M/K Andholmen
Fishing Boat
M/K Andholmen
Andholmen was built in Brattvaag, Møre and Romsdal and delivered in 1938 to shipowner Karl Gregussen, Bø in Vesterålen. The vessel was built as a galley with a vertical prow and the stern a cruiser. The motor is a 60-90 Hp Wichmann and the boat was given the distinctive sign LJSZ.
The boat was was requested by Norwegian naval authorities in northern Norway during the campaigns in the Ofotfjord and Narvik areas in April-May 1940. The Germans controlled the only deep-water mooring place the area and consequently the 20,000 Allied soldiers had to be landed by many smaller Norwegian vessels, including Andholmen.
The vessel's detailed history is currently only partially known. Here we can only state that the vessel's war history efforts are unique. The Home Front Museum, Akershus has a model of Andholmen, and extensive technical documentation about the vessel from before and after the war can be found in the state archives in Tromsø.
Andholmen was requisitioned by Norwegian naval authorities in Northern Norway during the fighting in the Ofotfjorden/Narvik area in April/May 1940. The Germans controlled the only deep-water quay in the area. Approx. 20,000 allied soldiers therefore had to be landed by many smaller Norwegian vessels, including Andholmen.
In June 1940, naval command was hoisted on board Andholmen and the vessel sailed to Scotland under the command of Ensign Finn Lagaard Eriksen.
Andholmen arrived at Buckie, Scotland, sailed in the Orkney Islands and later operated from Iceland as a patrol vessel. She then sailed at least one season between Shetland and Norway, and then the ship operated in a transport role between Scotland and Shetland.
Buckie, Iceland and special operations
Andholmen was one of many Norwegian boats to come to Buckie. It is an important boat because of the role it played in the war and the Home Front Museum at Akershus Fortress in Oslo has a model of the boat. The detailed technical specifications and documentation about the vessel are in the archives in Tromsø.
After this comes Andholmen's new base of operations, which was Peterhead, Scotland. Few had heard of Peterhead, which was a super secret Norwegian base in the north of Scotland from which they carried out raids to the west coast of Norway. Dozens of trips, which to this day have been covered in secrecy, were carried out by several boats. So far, we know few details regarding Andholmen's mission from there.
The vessel returned to Norway around May 20, 1945, and had then been under Norwegian naval command continuously for about five years. Probably the only vessel that sailed with the flag of division during the entire Second World War.
Finn Lagaard Eriksen
Finn Lagaard Eriksen, who was born in Sørvågen on the Lofoten Islands in 1914, saw service throughout the war including on the North Atlantic conveys. He returned to Buckie on a number of occasions and it was in the town, in 1943, that he married Noreen Farmery. They later lived in Grimstad.
In 1994, a reasonably well-preserved and floating hull of the skate Andholmen is found in Blokken, Sortland. A storage and lunch place connected to a fish farm was the function of the former war veteran.
M/K Andholmen represents unique documentation of an important part of Norway's naval history. Hardly any existing Norwegian vessel from the days of the war can point to a similar effort as M/K Andholmen. It is a priority task for Norway to preserve the vessel, which stands as a symbol of the Norwegian fight for freedom in the period 1940-45.
