On 13 February 1944, Bergenske Dampskibsselskab’s SS Irma was on its way northbound between Molde and Kristiansund. The war was in its fourth year. Ever since September 1941, the part of the route that went from Tromsø to Kirkenes had been considered too dangerous for the large passenger ships in Coastal Express traffic, and small motor cutters had been deployed to transport mail and other necessities up there.
SS Irma was still far away from Tromsø, its northernmost point on the route. At Haltvika on the west side of Ekkilsøya, two Norwegian torpedo boats were in hiding waiting for a German convoy.
What happened next would be tried kept secret for many years to come.
The two Norwegian torpedo boats believed that the SS Irma was part of the German convoy. She was equipped with anti-aircraft guns, a measure that was intended to make it safer for Norwegian seafarers in commercial traffic to sail in German-controlled waters. As protection from air raids, this was not much help. The crew on board were civilians, and had no military training.
They torpedoed and sank her in a few minutes. A cargo ship, SS Henry was in the area and tried to come to the rescue of SS Irma. This ship was also torpedoed, and sank.
As many as 65 people died that day. 61 of them from the Coastal Express ship SS Irma.
In the aftermath, the authorities tried to put a lid on the incident. The responsibility was placed on the occupying power.
Was it perhaps a German or British attack that had sunk SS Irma?
The bereaved struggled to get answers. It was not until 54 years later, in 1998, that it was publicly acknowledged that the SS Irma was actually sunk by Norwegian ships.
We remember the bereaved of SS Irma and SS Henry