The Altmark Incident - HMS Cossack

The Altmark Incident

This was a famous incident that took place in Jossingfjord in Norway. The country was neutral at the time but the German Prison ship ALTMARK tried to hide in the fjord to escape the Royal Navy. She had 299 merchant navy prisoners held in terrible conditions in her hold. On the instructions of Winston Churchill the COSSACK entered the fjord and rescued all of them.

The incident is still remembered today by a monument by the fjord where the incident took place and a display in the Folk Museum at the head of the fjord.

Not all the information about the incident is contained on this website as the information is very large. For further information contact the Archivist.

Here are the thrilling moments from that epic adventure when 300 of our merchant seamen in the German prison ship Altmark were rescued at the 11th hour by His Majesty’s ship Cossack.

1806-1816

This is the account of the first vessel named HMS Cossack, a title that would be passed on to five later ships and commemorated by the Royal Navy in the Cossack Building at HMS Raleigh.

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1854-1875

The second Cossack was originally ordered by Russia for the Black Sea Fleet in December 1852 at a cost of 290,000 silver roubles. However, when relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated, Russia sold the vessels to the Hamburg trading firm Henry Mersk & Co.

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1886-1905

This account covers the third vessel named HMS Cossack. Launched on 3 June 1886 and in service until 1905, she spent the majority of her career in the Far East, calling at India, Aden, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and other ports.

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1907-1919

The fourth HMS Cossack received the first Battle Honour for participating in operations along the Belgian coast from 17 October to 8 November 1914. This section contains copies of the original construction contract and detailed plans showing her launch, deck arrangements, and machinery.

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1938-1941

Credited with battle honours including Baltic 1855, Witu 1890, Dover Patrol 1914–1919, Narvik 1940, Norway 1940, Atlantic 1940–1941, the Bismarck Action 1941, and the Malta Convoys 1941, the HMS Cossack in service from 1938 to 1941 was a formidable presence.

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1944-1960

During Warship Week in February 1942, the town of Esher raised £1,192,211, contributing to the construction of the warship HMS Cossack. The funds were collected by the public depositing money into a rubber-type float in a pool. Remarkably, the surplus was enough to fund a submarine as well. The story continues.

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