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The motortorpedoboat Sæl was laid down at the Norwegian Navy's shipyard in 1901, and had just like other naval units did service as guard boat along the coast and neutrality guard under the first world war. As a curiosity Sæl also participated when King Haakon VII when he honored one of the first official regattas in Norway at Horten in 1916. At the outbreak of second world war, Sæl was designated to 4th Torpedo boat division together with the boats Storm and Brand. On her last journey Sæl had a crew consisting of commandant Gulbrandsen and a crew of twenty men. On April 18th the commandant receives a verbal order which he believes to consist of him going out of search for three German S-boats, but in reality the orders are that he shall withdraw from the superior enemy. On the afternoon April 18th opens fire against two German S-boats in Onarheimfjorden, and a small naval engagement takes place the next twenty minutes. Sæl delivers heavy hits on one of the enemy vessels, but os shortly after herself hit in the bow section and in one of the canon towers, and shortly after a third German vessel appears in the horizon. The enemy vessels attacks now with torpedoes but none of these hits the Norwegian torpedoboat. But Sæl is now damaged and start to take in water, and start to withdraw form the engagement. During the withdrawal the vessel hits a reef and is stuck on Aanuglo. Commandant Gulbrandsen decides now to abandon the vessel, and the crew with seven wounded men gets of the vessel unharmed. Later that night MTB Sæl disappears in the deep in twenty five meters... The wreck of Sæl was found in the sixties, and the Norwegian navy removed the torpedoes and mines which was still onboard with explosives, and the result today is that the wreck is pretty much broken down at the mid ship. The bow section and the stern is still relatively intact. The wreck of Sæl rest in Veavika south east on Aanuglo, and from the reef in the middle just head straight east, and here you will find the wreck. To get out to the site you will need a boat...
Thanks to @les Dykkeside for the supplementary information. |
Edited 29.06.2007 |