Under invasjonen av Norge i April 1940, trengte den tyske Kriegsmarine diverse støttegrupper for å få gjennomført sine planer. Et av disse behovene ble oppfylt med transport av drivstoff som ble fraktet i tankere av forskjellig størrelse. Flere av disse inngikk i en egen Tankerstaffel som var oppsatt i ledd med operasjon Weserübung. Den 12. April 1940 ble den tyske tankeren Moonsund lokalisert i Skagerak utenfor Larvik av den Britiske ubåten HMS Snapper, og kort tid etter fyrer ubåten av flere skudd med deres dekkskanon. Av besetningen på Moonsund omkom åtte mann, mens seks mann blir tatt som krigsfanger. Vraket av Moonsund er offisiellt ikke funnet, men flere fiskere har mistet garn i området utenfor Larvik. Det antas at vraket hviler på en dybde av mer enn hundre meter...

Under the invasion of Norway in April 1940, the German Kriegsmarine several support groups to fulfill their plans. One of these demands was fulfilled with transport of fuel which was transported in tankers of various sizes. Several of these were part of a Tankerstaffel which was put up as a part of operation  Weserübung. 12. April 1940 the German tanker Moonsund was located in Skagerak outside Larvik by the British submarine HMS Snapper, and shortly after the submarine fires several shots with the deckcanon. Of the crew on Moonsund eight men perished, while six men were taken as prisoner of war. The wreck of Moonsund has not officially been found, but several fishermen has lost their nests in the area outside Larvik. It is pressumed that the wreck rest on a depth of more than one hundred meters...

 

Name:
Former names:
 Material:
Dimensions:
Moonsund
  
Steel
       
Brt \ Nrt: Built: Homeport: Cargo:
321 \ Randsburg ( D ) 1937 Hamburg ( D ) Petrroleum

 

Picture: © Theodor Dorgeist.

 

HMS Snapper. Information from Warships.net
12th April 1940. Sank 'Moonsund' by gunfire in the Skagerrak. • 14th April 1940. Sank the minesweepers, 'Behrens' and 'C Jansen' in the Kattegat, and possibly damaged a merchant vessel of 7,500 tons in the Skagerrak. • 3rd July 1940. Sank the merchant ship 'Cygnus', 1,300 tons. • 29th January 1941. Sailed from the Clyde on her thirteenth patrol to an area off Ushant, Bay of Biscay, commanded for the first time by Lt Prowse, in lieu of Lt Commander King, her usual skipper, who was in hospital. On 10th/11th February a submarine attacked the German minesweepers M2, M13 and M25 in the area where she might have been, and was subjected to a counter-attack in which 56 depth charges were dropped. She did not return to base and no signals were acknowledged after this date. This attack is the most likely cause of her loss. There were no survivors.

HMS Snapper was launched on 25th October 1934 and was lost on 12th February 1941 while
in Home waters after returning from duties in the Mediterranean. Submarines in class: HMS Sealion,
HMS Shark, HMS Salmon, HMS Snapper, HMS Seawolf, HMS Spearfish, HMS Sterlet and HMS Sunfish.
Displacement: 670 tons Compliment: 39. Armament: 6 x 21 inch torpedo tubes ( bow, 12 torpedoes).
One 3 inch gun. Speed: surface speed 14 knots, submerged speed 10 knots

Information from Theodor Dorgeist;
8.39 Von der KMD gechartert
4.9.39 Charter in Erfassung geändert, Schiff vor dem 12.9. der Luftwaffe, Luftzeuggruppe See in Kiel zugeteilt
9.4.40 Für "Weserübung" innerhalb der Tankerstaffel für Drontheim aus Brunsbüttel ausgelaufen.
12.4.40 Versenkt

Edited 29.06.2007