In support of the invasion of Norway, German Mountain Troops embarked on civilian freighters,
picking up their F class escorts after leaving Gotenhafen Harbor.
The soldiers were billeted in cargo holds in order to keep the operation a secret.
.
Between the Skaggerak and Goteborg, a British submarine sighted the convoy and sank three of
the freighters, first "Friedenau" then
"Wittenberg" went down. Without cargo in the holds
they sank rapidly. .
Although a Swedish destroyer left the 5 mile neutrality zone to render assistance, most of the
soldiers perished leaving trasporter "Hamm"
the somber task of returning bodies to Oslo. .
These casualties were compounded by the troops lost aboard the Heavy Cruiser Blucher, however,
the Invasion of Norway was a German success. From "Der Zweite Weltkrieg von Nurnberg
bis Stalingrad" Dr. Franz Burda 1961.
