SS Henry SS " Henry " was a Norwegian steam - powered cargo ship best known for being one of the two ships sunk in one of the most controversial incidents in Norway during the Second World War . Before the Second World War . " Henry " was built in 1907 for the Swedish company Ångfartygs - A / B Nornan of Gothenburg . She sailed for her original owner until she was sold to Egil Krogh in Norway in 1925 . After she was sold to the Norwegian company her tonnage was changed from 604 to 628 gross tons . Following the German invasion of Norway in 1940 she came under German overall control , continuing to sail along the coast of occupied Norway . Sinking . In the evening of 13 February 1944 " Henry " was sailing along the coast near Hustadvika Bay by Hestskjær Lighthouse off the port of Kristiansund in Møre og Romsdal county . She was carrying a cargo of rocks from the Aust - Agder town of Risør northwards along the coastline . In addition to the Norwegians on board " Henry " she carried four German Army Gefreiter s . At 1837hrs the SS " Irma " , a Hurtigruten passenger ship that had just overtaken " Henry " , was struck and sunk by what later turned out to be torpedo es fired from " MTB 627 " , a Royal Norwegian Navy Motor Torpedo Boat . As " Henry " launched two of her lifeboats she too was torpedoed , by the other Royal Norwegian Navy Motor Torpedo Boat present , " MTB 653 " . One of the two lifeboats were brought ashore at Hestskjær Lighthouse by the lighthouse keeper and later brought into Kristiansund . Two of " Henry " s crewmen were lost in the ship ' s sinking , her captain John Olav Gustav Dommersnes and the stoker Johan Wåge Larsen . The loss of the two civilian Norwegian ships were utilised heavily in propaganda by the Germans and the Norwegian national socialist collaborator party Nasjonal Samling . One of the main uses of the incident in Nazi propaganda was in a recruitment drive aimed at convincing Norwegian sailors to join the German Kriegsmarine . The Nazi propaganda machinery blamed the British Royal Navy for sinking " Henry " and " Irma " , it only becoming known after the war that Royal Norwegian Navy vessels were behind the operation that sank the two ships . Controversy . The sinking of " Irma " and " Henry " has been controversial ever since the Second World War , with disagreements over the exact nature of the events . The Royal Norwegian Navy remains adamant that " Irma " and " Henry " were without lights or national markings and were sailing as a convoy escorted by a German naval trawler . This has been disputed by the survivors of " Irma " and " Henry " . The MTB crews also claimed that " Henry " took evasive action after " Irma " was hit , while the survivors claimed that she had stopped to launch two of her lifeboats to assist the survivors from " Irma " when she herself was hit and sunk . One explanation for the presence of the naval trawler reported by the crews of " MTB 627 " and " MTB 653 " has been fronted by several researchers . In the Hustadvika area was a small tugboat , the " Hopplafjord " , which rescued survivors after the sinking of the two ships . " Hopplafjord " , being similar to a naval trawler in size and profile , may have been misinterpreted as an escort vessel by the MTB commander . Post - war memorial . " Henry " was honoured together with " Irma " 16 September 2002 when King Harald V of Norway unveiled a monument to the people lost on the two ships , and led a memorial ceremony at sea near the site of the 1944 sinking of the two vessels .