Britain leads ceremonies for men killed in sunken ship
1:10 AM
Posted: Sunday, March 09, 2008
LONDON (AP) -- Britain's Royal Navy floated a wreath Saturday over the recently discovered wreck of a World War II destroyer that went down with 110 men on board in a battle with Nazi forces.
The HMS Hunter was discovered this month by a Norwegian minehunter participating in exercises with British, Dutch and other NATO warships off the Norwegian coast, Britain's Defense Ministry said.
The 2,100-ton destroyer went down on April 10, 1940, as the Royal Navy tried to keep German forces from overrunning the strategic Norwegian port.
About 1,000 British, Norwegian and Dutch military officials honored the ship's dead during a ceremony which featured ships sailing past the site of the sunken destroyer in a line and a wreath being floated above the wreck.
"Finding HMS Hunter was a poignant moment and being able to pay our respects along with our Norwegian and Dutch allies is particularly fitting to those who lost their lives," Maj. Gen. Garry Robison said.
The ship was discovered March 1 when the Norwegian minehunter's sonar detected the presence of a submerged vessel in the area. A remotely operated submersible showed that the sunken ship was the HMS Hunter, one of two British vessels lost during the first Battle of Narvik in the opening stages of the war.
Germany lost four destroyers in the battle.
The HMS Hunter was discovered this month by a Norwegian minehunter participating in exercises with British, Dutch and other NATO warships off the Norwegian coast, Britain's Defense Ministry said.
The 2,100-ton destroyer went down on April 10, 1940, as the Royal Navy tried to keep German forces from overrunning the strategic Norwegian port.
About 1,000 British, Norwegian and Dutch military officials honored the ship's dead during a ceremony which featured ships sailing past the site of the sunken destroyer in a line and a wreath being floated above the wreck.
"Finding HMS Hunter was a poignant moment and being able to pay our respects along with our Norwegian and Dutch allies is particularly fitting to those who lost their lives," Maj. Gen. Garry Robison said.
The ship was discovered March 1 when the Norwegian minehunter's sonar detected the presence of a submerged vessel in the area. A remotely operated submersible showed that the sunken ship was the HMS Hunter, one of two British vessels lost during the first Battle of Narvik in the opening stages of the war.
Germany lost four destroyers in the battle.
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