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Lars Grotnæss
Heroic Captain of M/S Borgestad
The ultimate sacrifice of Lars Grotnæss and his crew
During World War II, Lars Grotnæss was the captain of the M/S Borgestad. In February 1941, the ship was part of a convoy travelling from Freetown to Liverpool in England. Borgestad was designated as the convoy leader and they sailed without escort.
On 12 February, the convoy was attacked by the feared German heavy cruiser, Admiral Hipper. Grotnæss and his crew, all civilian sailors, demonstrated remarkable courage when faced with the superior enemy.
The crew must have immediately recognised the gravity of the situation. Grotnæss ordered the convoy to scatter and ship after ship obeyed. He quickly realised that Borgestad had no chance of escaping. Determined to give the other ships in the convoy a chance to flee, he decided to sacrifice himself and his vessel. As a diversionary tactic, he steered Borgestad directly towards the cruiser while the gun crew loaded and fired at Hipper with their single small cannon as quickly as they could.
A close-quarters battle ensued, with Hipper using around 1,000 shells, several torpedoes and projectiles to finally sink Borgestad. They came so close that the captain of Hipper could read the ship’s name. Borgestad went down with all thirty one people on board, including one woman and three individuals under the age of 18. Grotnæss had led his ship and crew towards certain death, but their sacrifice allowed twelve other ships in the convoy to escape.
Captain Lars Grotnæss was awarded the War Cross, post mortem.
"... it is certain that if Borgestad's crew had not so bravely sacrificed their lives, the convoy's losses would have been far greater", writes Agderposten. "The feat was also praised as one of the most brilliant examples of Norwegian seamanship and patriotism during the war and Borgestad's entire crew was decorated after their death”.
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