Hello, and thank you for listening to the history of World War II podcast, Episode 182,

Churchill and Hitler race for Norway.

Last time British Commodore Harwood, Commander of Force G stationed in the South Atlantic,

had been able to force the destruction of the pocket battleship Graf Schb, by its own

captain's hand.

But there still remained the tanker ultmark that had accompanied the pocket battleship,

which still held some 299 Commonwealth merchant seamen prisoners.

It's captain Heinrich Dao knew he had to get back to Germany, so stayed well off the

normal shipy lanes as he made his way north.

By mid-February he was off the coast of Norway's southern shores, in between the Norwegian

mainland and a string of offshore islands called the inner leads.

His plan was to ready his vessel for a dash across the North Sea to Germany.

But at midday on April 16th, 1940, captain Dao was told that two planes had just flown

over the ship.

They were British coastal Hudson bombers.

Her head, pilot officer C.W. McNeil, whooped aloud when he read the ship's name.

Right away a signal was sent to a squadron of a light cruiser and several destroyers,

the closest British ships to the newly discovered German vessel, all under the command of Captain

Philip Thayan.

Soon after, two avion's destroyers were ordered to board the ultmark.

However, as the tanker was in neutral waters, Captain Dao refused to heave two.

As for the luckless Norwegians stuck in the middle of this potentially explosive issue,

...