Norway

British WWII sub found off Norway

The waters off the coast of Norway have unveiled a long-hidden secret. The wreckage of the British submarine HMS Thistle, which sank during World War II, has been discovered after 83 years. The discovery was made by Norway's Institute of Marine Research and the MAREANO program during a routine seabed mapping cruise. The submarine's identification was confirmed only recently, following a subsequent cruise.

The HMS Thistle embarked on its final voyage on 10 April 1940. Tragically, it was torpedoed by a German submarine, leading to the loss of all 53 crew members on board.

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Hull of HMS Thistle

Blücher Wreck: WWII German Cruiser in Norway

Blücher
Historical photo of the WWII German cruiser Blücher

A joint group of GUE divers from Norway, Sweden and Finland, led by project leader Gunnar Midtgaard, documented the wreck of the Blücher in Norway, and its condition, during the summers of 2011 and 2012. Mattias Vendlegård, who served on the photo team during the project, has the story.

Gulen Dive Resort

Gulen Dive Resort is located right at the waterfront in a narrow strait. You have beautiful scenery right outside your window.

Our accommodation has eight cosy twin rooms with different bed arrangements – either twin beds or bunk beds. There are two bathrooms/showers at the end of the hall. Accommodation is based upon self-catering, but we also offer various solutions where food is included

The dive centre is in the building next to where you’re staying, and you don’t have to walk more than 20 meters to get in the water!

The first Barracudas entered operational service on 10 January 1943 with 827 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), who were deployed in the North Atlantic. Eventually a total of 24 front-line FAA squadrons were equipped with Barracudas.

British WWII torpedo bomber found in Norwegian fjord

On 22. February 1945 nine Fairey Barracuda from 821 Naval Air Squadron are launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Puncher in the North sea on a minelaying operation along the western coast of Norway, or more specifically Karmsundet which is a narrow strait south of the coastal town of Haugesund.

Karlsruhe was a light cruiser which participated in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway in 1940.

German WWII cruiser found between Norway and Denmark

Statnett, the Norwegian state-owned power grid operator, made the astounding discovery of the lost Karlsruhe cruiser around 488 meters (1,600 feet) below sea level off the Southern coast of Norway, some 13 nautical miles from the port of Kristiansand. Signs of wreckage were first detected three years ago during inspection work when sonar detected a shipwreck only 15 meters from an undersea power cable between Norway and Denmark.

The nudibranch Fjordia chriskaugei, Gulen Dive Resort, Norway

Nudibranchs named after Gulen Dive Resort and friends

Over the years, new species have been found and existing species have been moved to other genera while other species are new. Thus, our colleague Christian Skauge writes that the Flabellina family has now gone "extinct" in Norway because the species therein have now been reclassified and put into other genera.

Jessica Keller, Jeffrey Bozanic, Project Poseidon, X-Ray Mag, Rosemary E Lunn
Project Poseidon diver Jessica Keller received a medal of valour for her part in saving the life of a colleague in 2012

Crew Named For 'Project Poseidon'

Today SAT time is limited in many countries. In Norway the maximum bottom time is 14 days and the diver needs to be offshore no more than 21 days. Meanwhile in the British North Sea the time in SAT (including decompression) is limited to 28 days. However there is no limit on statutory offshore time, hence the diver can remain offshore for a number of days before being transported back to the mainland.

Wreck of a WWII German troop transport located off Norway

At the time of its sinking, Rio de Janeiro was carrying a contingent of German soldiers meant for the invasion of Norway, which occurred on the following day, 9 April 1940. Of the 380 onboard, 50 were crew, the rest were soldiers. Of these numbers, almost 200 lost their lives, but 183 survived and were helped by the locals. Survivors told officials they were heading to Bergen, and even though they were wearing military uniforms, the Norwegian government failed to realize that a German invasion was imminent.

Shipwreck at 600m in Skagerrak

Norwegian Coastal Administration locates 15 more WW2 wrecks in Skagerrak

During a survey in 2009, the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) located some twenty wrecks in the area. A recent search revealed an additional 15 wrecks, taking the total to at least 35.

Most of the wrecks stem from the post-WW2 scuttling, but there were also some that we could not associate with this campaign, said chief scientist at Norway's Defence Research Institute, Petter Lågstad.

Some of the wrecks were obviously unrelated to the scuttling because of their size and age.

A Halifax bomber lost in World War 2 has been found at the bottom of a Norwegian Fjord
(Unrelated filephoto). The Handley Page Halifax was a British heavy bomber aircraft of World War II

WW2 British bomber found in Norwegian fjord

The Halifax bomber was struck by heavy flak and made a successful crash landing 600ft down a water inlet in northern Norway.

The sunken bomber will be protected as a war grave because of the likelihood of the remains of the two airman still being on board. Four of the six-man crew bailed out into a dingy but nothing was ever seen of navigator, Flight Sergeant Albert Columbine, or wireless operator, Arthur Evans. It is believed they drowned when the bomber went down.