Posted on Jun 20, 2020
The sinking of Blücher - The King's Choice (2016)
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I saw somebody on Facebook had the scene of the German heavy cruiser Blucher trying to sneak into the Oslo Norway Harbor During the 1940 invasion of Norway. Luckily, the Norwegians had 40 year old German Krupp 11" guns with high explosive Shells and World War I era torpedoes that were not defective.
The German cruiser was built in 1937 So it was a modern heavy cruiser. Their mission was to sneak into the Harbor and their SS men were going to capture the Norwegian royalty. They were blown to bits because they were on that ship.
It is available on Amazon Prime. It is an excellent Movie. I finally saw it tonight.
84%/83% On the rotten tomatoes scale.
THE KING'S CHOICE is based on the true the story about three dramatic days in April 1940, where the King of Norway is presented with an unimaginable ultimatum from the German armed forces: surrender or die. With Nazi soldiers hunting after them, the Royal Family is forced to flee the capital. In the best interest of the family, the Crown Princess Märtha leaves Norway with the children to seek refuge in Sweden, whilst King Haakon and the Crown Prince Olav flee to a small farming area just outside Elverum and meet the Germans head on. After three days of desperately trying to evade the Germans, King Haakon makes his final decision. He refuses to capitulate, even if it may cost him, his family and many Norwegians their lives.
The German cruiser was built in 1937 So it was a modern heavy cruiser. Their mission was to sneak into the Harbor and their SS men were going to capture the Norwegian royalty. They were blown to bits because they were on that ship.
It is available on Amazon Prime. It is an excellent Movie. I finally saw it tonight.
84%/83% On the rotten tomatoes scale.
THE KING'S CHOICE is based on the true the story about three dramatic days in April 1940, where the King of Norway is presented with an unimaginable ultimatum from the German armed forces: surrender or die. With Nazi soldiers hunting after them, the Royal Family is forced to flee the capital. In the best interest of the family, the Crown Princess Märtha leaves Norway with the children to seek refuge in Sweden, whilst King Haakon and the Crown Prince Olav flee to a small farming area just outside Elverum and meet the Germans head on. After three days of desperately trying to evade the Germans, King Haakon makes his final decision. He refuses to capitulate, even if it may cost him, his family and many Norwegians their lives.
Norway
Germany
Defense
Artillery
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7 Brutal Days for the Kriegsmarine - Battle for Norway
The first few days of Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, cost the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet dearly. While the invasion and occupation was succe...
Thank you my friend LTC (Join to see) for posting a well-done scene from The King's Choice of a scale reenactment [for the ship] of the sinking of the Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser Blücher named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian victor of the Battle of Waterloo.
The loss of Blücher and the damage done to Lützow caused the German force to withdraw. The ground troops were landed on the eastern side of the fjord; they proceeded inland and captured the Oscarborg Fortress by 09:00 on 10 April. They then moved on to attack the capital. Airborne troops captured the Fornebu Airport and completed the encirclement of the city, and by 14:00 on 10 April it was in German hands. The delay caused by the temporary withdrawal of Blücher's task force, however, allowed the Norwegian government and royal family to escape the city.
7 Brutal Days for the Kriegsmarine - Battle for Norway
The first few days of Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, cost the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet dearly. While the invasion and occupation was successful the German Navy would be hampered for the remainder of the war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1JSQTU89MQ
Images:
1. Sinking of the Heavy Cruiser Blücher on April 9, 1940 in the Drøbak Sound
2. Heavy Cruiser Blücher schematic
3. Heavy Cruiser Blücher on fire and listing on April 9, 1940 in the Drøbak Sound
4. The heavy cruiser Blücher shortly after being commissioned on September 20, 1939.
Background from: {[https://www.learning-history.com/german-heavy-cruiser-blucher/]}
An 800-strong detachment of ground troops from the 163rd Infantry Division also boarded.
On 5 April 1940, Konteradmiral Oskar Kummetz came aboard the ship while she was in Swinemünde. An 800-strong detachment of ground troops from the 163rd Infantry Division also boarded.
Three days later, on 8 April, Blücher left port, bound for Norway; she was the flagship for the force that was to seize Oslo, the Norwegian capital.
Organized as Group 5 of the invasion force she was accompanied by the heavy cruiser Lützow, the light cruiser Emden, and several smaller escorts. While steaming through the Kattegat and Skagerrak, the British submarine Triton spotted the convoy and fired a spread of torpedoes; the Germans successfully evaded the torpedoes, however, and proceeded with the mission.
Night had fallen by the time the German flotilla reached the approaches to the Oslofjord. Shortly after 23:00 (Norwegian time) the flotilla was spotted by the Norwegian patrol boat Pol III.
The German torpedo boat Albatros attacked Pol III and set her on fire, but not before the Norwegian patrol boat raised the alarm with a radio report of being attacked by unknown warships. At 23:30 (Norwegian time) the south battery on Rauøy spotted the flotilla in the searchlight and fired two warning shots.
The guns at Bolærne fired only one warning shot at 23:32. Before Blücher could be targeted again, she was out of the firing sector of these shore guns and was seen no more by them after 23:35.
The German flotilla steamed on at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Shortly after midnight (Norwegian time), an order from the Commanding Admiral to extinguish all lighthouses and navigation lights were broadcast over the NRK (Norsk rikskringkasting) Broadcasting.
The German ships had been ordered to fire only in the event they were directly fired on first. Between 00:30 and 02:00, the flotilla stopped and 150 infantrymen of the landing force were transferred to the escorts R17 and R21 (from Emden) and R18 and R19 (from Blücher).
The R-boats were ordered to engage Rauøy, Bolærne and the naval port and city of Horten. Despite the apparent loss of surprise, the Blücher proceeded further into the fjord to continue with the timetable to reach Oslo by dawn.
At 04:40, Norwegian searchlights again illuminated the ship and at 04:21 the 28 cm (11 in) guns of Oscarsborg Fortress opened fire on Blücher at very close range, beginning the Battle of Drøbak Sound with two hits on her port side. The first was high above the bridge, hitting the battle station for the commander of the anti-aircraft guns, killing AO II Kapitänleutnant Hans-Erich Pochhammer.
The main rangefinder in the top of the battle mast was knocked out of alignment, but Blücher had four more major rangefinders (B-turret, on the bridge roof, the aft battle station (Nachtstand) and C-turret) and many smaller on the bridge and the four rangefinder stations for the AA.
The commander in D-turret, Oberstückmeister Waldeck, stated that the first 28 cm hit had no influence on the battle capability of the 20.3 cm guns. Blücher immediately returned fire.
Fire starts
The second 28 cm shell struck near the aircraft hangar and started a major fire. As the fire spread, it detonated explosives carried for the infantry, hindering firefighting efforts.
The explosion set fire to the two Arado seaplanes on board: one on the catapult and the other in one of the hangars. The explosion also probably punched a hole in the armored deck over turbine room 1. Turbine 1 and generator room 3 stopped for lack of steam and only the outboard shafts from turbine room 2/3 were operational.
The Germans were unable to locate the source of the gunfire. Blücher increased speed to 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) in an attempt to get past the Norwegian guns. The 15 cm (5.9 in) guns on Drøbak, some 400 yds (370 m) on Blücher’s starboard side, opened fire as well.
At a distance of 500 meters (1,600 ft) Blücher entered the narrows between Kopås and Hovedbatteriet (the main battery) at Kaholmen. The Kopås battery ceased firing at Blücher and engaged the next target, Lützow, scoring multiple hits.
First engineer Leitende Ingenieur Fregattenkapitän Dip. Ing. Karl Thannemann wrote in his report that the hits from the guns on Drøbak, which were fired on the starboard side, were all between section IV and X in a length of 75 meters (246 ft) amidships, between B-turret and C-turret. However, all damage was on the port side.
The shells must have traversed most of the superstructure before exploding.
After the first salvo from the 15 cm batteries in Drøbak, the steering from the bridge was disabled. Blücher had just passed Drøbakgrunnen (Drøbak shallows) and was in a turn to port. The commander got her back on track by using the side shafts, but she lost speed.
Normally the rudder is controlled electrically from the bridge to the motors forward of the Handsteuerraum (hand steering room) deep under the armored deck, forward of the rudder. In an emergency, it can be switched within seconds to manual steering, but orders from the bridge to the rudder may be delayed. At 04:34 Norwegian land-based torpedo batteries scored two hits on the ship.
The targeting device in the torpedo battery was very primitive. The speed of the torpedo was known and set, but the speed of the target had to be adjusted by dead reckoning (guessing).
According to Admiral Kummetz’ report, the first torpedo hit Kesselraum 2 (boiler room 2, just under the funnel) and the second hit Turbinenraum 2/3 (the turbine room for the side shafts).
Boiler 1 had already been destroyed by gunfire. Only one boiler remained, but the steam pipes through boiler 1 and 2 and turbine room 2/3 had been damaged and turbine 1 for the main shaft lost its power.
By 04:34, the ship had been severely damaged, but had successfully passed through the firing zone; the Norwegian guns could no longer bear on her. The 15 cm guns in the Kopås battery were all standing in open positions with a wide sector of firing.
After the torpedo hits, Blücher was still within range. The battery asked for orders, but the commander of the fortress, Birger Eriksen, concluded: The fortress has served its purpose.
With all propellers stopped, about 60% of the electric power gone, Blucher quickly lost speed and at about 04:50 dropped anchors at Askoholmene.
Sinking
After passing the gun batteries, the crew of Blücher, including the personnel manning the guns, were tasked with fighting the fire. By that time she had taken on a list of 18 degrees, although this was not initially problematic.
The fire eventually reached one of the ship’s 10.5 cm ammunition magazines between turbine room 1 and turbine room 2/3, which exploded violently. The blast ruptured several bulkheads in the engine rooms and ignited the ship’s fuel stores.
The battered ship slowly began to capsize and the order to abandon ship was given. Blücher rolled over and sank at 07:30, with significant casualties.
Naval historian Erich Gröner states that the number of casualties is unknown, but Henrik Lunde gives a loss of life figure ranging between 600 and 1,000 soldiers and sailors. Jürgen Rohwer meanwhile states that 125 seamen and 195 soldiers died in the sinking.
The loss of Blücher and the damage done to Lützow caused the German force to withdraw. The ground troops were landed on the eastern side of the fjord; they proceeded inland and captured the Oscarborg Fortress by 09:00 on 10 April.
They then moved on to attack the capital. Airborne troops captured the Fornebu Airport and completed the encirclement of the city, and by 14:00 on 10 April it was in German hands. The delay caused by the temporary withdrawal of Blücher’s task force, however, allowed the Norwegian government and royal family to escape the city.
Blücher remains at the bottom of the Drøbak Narrows, at a depth of 35 fathoms (210 ft; 64 m). The ship’s screws were removed in 1953, and there have been several proposals to raise the wreck since 1963, but none have been carried out.'
FYI LTC Greg Henning LTC (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter TSgt David L. TSgt Joe C. CPT Paul Whitmer Maj Marty Hogan SFC William Farrell PO1 H Gene Lawrence GySgt Gary Cordeiro 1SG Steven Imerman 1SG (Join to see) 1SG Walter Craig Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PO3 Lynn Spalding LT Ed SkibaSgt Steven B Crane Ed-d-c-MBA
Maj Scott Kiger, M.A.S.
The loss of Blücher and the damage done to Lützow caused the German force to withdraw. The ground troops were landed on the eastern side of the fjord; they proceeded inland and captured the Oscarborg Fortress by 09:00 on 10 April. They then moved on to attack the capital. Airborne troops captured the Fornebu Airport and completed the encirclement of the city, and by 14:00 on 10 April it was in German hands. The delay caused by the temporary withdrawal of Blücher's task force, however, allowed the Norwegian government and royal family to escape the city.
7 Brutal Days for the Kriegsmarine - Battle for Norway
The first few days of Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, cost the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet dearly. While the invasion and occupation was successful the German Navy would be hampered for the remainder of the war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1JSQTU89MQ
Images:
1. Sinking of the Heavy Cruiser Blücher on April 9, 1940 in the Drøbak Sound
2. Heavy Cruiser Blücher schematic
3. Heavy Cruiser Blücher on fire and listing on April 9, 1940 in the Drøbak Sound
4. The heavy cruiser Blücher shortly after being commissioned on September 20, 1939.
Background from: {[https://www.learning-history.com/german-heavy-cruiser-blucher/]}
An 800-strong detachment of ground troops from the 163rd Infantry Division also boarded.
On 5 April 1940, Konteradmiral Oskar Kummetz came aboard the ship while she was in Swinemünde. An 800-strong detachment of ground troops from the 163rd Infantry Division also boarded.
Three days later, on 8 April, Blücher left port, bound for Norway; she was the flagship for the force that was to seize Oslo, the Norwegian capital.
Organized as Group 5 of the invasion force she was accompanied by the heavy cruiser Lützow, the light cruiser Emden, and several smaller escorts. While steaming through the Kattegat and Skagerrak, the British submarine Triton spotted the convoy and fired a spread of torpedoes; the Germans successfully evaded the torpedoes, however, and proceeded with the mission.
Night had fallen by the time the German flotilla reached the approaches to the Oslofjord. Shortly after 23:00 (Norwegian time) the flotilla was spotted by the Norwegian patrol boat Pol III.
The German torpedo boat Albatros attacked Pol III and set her on fire, but not before the Norwegian patrol boat raised the alarm with a radio report of being attacked by unknown warships. At 23:30 (Norwegian time) the south battery on Rauøy spotted the flotilla in the searchlight and fired two warning shots.
The guns at Bolærne fired only one warning shot at 23:32. Before Blücher could be targeted again, she was out of the firing sector of these shore guns and was seen no more by them after 23:35.
The German flotilla steamed on at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Shortly after midnight (Norwegian time), an order from the Commanding Admiral to extinguish all lighthouses and navigation lights were broadcast over the NRK (Norsk rikskringkasting) Broadcasting.
The German ships had been ordered to fire only in the event they were directly fired on first. Between 00:30 and 02:00, the flotilla stopped and 150 infantrymen of the landing force were transferred to the escorts R17 and R21 (from Emden) and R18 and R19 (from Blücher).
The R-boats were ordered to engage Rauøy, Bolærne and the naval port and city of Horten. Despite the apparent loss of surprise, the Blücher proceeded further into the fjord to continue with the timetable to reach Oslo by dawn.
At 04:40, Norwegian searchlights again illuminated the ship and at 04:21 the 28 cm (11 in) guns of Oscarsborg Fortress opened fire on Blücher at very close range, beginning the Battle of Drøbak Sound with two hits on her port side. The first was high above the bridge, hitting the battle station for the commander of the anti-aircraft guns, killing AO II Kapitänleutnant Hans-Erich Pochhammer.
The main rangefinder in the top of the battle mast was knocked out of alignment, but Blücher had four more major rangefinders (B-turret, on the bridge roof, the aft battle station (Nachtstand) and C-turret) and many smaller on the bridge and the four rangefinder stations for the AA.
The commander in D-turret, Oberstückmeister Waldeck, stated that the first 28 cm hit had no influence on the battle capability of the 20.3 cm guns. Blücher immediately returned fire.
Fire starts
The second 28 cm shell struck near the aircraft hangar and started a major fire. As the fire spread, it detonated explosives carried for the infantry, hindering firefighting efforts.
The explosion set fire to the two Arado seaplanes on board: one on the catapult and the other in one of the hangars. The explosion also probably punched a hole in the armored deck over turbine room 1. Turbine 1 and generator room 3 stopped for lack of steam and only the outboard shafts from turbine room 2/3 were operational.
The Germans were unable to locate the source of the gunfire. Blücher increased speed to 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) in an attempt to get past the Norwegian guns. The 15 cm (5.9 in) guns on Drøbak, some 400 yds (370 m) on Blücher’s starboard side, opened fire as well.
At a distance of 500 meters (1,600 ft) Blücher entered the narrows between Kopås and Hovedbatteriet (the main battery) at Kaholmen. The Kopås battery ceased firing at Blücher and engaged the next target, Lützow, scoring multiple hits.
First engineer Leitende Ingenieur Fregattenkapitän Dip. Ing. Karl Thannemann wrote in his report that the hits from the guns on Drøbak, which were fired on the starboard side, were all between section IV and X in a length of 75 meters (246 ft) amidships, between B-turret and C-turret. However, all damage was on the port side.
The shells must have traversed most of the superstructure before exploding.
After the first salvo from the 15 cm batteries in Drøbak, the steering from the bridge was disabled. Blücher had just passed Drøbakgrunnen (Drøbak shallows) and was in a turn to port. The commander got her back on track by using the side shafts, but she lost speed.
Normally the rudder is controlled electrically from the bridge to the motors forward of the Handsteuerraum (hand steering room) deep under the armored deck, forward of the rudder. In an emergency, it can be switched within seconds to manual steering, but orders from the bridge to the rudder may be delayed. At 04:34 Norwegian land-based torpedo batteries scored two hits on the ship.
The targeting device in the torpedo battery was very primitive. The speed of the torpedo was known and set, but the speed of the target had to be adjusted by dead reckoning (guessing).
According to Admiral Kummetz’ report, the first torpedo hit Kesselraum 2 (boiler room 2, just under the funnel) and the second hit Turbinenraum 2/3 (the turbine room for the side shafts).
Boiler 1 had already been destroyed by gunfire. Only one boiler remained, but the steam pipes through boiler 1 and 2 and turbine room 2/3 had been damaged and turbine 1 for the main shaft lost its power.
By 04:34, the ship had been severely damaged, but had successfully passed through the firing zone; the Norwegian guns could no longer bear on her. The 15 cm guns in the Kopås battery were all standing in open positions with a wide sector of firing.
After the torpedo hits, Blücher was still within range. The battery asked for orders, but the commander of the fortress, Birger Eriksen, concluded: The fortress has served its purpose.
With all propellers stopped, about 60% of the electric power gone, Blucher quickly lost speed and at about 04:50 dropped anchors at Askoholmene.
Sinking
After passing the gun batteries, the crew of Blücher, including the personnel manning the guns, were tasked with fighting the fire. By that time she had taken on a list of 18 degrees, although this was not initially problematic.
The fire eventually reached one of the ship’s 10.5 cm ammunition magazines between turbine room 1 and turbine room 2/3, which exploded violently. The blast ruptured several bulkheads in the engine rooms and ignited the ship’s fuel stores.
The battered ship slowly began to capsize and the order to abandon ship was given. Blücher rolled over and sank at 07:30, with significant casualties.
Naval historian Erich Gröner states that the number of casualties is unknown, but Henrik Lunde gives a loss of life figure ranging between 600 and 1,000 soldiers and sailors. Jürgen Rohwer meanwhile states that 125 seamen and 195 soldiers died in the sinking.
The loss of Blücher and the damage done to Lützow caused the German force to withdraw. The ground troops were landed on the eastern side of the fjord; they proceeded inland and captured the Oscarborg Fortress by 09:00 on 10 April.
They then moved on to attack the capital. Airborne troops captured the Fornebu Airport and completed the encirclement of the city, and by 14:00 on 10 April it was in German hands. The delay caused by the temporary withdrawal of Blücher’s task force, however, allowed the Norwegian government and royal family to escape the city.
Blücher remains at the bottom of the Drøbak Narrows, at a depth of 35 fathoms (210 ft; 64 m). The ship’s screws were removed in 1953, and there have been several proposals to raise the wreck since 1963, but none have been carried out.'
FYI LTC Greg Henning LTC (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter TSgt David L. TSgt Joe C. CPT Paul Whitmer Maj Marty Hogan SFC William Farrell PO1 H Gene Lawrence GySgt Gary Cordeiro 1SG Steven Imerman 1SG (Join to see) 1SG Walter Craig Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PO3 Lynn Spalding LT Ed SkibaSgt Steven B Crane Ed-d-c-MBA
Maj Scott Kiger, M.A.S.
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LTC Stephen F.
Happy Father's Day
Image; April 8-9, 1940 the sinking of the Heavy Cruiser Blücher map
FYI PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Sgt John H. SFC Richard Williamson SGT Steve McFarlandSPC Randy Zimmerman
PVT Mark ZehnerSGT Robert R.PVT Kenneth KrauseMAJ Raúl RoviraPO1 Robert GeorgeSGT John MelvinSSG Robert Mark OdomSSG Franklin Briant
1stsgt Glenn Brackin1SG Steven ImermanSSG Samuel KermonLCDR Clark Paton
Image; April 8-9, 1940 the sinking of the Heavy Cruiser Blücher map
FYI PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Sgt John H. SFC Richard Williamson SGT Steve McFarlandSPC Randy Zimmerman
PVT Mark ZehnerSGT Robert R.PVT Kenneth KrauseMAJ Raúl RoviraPO1 Robert GeorgeSGT John MelvinSSG Robert Mark OdomSSG Franklin Briant
1stsgt Glenn Brackin1SG Steven ImermanSSG Samuel KermonLCDR Clark Paton
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LTC (Join to see)
Thanks for the additional history behind this. The movie is on Amazon Prime as someone stated. I saw it tonight.
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO2 (Join to see) PO2 (Join to see) SP5 Jim Curry SP5 Jim Curry SPC Jeff Daley, PhD 1stSgt Jeff Blovat CSM Charles Hayden LT Brad McInnis PO3 Bob McCord SCPO Morris Ramsey
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO2 (Join to see) PO2 (Join to see) SP5 Jim Curry SP5 Jim Curry SPC Jeff Daley, PhD 1stSgt Jeff Blovat CSM Charles Hayden LT Brad McInnis PO3 Bob McCord SCPO Morris Ramsey
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LTC (Join to see)
Chip, It is on Amazon Prime. The Gun Commander had 3 guns at his disposal but only 1 fully trained gun crew so he split them in half to have two gun crews.
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