By Bob Walsh
HMS Glasgow rescued the Norwegian government and gold
I happened to be watching the
Smithsonian Channel last night and learned something very interesting
about the evacuation of the Norwegian and gold reserves during WWII.
The
King of Norway and most of the government moved cross-county in trucks,
along with most of the national treasury, to a small city on the
north-west coast of Norway usually used by fishing boats. A Royal Navy
cruiser went up there to fetch the people and the gold. The route into
the city and up to the dock was long, narrow and winding. Plus the city
was under attack by the Luftwaffe pretty regular and was mostly on
fire.
Because the port
was used almost exclusively by 60 foot fishing boats there was no room
in the port or the channel to turn the cruiser around. When they got
the people and gold on board the ship reversed at speed for about 18
miles thru a rather awkward channel until it hit open water. I don't
know if they had a local pilot (I assume so) but whoever was actually
conning the ship must have been very, very good at what he did.
A fairly impressive feat of seamanship.
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