The Sinking of the Blucher: The Battle of Drobak Narrows April 1940 by Geirr Haarr & Tor Jorgen Melien

Author:Geirr Haarr & Tor Jorgen Melien [Geirr Haarr & Tor Jorgen Melien]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784388768
Google: UaW5EAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Published: 2023-04-23T21:00:00+00:00

On the mainland, the Kopås battery could only count on the men who arrived earlier from the 28-cm battery at Oscarsborg. These were unfamiliar with the guns at Kopås, which they had never seen before. To reinforce the inexperienced crews and man as many of the guns as possible, kaptein Vagn Enger, the landside commander, asked for and was permitted to call on the NCO cadets of the nearby Coast Artillery NCO Training School under kaptein Klaus Nesse. Kaptein Enger had a week earlier been relieved as commander of the landside batteries by kaptein Peder Hjelvik, but due to the seriousness of the situation, Eriksen ordered Enger back in command by a phone call made by kaptein Unneberg at 23.15 on the 8th. The 52 NCO cadets and their officers made a valuable addition; 22 of them had been in training since the war started in Europe. Some were spread around where needed, but No. 1 15-cm gun at Kopås was manned entirely by NCO cadets.¹⁴ The guns at Kopås were ready shortly after midnight.

The most important crewmen at the gun were the trainer (keeping the gun on the correct bearing with the sight) and the layer (for elevation). Both positions were taken by cadets at each gun. Commander of gun No. 1 was fenrik Lars Gjerberg from the NCO Training School. Gun No. 3 was commanded by sersjant Knutsen from the Neutrality Watch. Gun No. 2 was poorly organised when Enger inspected the battery and NCO cadet Jørgensen was ordered to take over, a job he performed well. Kaptein Enger and kaptein Nesse manned the command bunker together with Hjelvik. This bunker was also the site for the battery orograph. The ammunition had to be carried from the main magazine at the rear of the battery to ready-use magazines at each gun. The projectiles and the propellants for the guns were loaded separately, but the rate of fire would be high. Enger ordered up just 10 rounds of HE per gun. This would be easy to expend in two minutes, but he told Nesse that it would be sufficient.¹⁵

To add to the defence of the Narrows, the two guns of the 5.7-cm battery at Husvik were manned by men of the NCO Training School under løytnant Rolf Bertelsen. The battery was not a part of the Neutrality Watch and was regarded as an improvement of the defence. Bertelsen had the NCO cadets carry 50 rounds from the magazines to the ready-use stores close to the guns whereafter they manned the guns and the command bunker; they were ready at 02:30. There was no battery rangefinder at Husvik. Three searchlights were sited along the waterfront of Drøbak, two south of the church and one further north. On the evening of the 8th, the two southern ones were not operational due to maintenance and the auxiliary Kranfartøy No.2, moored in Drøbak harbour, was ordered to man its light instead, and to be ready. The third searchlight north of the harbour, which was in reserve, was ordered to be manned and stand by, but was not used.

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