Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 173
The crew disguised their ship on
the morning thereafter: a red band
with a white cross on a black funnel,
name changed into EDITH, home port
Copenhagen, Danish national neutrality
emblems painted on the ship’s sides
and a hand-made Danish flag.
distance, passed the freighter’s bow
at high speed and disappeared from
sight 30 minutes later steering a
southerly course. A trawler passed
by at a distance of six to seven miles
at 1:30 p.m. on that day, apparently a
patrol vessel, but took no action.
“The ship luckily escaped seizure
or sinking, thanks to the calm
and level-headed conduct of her
master and crew. One day earlier in
approximately the same position
the ss KONSUL HENDRIK FISSER had
been stopped and seized.
“Weather conditions improved as the
vessel proceeded but turned into a
strong easterly gale on 26 November
which calmed down somewhat
on the following day. Anchor was
dropped at Kristiansand at midnight
on 28 November, the river pilot
having boarded two hours before.
Heavy fouling had reduced the speed
of the ship, now aged 36 years, to
an average of five knots, but events
proved that even slow ships had a
genuine chance of blockade busting.
The ss LUDOLF OLDENDORFF reached
Sundsperre on 6 December and
berthed at Lübeck one day later.”
Captain Mathiesen was virtually
inundated with honours and gifts
to commemorate his remarkable
and successful breakthrough.
He was decorated with the
‘Kriegsverdienstkreuz mit Schwertern’
and with the blockade runner badge,
was given permission to fly the
blockade runner pennant and received
an autographed photograph of
Adolf Hitler.
The ss ERNA OLDENDORFF was en
route from Rotterdam to Las Palmas
with a cargo of coal, with some 700
miles to go to destination, when the
QWA cable reached her. Captain
Freyer heeded the warning and
changed course to Vigo, the nearest
Spanish port. The cargo of coal was
discharged at the Vigo coaling depot.
The master could not interpret the
QWA-10 message even though he
was a reserve naval officer but, in
any case, he could not have left port
without topping up bunkers, provisions
and water. He endeavoured to obtain
169
these supplies but was instructed to
remain at Vigo for some considerable
time before being permitted to
proceed to a French Atlantic port.
Again, citing from the Dinklage/
Witthöft book: “The ss HUGO
OLDENDORFF was the only ship
that made it to Germany steering a
northerly course from the south of
Spain. Caught by the outbreak of war
at San Juan del Puerto, Captain
Bohnhoff decided to load cargo at
Sevilla and thereafter to return to
Cadiz. There, orders reached him via
the German Embassy to try to make
home waters initially going north
and then along the Norwegian coast.
He took 165 tonnes of coal ex the ss
LARACHE, replenished provisions and
strengthened his crew by signing on
two ordinary seamen, one coal
trimmer, one engineer and one
work-away. The conditions of the
lifeboats necessitated overhauling
and delayed the departure which
eventually took place on 25 October
when ss HUGO OLDENDORFF sailed
after sunset, without pilot assistance
and without having been cleared.
