Altmark Incident

Overview

The Altmark incident was a naval incident of World War II between British destroyers and the German tanker Altmark, which happened on 16–17 February 1940. It took place in what were neutral Norwegian waters. On board the Altmark were roughly 300 Allied prisoners, whose ships had been sunk by the pocket battleship Graf Spee in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Altmark incident centered on the boarding of a German tanker, the Altmark, by British destroyers in Norwegian waters in February 1940. The ship was carrying approximately 300 Allied prisoners taken from vessels sunk by the German pocket battleship Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. The incident highlighted the tension between Norwegian neutrality and British determination to recover prisoners held aboard a belligerent vessel transiting neutral waters, raising questions about the limits of neutral sovereignty during wartime naval operations.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (1)