Post by Administrator on Feb 16, 2017 13:46:09 GMT
Altmark Incident
16 Feb 1940
The German tanker and supply vessel Altmark, formerly under service with the pocket battleship (later re-classified as heavy cruiser) Admiral Graf Spee, had been in hiding in the vast Atlantic Ocean after Graf Spee had been defeated by an Allied task force at Montevideo. Though she successfully evaded detection for the nine weeks after Graf Spee's destruction, she was running low in fuel and must make port call to re-supply. On 16 Feb 1940, she was found by Royal Air Force pilots off Norway. Upon hearing the news, Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill jumped on the opportunity to bring good news to the people of Britain. Thus far, Britain had been fighting what William Manchester called a "Bore War". The British people had been keeping strict blackouts and enduring other war-time restrictions, but because the war had not been brought to them, the British people were suffering in morale. Knowing Altmark carried the crew of the merchant vessels Graf Spee had sunk, Churchill wanted to use this for boosting British morale as well as his own political popularity. He left word that any news regarding Altmark was to be sent to his office immediately, and that was what Captain Philip Vian did:
LINK
16 Feb 1940
The German tanker and supply vessel Altmark, formerly under service with the pocket battleship (later re-classified as heavy cruiser) Admiral Graf Spee, had been in hiding in the vast Atlantic Ocean after Graf Spee had been defeated by an Allied task force at Montevideo. Though she successfully evaded detection for the nine weeks after Graf Spee's destruction, she was running low in fuel and must make port call to re-supply. On 16 Feb 1940, she was found by Royal Air Force pilots off Norway. Upon hearing the news, Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill jumped on the opportunity to bring good news to the people of Britain. Thus far, Britain had been fighting what William Manchester called a "Bore War". The British people had been keeping strict blackouts and enduring other war-time restrictions, but because the war had not been brought to them, the British people were suffering in morale. Knowing Altmark carried the crew of the merchant vessels Graf Spee had sunk, Churchill wanted to use this for boosting British morale as well as his own political popularity. He left word that any news regarding Altmark was to be sent to his office immediately, and that was what Captain Philip Vian did:
LINK