3 Feb 1940

United Kingdom
  • The Norwegian steam ship Tempo was on a voyage from Methil, Scotland, United Kingdom to Hull, England, United Kingdom with a cargo of paper. Being a neutral the ship was marked as such. She was attacked by three German aircraft as the ship passed close to the Longstone Lighthouse, seven miles off the coast. The first attack was with machine guns after which the aircraft attacked with bombs, one of which hit the stern of the Tempo. The captain immediately ordered the ship to be abandoned as the Tempo was sinking rapidly. A third pass over the ship was made in which four bombs were dropped near missing the freighter, the survivors reported that the aircraft then fired at the lifeboats only missing them by a metre. The bombers continued to circle the area for twenty minutes as the lifeboats headed for the shore however the boat under command of the first mate capsized in the heavy surf and five of the men were drowned, the sole survivor luckily being washed onto the beach. The other boat under command of the captain were picked up by a rescue vessel. An inquiry was held in Oslo, Norway where the attack was noted and the German authorities notified of the event. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | Bamburg, England | HM]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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