SS Dronning Maud ( 1925 ) SS " Dronning Maud " was a 1 , 489 ton steel - hulled steamship built in 1925 by the Norwegian shipyard Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted in Fredrikstad . " Dronning Maud " was ordered by the Trondheim - based company Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskipsselskap for the passenger and freight service Hurtigruten along the coast of Norway . She served this route as the company flagship until she was sunk under controversial circumstances during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign . Before the Second World War . Building and commissioning . " Dronning Maud " was ordered from Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted shortly after the loss of Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskipsselskap ' s " Haakon Jarl " . " Haakon Jarl " had suffered a collision with fellow Nordenfjeldske ship " Kong Harald " in the Vestfjord on 17 June 1924 , sinking with the loss of 12 passengers and seven crew members . The building order of " Dronning Maud " made her the first new ship to join the Hurtigruten route since " Finmarken " in 1912 . After her 8 May 1925 launch she had her first test run in the Oslofjord on 30 June 1925 and was formally handed over to Nordenfjeldske on 3 July . Nordenfjeldske immediately sent her northwards to Trondheim from where she joined the northbound Hurtigruten service , sailing from Brattøra at 1200hrs on 13 July . Characteristics . With the construction of " Dronning Maud " a new concept was introduced to the Hurtigruten ships , with the First Class section moved forward to amidships and the Second Class removed altogether in order to make room for a greatly improved Third Class in the aft section . The salons and cabins in the Third Class area on board " Dronning Maud " were described at the time as both " light and practical " . Her outer appearance was characterized by long , clean lines , a large superstructure and a long continuous promenade deck . She was considered a very seaworthy vessel and in 1931 became the first Hurtigruten ship to be equipped with the new safety feature of wireless telegraphy . By 1936 all the Hurtigruten ships had been equipped with the new technology . Hurtigruten service . After she entered service with Nordenfjeldske " Dronning Maud " sailed with passengers and freight along the coast of Norway . During her regular coastal service in the 1920s and 1930s the ship repeatedly had to come to the assistance of ships in difficulties . In 1926 she assisted the 556 ton steamer " Pallas " after the latter had run aground off Grønøy and in 1927 she helped a British trawler after it had run aground in the sound Magerøysund in Finnmark . " Dronning Maud " herself had an accident when she ran aground south of Florø in October 1929 . Second World War . At the outbreak of the Second World War Norway declared herself neutral and the Hurtigruten service continued as normal in the first months of the war . Johann Schulte . During this period " Dronning Maud " was involved in a dramatic incident when on 1 January 1940 the 5 , 334 ton German merchantman shipwrecked at Buholmråsa after losing her propeller . Coming to the iron ore - laden " Johann Schulte " s rescue through a north - westerly gale and snow Captain Edward M . Grundt brought his vessel close enough to the German ship so that a line could be thrown on board and used to drag the shipwrecked people to safety . In all " Dronning Maud " and her crew saved all 36 German sailors and two Norwegian pilots from the sinking ship . After everyone on board had been pulled to safety the German ship hit a reef near Bessaker and was crushed . During the rescue operation , carried out at night in pitch black conditions , some 100 passengers and 45 crew were on board the Hurtigruten ship . The rescued Germans were set ashore in Rørvik while the two pilots remained on board as " Dronning Maud " continued northwards . " Johann Schulte " rescue has been described as one of the most incredible ever accomplished on the Norwegian coast , and resulted in congratulatory telegrams to the ship when it reached Svolvær and later monetary gifts to the crew . In the 1960s Captain Grundt received a gold medal from the German rescue society and a diploma from the Norwegian counterpart for his efforts . Norwegian Campaign . Troopship duties . When the Germans invaded Norway on 9 April 1940 " Dronning Maud " was northbound off Sandnessjøen in Nordland and continued northwards to her end port of Kirkenes in Finnmark . After arriving in Kirkenes she was requisitioned by the Norwegian government as a troopship . " Dronning Maud " s first troopship assignment was to take part in the transport of Battalion I of Infantry Regiment 12 ( I / IR12 ) from Sør - Varanger to the Tromsø - Narvik area . Escorted by the British heavy cruiser " Berwick " and the destroyer " Inglefield " , " Dronning Maud " and two smaller vessels from Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab ( the 874 ton SS " Kong Haakon " and " Hestmanden " ) disembarked most of the Norwegian infantry battalion at Sjøvegan in Troms on 16 April 1940 . The remainder of the battalion was transported on the fellow Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab steamer " Prins Olav " a few days later . The next day , 17 April , " Dronning Maud " and " Kong Haakon " were escorted northwards to Sagfjorden by the Norwegian the off - shore patrol vessel " Heimdal " . The second troopship mission " Dronning Maud " carried out was the transport of one infantry company , the battalion ' s staff , the communications platoon and one heavy machine gun platoon of the Alta Battalion from Alta in Finnmark to areas closer to the front line in Troms . The rest of the battalion was transported on the " Kong Haakon " and the 858 ton cargo ship " Senja " . The three troopships were originally meant to be escorted by the off - shore patrol vessel " Fridtjof Nansen " but this order was changed and the ships were instead to sail without escort . The three ships set off from Alta singly ; " Kong Haakon " at 2100hrs on 19 April , " Dronning Maud " at 2200hrs the same day , and " Senja " at 0400hrs on 20 April . Each of the three ships carried a heavy machine gun platoon for anti - aircraft defence , " Senja " had two platoons as she was transporting the battalion ' s horses . " Dronning Maud " and " Kong Haakon " arrived almost simultaneous at Tromsø at 0900hrs on 20 April , then continuing southwards after a short conference with the naval authorities in Tromsø . " Dronning Maud " that time sailed at 1000hrs , while " Kong Haakon " followed at 1100hrs , both ships still without escort . As " Dronning Maud " reached the island of Dyrøy she was stopped by the patrol boat " Thorodd " and told to wait for " Kong Haakon " . When " Kong Haakon " reached Dyrøy the two Hurtigruten ship continued to Sjøvegan under escort by " Thorodd " , arriving at 1730hrs on 20 April and disembarking the troops . After the completion of her troop transporting missions the Norwegian authorities decided to use " Dronning Maud " to transport the 6th " Landvern " Medical Company ( ) from Sørreisa to Foldvik in Gratangen . The company she was tasked with transporting consisted of 119 medics , along with eight horses and three trucks . In preparation for the voyage to Foldvik " Dronning Maud " had one 3 - metre by 3 - metre ( 9 . 8 ft by 9 . 8 ft ) Red Cross flag stretched out over her bridge deck and flew two more Red Cross flags in her masts . Final voyage . " Dronning Maud " set off from Sørreisa at around 1130hrs on 1 May 1940 , arriving at Foldvik three to four hours later in calm seas and sunshine . As the ship was about to dock with the small wharf on her port side two or three aircraft of the German Lehrgeschwader 1 made a low - level attack with bombs and machine gun fire on the Norwegian steamer . Seven bombs were dropped from the aircraft , with two being direct hits , one between the funnel and the bridge , the other just aft of the fore cargo hatch . The first bomb entered the engine room and blew out the ship ' s sides and the second exploded in the bottom of the hull . The first bomb killed everyone in the refrigeration room , four men and three women . As the crew and passengers tried to abandon ship only one or two boats could be lowered into the water due to the fire that had broken out on board . The fire also threatened to destroy the wooden wharf at Foldvik , until a local fishing boat managed to pull the burning ship some distance away from shore . " Dronning Maud " drifted a short distance , then ran aground , burned and sank listing to port . Following their attack on " Dronning Maud " the German aircraft proceeded to bomb nearby Gratangen , destroying several houses and killing two civilians . After the attack the wounded survivors were given first aid by the crew of the 378 ton hospital ship MS " Elieser " . In the evening the British destroyer HMS " Cossack " brought the most severely wounded to hospital in Harstad while " Elieser " transported those less critically wounded to Salangsverket . Nine medics lost their lives during the attack , while a tenth later died in a hospital near Harstad . Of the ship ' s crew eight died and all the materiel on board was lost when " Dronning Maud " went down . Thirty - one medics and crew members were injured in the sinking of the ship , two of them severely . The wreck of " Dronning Maud " remains where she sank , a short distance off the wharf at Foldvik in Gratangen . The ship is still upright at around 26 to 35 metres ( 85 to 115 ft ) depth , at coordinates . Reactions to the sinking . The sinking of " Dronning Maud " , an unarmed ship flying Red Cross flags and carrying medical personnel , brought a great amount of anger and criticism directed against the Germans . From the Norwegian perspective " Dronning Maud " had been a hospital ship and under the protection of the Geneva Conventions . The Germans retorted by pointing out that " Dronning Maud " had not been fully marked as a hospital ship , as she had retained her black hull instead of it being painted white with a horizontal green stripe .