of H.M.S. Cossack laid his bows alongside the stern of the Altmark and the First Lieutenant jumped to the Altmark's poop, caught a rope What his motives were in doing flung to him and secured the two ships so are unknown because he died on together.
the passage to England.
A boarding party of 30 men and two officers were in readiness, the officers armed with revolvers and the men with rifles and bayonets.
As a precaution against impulsive shooting, the cutouts of the rifles were closed and only the magazines were loaded.
She was delayed by a rescue from the water of a German seaman who jumped overboard.
The German officers and crew were brought on to the Altmark's fore- castle and the boarding party carried the wounded officer with them, re- embarking in Cossack,
Once more, H. M. S. Cossack turned i her bowa towards the entrance and started home-British Wireless.
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