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{{Short description|Norwegian navy officer}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
|name= Leif Welding-Olsen
|name= Leif Welding-Olsen
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|family=
|family=
|nickname=
|nickname=
|birth_place=[[Horten]], Norway
|birth_place=[[Horten]], [[Union between Sweden and Norway|Norway]]
|death_place=[[Action in the Oslofjord|Oslofjord, Norway]]
|serviceyears=
|serviceyears=
|laterwork=
|laterwork=
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}}
}}


'''Leif Welding-Olsen''' (15 August 1895 – 8 April 1940) was the [[Norwegian military ranks|commander]] of the [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] patrol boat [[HNoMS Pol III|HNoMS ''Pol III'']]. He was the first Norwegian to be killed during the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion of Norway]].<ref>[http://www.warsailors.com/homefleet/shipsp.html ''D/S Pol III'' (Norwegian Homefleet - WW II)]</ref>
'''Leif Welding-Olsen''' (15 August 1895 – 8 April 1940) was the [[Norwegian military ranks|commander]] of the [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] patrol boat [[HNoMS Pol III|HNoMS ''Pol III'']]. He was the first Norwegian to be killed during the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion of Norway]].<ref name="warsailors">{{cite web|url=http://www.warsailors.com/homefleet/shipsp.html|publisher=warsailors.com|title=Norwegian Homefleet - Ships starting with P – ''D/S Pol III''|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref>
⚫
On 8 April 1940, Leif Welding-Olsen [[Action in the Oslofjord|raised the alarm]] as the [[Nazi Germany|German]] navy ships moved past the guard lines in outer [[Oslofjord]]. Norway had been attacked at 22:05 hrs that evening as German ships passed the Norwegian territorial borders. Captain Welding-Olsen had a brief conversation with the commander of one of the German [[torpedo boat]]s, who demanded that he surrender, but Welding-Olsen refused. Realizing that the enemy would not turn away, and was going to violate Norwegian neutrality, ''Pol III'' fired flares to alert Norwegian [[Coastal artillery|coastal batteries]] and rammed the [[German torpedo boat Albatros (1926)|''Albatros'']].


⚫
From the ''Albatros'', it was clear that the guns on ''Pol III'' were manned and that the Norwegians intended to fight. The ''Albatros'' promptly hit the small Norwegian vessel with anti-aircraft fire, wounding Captain Welding-Olsen in the leg and starting several fires. As ''Pol III'' was burning, her crew abandoned the vessel. The lifeboat overturned, forcing them to cling to its sides. Leif Welding-Olsen, weakened by blood loss, let go from the boat and drowned, becoming the first casualty in the war between Norway and Nazi Germany. His last words were reportedly: "Bry dere ikke om meg gutter, jeg er ferdig likevel. Men kommer dere hjem, så hils fra meg!"<ref name= OP>{{cite news |last=Hansen |first=Svend E. |date=8 April 2015 |title=Larvik-hvalbåt først i kamp for Norge |url=http://www.op.no/Larvik_hvalb_t_f_rst_i_kamp_for_Norge-5-36-52975.html |newspaper=[[Østlands-Posten]] |access-date=17 September 2016 |language=no }}</ref>
⚫
On 8 April 1940, Leif Welding-Olsen raised the alarm as the [[Nazi Germany|German]] navy ships moved past the guard lines in outer [[Oslofjord]]. Norway had been attacked at 2205hrs that evening as German ships passed the Norwegian territorial borders. Captain Welding-Olsen had a brief conversation with the commander of one of the German [[torpedo boat]]s, who demanded that he surrender, but Welding-Olsen refused. Realising that the enemy would not turn away, and was going to violate Norwegian neutrality, ''Pol III'' fired flares to alert Norwegian [[Coastal artillery|coastal batteries]] and rammed the [[German torpedo boat Albatros (1926)|''Albatros'']].


This is roughly translated as: "Don't worry about me boys, I am done for anyway. (If) you make it back home, give them my regards".
⚫
From the ''Albatros'' it was clear that the guns on ''Pol III'' were manned, and that the Norwegians intended to fight. The ''Albatros'' promptly hit the small Norwegian vessel with anti aircraft fire, wounding Captain Welding-Olsen and starting several fires. As ''Pol III'' was burning, her crew abandoned the vessel and were captured. Leif Welding-Olsen, weakened by blood loss, did not manage to enter the lifeboat and drowned, becoming the first casualty in the war between Norway and Nazi Germany.


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
*SHV-205 ''Welding'', a vessel of Sea Home Guard was named after Leif Welding-Olsen
*SHV-205 ''Welding'', a vessel of Sea Home Guard was named after Leif Welding-Olsen
*Welding Olsens vei of Oslo is named after him
*[[:nb: Welding_Olsens_vei_(Oslo)|Welding Olsens vei]] was named after him.
*Leif Welding street in Horten (Welding birthplace) is named after him
*Leif Welding Street in Horten (Welding's birthplace) is named after him


==References==
==References==
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==Other sources==
==Other sources==
*Dildy, Douglas C. (2007) ''Hitler's Boldest Operation; Osprey Campaign Series'' (Osprey Publishing) ISBN 978-1-84603-117-5
*Dildy, Douglas C. (2007) ''Hitler's Boldest Operation; Osprey Campaign Series'' (Osprey Publishing) {{ISBN|978-1-84603-117-5}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Welding-Olsen, Leif
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Norwegian naval commander
| DATE OF BIRTH =15 August 1895
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Horten]], Norway
| DATE OF DEATH =8 April 1940
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welding-Olsen, Leif}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welding-Olsen, Leif}}
[[Category:Royal Norwegian Navy personnel of World War II]]]
[[Category:Royal Norwegian Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:People from Horten]]
[[Category:People from Horten]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths by drowning in Norway]]

Latest revision as of 06:13, 18 March 2024

Leif Welding-Olsen
Born(1895-08-15)15 August 1895
Horten, Norway
Died8 April 1940(1940-04-08) (aged 44)
Oslofjord, Norway
AllegianceNorway
Service / branch Royal Norwegian Navy
CommandsHNoMS Pol III
Battles / warsSecond World War

Leif Welding-Olsen (15 August 1895 – 8 April 1940) was the commander of the Royal Norwegian Navy patrol boat HNoMS Pol III. He was the first Norwegian to be killed during the German invasion of Norway.[1] On 8 April 1940, Leif Welding-Olsen raised the alarm as the German navy ships moved past the guard lines in outer Oslofjord. Norway had been attacked at 22:05 hrs that evening as German ships passed the Norwegian territorial borders. Captain Welding-Olsen had a brief conversation with the commander of one of the German torpedo boats, who demanded that he surrender, but Welding-Olsen refused. Realizing that the enemy would not turn away, and was going to violate Norwegian neutrality, Pol III fired flares to alert Norwegian coastal batteries and rammed the Albatros.

From the Albatros, it was clear that the guns on Pol III were manned and that the Norwegians intended to fight. The Albatros promptly hit the small Norwegian vessel with anti-aircraft fire, wounding Captain Welding-Olsen in the leg and starting several fires. As Pol III was burning, her crew abandoned the vessel. The lifeboat overturned, forcing them to cling to its sides. Leif Welding-Olsen, weakened by blood loss, let go from the boat and drowned, becoming the first casualty in the war between Norway and Nazi Germany. His last words were reportedly: "Bry dere ikke om meg gutter, jeg er ferdig likevel. Men kommer dere hjem, så hils fra meg!"[2]

This is roughly translated as: "Don't worry about me boys, I am done for anyway. (If) you make it back home, give them my regards".

Legacy

[edit]
  • SHV-205 Welding, a vessel of Sea Home Guard was named after Leif Welding-Olsen
  • Welding Olsens vei was named after him.
  • Leif Welding Street in Horten (Welding's birthplace) is named after him

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Norwegian Homefleet - Ships starting with P – D/S Pol III". warsailors.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  2. ^ Hansen, Svend E. (8 April 2015). "Larvik-hvalbåt først i kamp for Norge". Østlands-Posten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 September 2016.

Other sources

[edit]
  • Dildy, Douglas C. (2007) Hitler's Boldest Operation; Osprey Campaign Series (Osprey Publishing) ISBN 978-1-84603-117-5
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