Article from the Shetland News, 25 January 1940

Gone Down in Twenty Seconds - Crew of Norwegian Steamer Saved.

On Wednesday of last week a German submarine was active off the north-east coast of Shetland and one vessel, a Norwegian steamer was finally sunk by a British destroyer after being torpedoed, shelled, set on fire and abandoned; while the other vessel, believed to be British, went down within 20 secs. after being previously attacked by the U-boat. The crew of the Norwegian steamer were saved, but it is feared that all hands on the other steamer were lost.

Norwegian Mate’s Story
The Norwegian steamer sunk was the 1800 ton Enid, and when the mate and seven of the crew arrived at Lerwick on board the ss Earl of Zetland, on Thursday, the mate, Mr Rolf Lockert, described to a "Shetland News" representative what took place. He said the steamer was some six or seven miles of the north-east coast of Shetland, and was bound for Dublin from Norway with a cargo of wood pulp. Another steamer, believed to be British (a vessel of about 6000 tons), was not far away from the Enid when the U-boat appeared, and at about 20 minutes to two o'clock in the afternoon the submarine fired a torpedo at the other ship. "She was hit amidships" he said, "and her back appeared to break for she went down in about 20 seconds time. I think all the men must have been lost. There was no time at all for them to launch boats or do anything and we saw no signs of any survivors."

Shelled and Torpedoed
Mr Lockert went on to say that the submarine next turned her attention to their ship. "The Germans fired 15 to 20 shells at us and then moved away some distance and fired a torpedo. Fire broke out in the chart-room, and we decided to abandon ship, Captain Wibe going into one lifeboat, equipped with oars and sails, while I took charge of the other lifeboat, which had a motor engine. There were eight of us in each boat. We headed for the shore and reached the shore station at Burrafirth at 6 p.m. where we were very hospitably treated." |

Mr Lockert stated that the first shell might have been meant as a warning, but he did not think so and when the two lifeboats left the burning Enid the shells fired by the U-boat were whistling over their heads. The Enid burned fiercely, he added, and the flames from her could still be seen from the land at 6 o'clock on Thursday morning. The Enid was subsequently sunk by shells fired by a British destroyer.

Captain and Seven Men Reach Norway
Mr Lockert said there was a trawler in the vicinity at the time, but it is not known whether she was the Granada of Aberdeen which had been in Baltasound harbour a day or so previously. Captain Wibe and his seven men were in the lifeboat on the seaward side of the Enid, and Mr Lockert presumed that they would be picked up by the trawler and landed at Lerwick or Aberdeen. As nothing further was heard from them on Thursday or Friday, some anxiety was being felt for their safety. Mr Lockert mentioned that shortly after the other steamer went down, the trawler hurried to the spot apparently in the hope of picking up survivors, if any, and at that time a snow shower came on and he did not again see the Captain's boat. On Saturday morning, however, a telegram was received from Captain Wibe, from Norway, stating that he and his seven men had been landed there by the Danish motor vessel Kina. It is therefore presumed that the Kina picked up these eight men though of course the trawler might have done so and transferred them later to the Kina seeing that the latter was bound for Norway. The eight Norwegians who landed at Burrafirth and came on to Lerwick had no time to save any of their belongings. Apart from the clothing they were wearing, the only other things they had with them were their life jackets. While in Lerwick they were accommodated in the R N.M D.S.F. and they left for the south on the local mail steamer on Thursday night.

Article from the Shetland Times, 20 January 1940

Vessel Torpedoed off Shetland – One Norwegian, Other Believed British – Norwegian Crew Saved

Two vessels, one Norwegian and the other believed to be British, were torpedoed by a German submarine about six or seven miles north-east of Shetland on Wednesday afternoon. The crew of the Norwegian ship were saved, but the other ship sank with all hands immediately on being torpedoed.

Norwegian Vessel Set On Fire
The Norwegian vessel was the Enid, a steamer of 1800 gross tons. She had a crew of 16 and was carrying a cargo of wood pulp from Norway to Dublin. The steamer was not sunk outright, but was set on fire, the burning ship being plainly seen from the land. The crew took to their two lifeboats with eight men in each. The boat in charge of the captain, which had oars and sails, was picked up by a trawler and its crew landed in the South on Thursday. The other boat, in charge of the mate, had a motor and was able to reach Unst. On Thursday morning the boat's crew came down to Lerwick on the "Earl of Zetland".

Mate’s Story
In the course of a few minutes he had to spare before leaving for the South the same afternoon, the mate, Mr Rolf Lockert, was seen by the "Shetland Times" representative. He said that his ship was torpedoed at 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. The submarine was in view for about twenty minutes and the other vessel was the first to be attacked. She was about two miles astern of the Norwegian and was a ship of about 5,000 or 6,000 tons and grey painted. The mate said he was quite convinced by the shape of her that she was British. A torpedo hit her amidships and she broke in the middle and went down in twenty seconds.

Boat’s Crew Land In Unst
The submarine next attacked the Enid. It fired from 15 to 16 shells all of which missed. Then it fired a torpedo which struck the steamer. Meanwhile the Enid's crew lowered their lifeboats as soon as the first shell was fired and shells whizzed over their heads as they made towards land with the submarine to landward of them. The mate's boat was shaken as the torpedo was fired through the water and the Enid was set on fire after she was struck. After that nothing more was seen of the submarine, but the Enid continued to burn without sinking and they could still see her burning at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. they reached the Burrafirth shore station for Muckle Flugga lighthouse. The sea had been heavy and there were snow showers, but the wind was moderate. At the shore station the mate said, the boat's crew were made very welcome and were accommodated for the night.

Article from “The Times” newspaper (London based) dated 19 January 1940

U-Boat attack on a neutral vessel, shelled and torpedoed

The Norwegian steamer Enid, 1,140 tons, registered at Trondheim, has been shelled and torpedoed by a German sub-marine in the North Sea, and yesterday she was seen to be still burning. The mate of the Enid, Rolf Lockert, who yesterday reached a northern port in a boat with seven others, including a boy, said that at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, when the Enid was six or seven miles off the coast, a U-boat appeared and fired one or two shells. They may have been a warning, but they were followed by 15 or 20 other shells. The submarine then fired a torpedo, which struck the ship and exploded, but no one was hurt. Fire broke out in the chart room and the ship was abandoned, the captain and mate taking different boats each with seven of the crew. A trawler appeared which the mate hopes picked up the captain's boat, but so far no word has come of their being landed. The mate's boat reached an island at 6 p.m. He added that the Enid was still burning at 5 a.m. yesterday.

Article from “The Times” newspaper dated January 20, 1940

Anxiety is felt for the safety of the captain and seven men of the 1,140-ton Norwegian steamer Enid, which was shelled and torpedoed by a German submarine off the Shetlands on Wednesday night. The crew of 16 took to their two lifeboats, the captain in command of one and the mate, Rolf Lockert, in the other. Lockert's boat reached the shore six miles awav, but the weather prevented him from seeing the captain's boat. It was thought that the men in it were saved by a trawler which may have proceeded to her home port.

Article from “The Times” newspaper dated January 22, 1940

The crew of the Estonian steamer Nautic (2,050 tons), which sank off the Shetlands on Saturday, has been picked up by another steamer. The captain and seven men from the torpedoed Norwegian steamer Enid have been landed in Norway by the Danish motor-vessel Lina, according to information received at Lerwick.

Article from “The Times” newspaper dated January 26, 1940

Various lifeboats shelled by submarine – from our correspondent Las Palmas, January 25, 1940

The captain and eight men of the Norwegian steamer Enid, which was sunk in the North Sea on January 17, have arrived here on board the Danish steamer Kina. The captain of the Enid reports that a U-boat began to shell the Enid and that his ship was hit by six shells out of 20 that were fired. The U-boat afterwards continued to shell the lifeboats, sinking one that contained eight men, all of whom were lost. Later the steamer Kina picked up one boat containing the captain of the Enid and eight men. Another lifeboat containing survivors from the Enid reached the Shetland Islands as reported in The Times on January 20.