RN Subs

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Uredd (P41)

Uredd

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P-41 was given to the Norwegian Exile Government as a part of the British/Norwegian military agreement of 28th of May 1941. The Royal Norwegian Navy took command of the submarine on December 7th 1941, and the boat was christened Uredd. The commanding officer was Lieutenant R Q Røren

In February 1943 Uredd made her way towards the German occupied coastline of Norway from her base in Dundee, Scotland where she was a part of the 9th Submarine flotilla The submarine and her crew (and passengers) had two missions. First, to land commandos under the codename "Seagull" in the vicinity of Noviken. The commandos mission was to use explosives to destroy the power-station supplying the ore-mines in Sulitjelma with power. (The commandos would ex-filtrate across the Norwegian-Swedish border upon completion of their mission).

The second mission was to land an agent in Mefjord. The agent had orders to identify and extract four agents who had been left behind by a mistake, during an earlier mission called "Upsilon". This extraction operation was therefore codenamed "Upsilon II".

Six of Uredd's crewmembers had to disembark, in order to make room for the commandos. She carried 33 of her normal crew, and a six-strong Norwegian special operation team plus a three-man British liaison team. The British soldiers were Sub-Lieutenant Wilfred J Cond, Leading-signaller Victor A Habgood, and Leading-telegrapher Jack Barker But disaster struck.

Uredd strayed into a minefield when she entered the Fugløyfjord. There was a horrific explosion next to the engine room, and the boat was flooded immediately. Uredd was lost with all hands before she could complete her mission.

Since that tragic night, her precise resting place was unknown, but as the 75th anniversary of the Norwegian Submarine Service drew closer, an investigation was launched, and the goal was to find the lost submarine. Work began in 1984, and after consulting German sources, a search was ordered. The wreckage of Uredd was found by the HNoMS Tana on the 11th of May 1985. She was found 100 meters down. The submarine was resting undisturbed where she sank in February 1943.

Uredd was declared a war memorial in 1986, and a ceremony was held to this effect. A memorial was made to honour the fallen sailors and commandos, and it was unveiled by HM King Olav 5, on the 18th of June 1987. This memorial is placed on the shore of Gildeskål, very close to where the wreckage lies. There is also a memorial on the Norwegian Naval base of Haakonsvern. This memorial is placed on the submarine pier, and the Norwegian submariners honour this memorial three times a year in different ceremonies.

Uredd holds a special place in every Norwegian submariners heart, partly because she is the only submarine they have lost since the service was founded in 1909. Uredd translates directly to Not Afraid or Unafraid in English).

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