Attack by HNMS O 24 on Oct. 29th, 1940

[jan-olof]

Hello again,

on the above mentioned date the Dutch submarine O 24 fired two torpedoes, which missed, against a merchant vessel somewhere off Holmengraa, Norway. In HMA

https://www.historisches-marinearchiv.d ... _value=701

it is speculated that the target was the German vessel Alsterufer, which was escorted by V 5104 and V 5108. Is this really correct? The reason for my question is this entry from KTB - Kommandanten des Seeverteidigung Bergen where the following can be found for the date in question:

29.10.1940
0300 Sperrbrecher "Arcturus" läuft zu einem Punkte ca. 20 sm westlich Holmengraa aus.
...
1905 Sperrbrecher "Arcturus" läuft wieder ein. 1030 Uhr war "Arcturus" ohne erfolg von einem Englischen U.-Boot angegriffen worden.

Could the Arcturus have been the target of the attack by O 24 or are we dealing with two different events here?

Best regards,

Jan-Olof

[Platon Alexiades]

Hello Jan-Olof,

The target of O.24 was indeed Arcturus. One torpedo missed by only 5 metres astern (see KTB Admiral Norwegian West Coast, T1022/2753, NARA)

Best regards,

Platon

[jan-olof]

Hello Platon,

many thanks for solving yet another mystery. I'll definitely take a look at KTB Admiral Norwegian West Coast.

Best regards,

Jan-Olof