Can anyone substantiate or negate this? Or add info?

Terje Langoy wrote:G´day all


The battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen weighed anchor at Gotenhafen (Polish Gdynia) around nightfall 18th May 1941, deployed for “Exercise Rhine” - the second Atlantic raid to be made by German capital ships after Operation Berlin had been successfully concluded at Brest some two months earlier.

During 20th May the German force was heading up the Kattegat when they were sighted at 1300 hours by a Swedish naval vessel, the hangar-cruiser Gotland. A contact report was immediately dispatched by Captain Ågren to the Signal Station at Kullen, from there further relayed to the Swedish Military Intelligence offices at Stockholm.

In the early spring months of 1941 officers within the Swedish Military Intelligence had decided that a close co-operation with the Norwegian resistance also served Swedish interests. This was of course an unofficial private stance but nonetheless one of significance. As it turned out the Chief of Staff for the Swedish military Intelligence, Major Tørnberg, was a close friend of the Norwegian Military attache in Stockholm, Colonel Roscher Lund.

Colonel Lund received word from Major Tørnberg about Ågren´s report being told that a Swedish vessel had sighted two large warships and several other ships, sailing under air cover, earlier that day. This had Colonel Lund making a visit to the British embassy to meet with the British Naval Attache, Commander Henry W. Denham. Lund informed him of the contact report whereas Denham sent the following message to London at 2058 hours:

Kattegat, 20 May at 1500 hours. Two large warships escorted by three destroyers, five other escorts and ten to twelve aircrafts, passing Marstrand at a N.W. course.

Within an hour after Denham dispatched the report to London the German warships were spotted once again, this time from an island off Ny-Hellesund just outside Kristiansand. Here they were seen by the Norwegian resistance agent Viggo Axelsen. A photograph was also made by Professor Edvard Barth, an ornithologist doing a survey on birds in that area, as the German ships passed by. The photo he captured can be found at pg. 92-93 in the book “Bismarck - a survivor´s story” by author and former artillery officer aboard the ship, Burkhard Friherre von Müllenheim-Rechberg.

It would appear that Axelsen most probably relayed his sighting to another man. Linge Officer Odd Starheim* was a radio telegraphist with residence at Flekkefjord and it is said he dispatched a contact report to Colonel Wilson at the SOE offices in London. Starheim´s report would so forth be the first direct and solid indication received by the British that the Bismarck was on her way out.

Confirmation of a German breakout came the following day. At 1315 hours a reconnsaissance Spitfire flown by Lt. Suckling, passed some 8000 m. above Grimstadfjord outside Bergen. Sitting at anchor in the fjord beneath was the Bismarck.

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* Starheim´s report is yet unconfirmed by the British. I can however provide a name (Colonel Wilson) and time period (20 - 23 May 1941) thus if anyone at this board have access to SOE files then maybe they could shed more light on the subject..?
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The story about the spotting of Bismarck off Kristiansand can be seen in the book "Den høyeste heder" by Johan waage, in the chapter "En drake går av stabelen, et slagskip går ned." Wiggo Axelsen spotted the group of ships, and got the message through to Starrheim who sendt the message to Home station who confirmed receiving it. After an hour Home station sendt a message ordering observers north along the coast possibly to follow the ships.

Mvh
ervold



Best regards