SS Kommandøren SS " Kommandøren " was a steel - hulled passenger / cargo steamship built in Norway in 1891 . She served as a communications link between the regional capital of Western Norway , Bergen , and the various communities of Sogn og Fjordane county . Following the 9 April 1940 German invasion of Norway , she was requisitioned by the Norwegian authorities and carried troops for the Norwegian war effort until the forces in Western Norway ceased fighting on 2 May 1940 . After a brief stint in German service , she returned to her civilian duties later in 1940 , and was accidentally torpedoed and sunk by a German E - boat in Bergen on 29 March 1945 . Construction and characteristics . " Kommandøren " was one of four passenger / cargo steamships built for " Nordre Bergenhus Amts Dampskibe " at Norwegian shipyards around the turn of the 20th century . The four ships were constructed to supplement four smaller vessels built decades earlier at British shipyards . In addition to " Kommandøren " , which was seen as the flag ship of the company ' s fleet , " Lærdal " , " Balder " and " Stavenes " were built between 1876 and 1904 . The company sailed on cargo / passenger routes in Western Norway . " Kommandøren " was the largest of the new - builds , and was considered the grandest of the company vessels . Delivered on 30 June 1891 , " Kommandøren " was yard number 132 at " Akers Mekaniske Værksted " in Kristiania ( modern - day Oslo ) , Norway . The steel - hulled ship displaced , had a length of , a beam of and a draught of . Her 600 indicated horsepower / 116 nominal horsepower 3 - cylinder triple expansion steam engine could propel the ship at . " Kommandøren " cost the company to build and could take up to 249 passengers . Although much newer than the first ships operated by " Nordre Bergenhus Amts Dampskibe " , " Kommandøren " and the three other ships were only around faster than the mid - 19th century vessels used by the company . The new ship was named " Kommandøren " by Nordre Bergenhus amt county council , after the affectionate nickname of the county ' s shipping company ' s first executive director , Hugo Lous , who had held the rank of " kommandørkaptein " ( ) in the Royal Norwegian Navy . To name the new ship after the executive director was an unusual decision , as most Norwegian ships of the era were named after place names , historical figures or royalty . Built not only to carry people and cargo between the towns and villages of Western Norway , but also for the tourist trade , " Kommandøren " was fitted with a comparatively luxurious first class section . The 10 - cabin , 36 - bed , first class featured a smoking salon , a women ' s salon and a dining salon for the first class passengers and ship officers . A promenade deck gave views in all directions . The third class passengers had two salons , one on the main deck and one on the orlop ( lowest ) deck . On " Kommandøren " , the third class section was expanded and improved in comparison with earlier vessels , after complaints from passengers to the county council . The third class section of " Kommandøren " was described by the newspaper " Sogns Tidende " as " large , spacious and almost comfortably equipped " . Kommandøren " was home ported in Bergen . She had her maiden passenger voyage from Bergen to Sogn on 5 July 1891 . Passenger / cargo and tourist service . In the summer season , " Kommandøren " served the tourist trade in Sogn , while she sailed the regular passenger / cargo routes during the winter months . " Kommandøren " was generally used as an express route ship , often carrying patients on their way to treatment . Amongst the cargo carried by was often live animals , including horses , cattle and sheep . During one of her trips , " Kommandøren " ran aground on 20 October 1900 near Tjugum in Balestrand . The ship was also at times employed to transport important dignitaries in the region , like she did in September 1920 , when she brought politicians to Vik to inspect the area for a proposed railway project . Shortly after delivery , in September 1892 , " Kommandøren " provided transport support to a large - scale Norwegian Army field exercise in Western Norway . She was tasked with transporting troops from Gudvangen to Lærdalsøyri after the completion of the exercises . In 1910 , " Kommandøren " was modernized at " Stavanger Støberi & Dok " in Stavanger , gaining a new boiler for the steam engine and being painted white . In January the next year , she ran aground at Rongevær in the Fensfjord . She ran aground again in 1913 , in Herdlefjorden , and again in Bårdsundet off Tysnesøy in 1928 . A rebuild in 1922 saw the ship ' s well deck built over , creating a flush deck profile . In 1930 the ship was refurbished and modernized . By this time , " Kommandøren " displaced a total of ( ) . " Kommandøren " ran aground yet again in April 1938 , when she ran into the island Segløya while " en route " from Skjerjehamn to Eivindvik . The incident caused severe damage to the bottom of the hull . Second World War . Norwegian Campaign . Troop ship . When Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany on 9 April , " Kommandøren " was not in the areas immediately captured by the invading Germans . She was thus able to continue her service in the Sognefjord for much of the month of April 1940 . On 9 April 1940 , " Kommandøren " was en route to Bergen , but was stopped at Høyanger and ordered to Sogn to assist in the mobilization of Norwegian Army units to oppose the Germans . " Kommandøren " was directed to transport troops from Dingja via several smaller villages to Nordeide and Gudvangen . Together with the steamer , she set out in the early morning of 10 April to retrieve troops . " Kommandøren " and the other ships of the company fleet were later praised by the regional police commander for their important role in the successful mobilization in Sogn og Fjordane . Bombing in the Sognefjord . On 25 April 1940 , " Kommandøren " steamed in the Sognefjord , carrying regular passengers , as well as a load of around 100 soldiers bound for Gudvangen and Voss for service with the Norwegian Army ' s 4th Division . The soldiers brought in that day belonged to an older age group not called up in the initial mobilization drive . While " en route " from Vik to Balestrand , the steamer was bombed and strafed by a German bomber . The bombs did not hit the ship , and the machine gun bullets only did minor damage and caused no casualties . After calling at Balestrand , " Kommandøren " proceeded to Leikanger , where the soldiers on board disembarked . While " Kommandøren " was docked at Leikanger , the village was attacked by a German aircraft . The aircraft dropped 11 bombs in three series on the area , before strafing people and cars on the ground . Amongst the targets were the soldiers unloaded by " Kommandøren " , the troops being on the march to nearby Hermansverk . The attack killed a travelling salesman from Bergen outright , and wounded a 16 - year - old local boy and the boy ' s mother , restaurateur Isak Roksvåg from " Kommandøren " and the ship ' s captain , Thorvald Johannessen . While on the way to hospital in Lærdal with " Kommandøren " , Captain Johannessen died from his wounds . End of the campaign . For the remaining week of the fighting in South Norway , " Kommandøren " was docked at Kvamsøya , immobilized by a damaged axle . As part of the ceasefire agreement accepted by the Norwegians in Western Norway in the evening of 1 May 1940 , " Kommandøren " was to be handed over to the Germans , along with the ferry " Lærdal " and 40 smaller boats . The transfer of the ships occurred at Lærdal on 2 May , and the ceasefire was announced on 3 May . The Germans used " Kommandøren " and the other vessels for a limited period to transport troops to occupy various places in Western Norway . When released by the Germans , " Kommandøren " was repaired before re - entering service . During the German occupation . By the autumn of 1940 , " Kommandøren " was back in regular service , providing an important link between Bergen and the smaller town and villages in the region . By 1944 , " Kommandøren " had been assigned the code letters LEGO . She remained in service until 8 February 1945 , when she ran aground in the Alverstraumen narrows . " Kommandøren " remained aground for five weeks , and was filled by sea water before being salvaged and towed to Bergen to await repairs . Although the ship ' s hull was intact , the interior and engine were heavily water damaged . Sinking . During the night of 29 March 1945 , " Kommandøren " was docked at the remains of Søndre Nykirkekai in Bergen . At around 01 : 00 the ship was struck by one of two torpedoes accidentally fired by a German torpedo boat anchored on the opposite side of Vågen bay . The torpedo explosion threw debris from " Kommandøren " over a wide area , and left the ship lying on the harbour bed . Only the mast and a section of the bow remained above water . The midship and aft sections of the ship were completely destroyed by the torpedo . The only crew member on board at the time , Able Seaman Alf Larsen , was killed in the incident . Before discovering that the incident had been caused by the accidental launch of two torpedoes by a drunken German crewman on the E - boat " S - 13 " , the German authorities in Bergen launched a search for saboteurs in the city . " Kommandøren " was the only total loss suffered by " Fylkesbaatane i Sogn og Fjordane " ( the formerly named " Nordre Bergenhus Amts Dampskibe " ) during the Second World War . The wreck of " Kommandøren " was raised in April 1946 and towed to Kjøkkelvik in Askøy . " Kommandøren " was sold for scrap in November 1946 .