them with the original identification marks. Next, they allowed the captured and paroled British merchant seamen from the Stonegate to depart the ship, while the City of Flint took on sixty tons of fresh water over the next ten hours. With the tanks topped off, the Norwegians ordered the ship to leave Norwegian waters within twenty-four hours. 5 Once the City ofFlint left Norwegian waters, she faced two options: steer south or head north. British naval patrols, uncharted mine fields, and U-boats to the south made the northern course the safer choice for the Germans. At first they hoped to reach Hammerfest, in northern Norway, but heavy seas and dense fog forced the ship to steam towards the Soviet port of Murmansk. The ship arrived in the Russian port on 23 October and steamed into the harbor flying a Nazi flag. A number of German ships were in the harbor, including the great passenger liner SS Bremen; the prize ship City ofFlint was welcomed into port with great fanfare. After the Russian Naval Port Officer examined the ship's papers, he removed the German prize crew and declared the City ofFlint a free neutral ship. At that moment, Captain Gainard should have heaved the anchor and headed to sea with his American crew, but their luck in this second neutral port would fail them; one of the boilers was shut down for repair so the ship could not leave. The Soviet Union's definition of a free neutral ship apparently differed depending upon the nationality of the ship in question. The Soviets proffered special treatment to the American vessel. Once his ship cleared customs, Captain Gainard sent a message to the American Embassy in Moscow asking permission from the port naval officer to go ashore so he could conduct ship's business. Reportedly, the message never made it to the embassy. Gainard never touched Russian soil, but he asked for launch service so his crew could visit Murmansk. Again the Russians refused. Shortly after the City ofFlint arrived and dropped anchor in the harbor, Soviet officials stationed a neutrality patrol boat nearby, and it did not move the whole time the Americans were in port. The Russians were allowing local launches to service every other neutral ship in the harbor, as well as all the German vessels, but the City ofFlint SEA HISTORY 159, SUMMER2017
was denied this courtesy. Also, Gainard noted, the Russian authorities did not use their patrol boat to guard any other neutral ship in the harbor. After four days at anchor and with all engine repairs completed, the City ofFlint was ready to sail. Much to everyone's surprise, just before the ship weighed anchor, the Murmansk Port Naval officer returned the members of the German prize crew to the ship and allowed them once again to take command of the vessel. As they cleared the harbor, the ship's officers-German and American alike-decided that the safest course of action was to take the route used by all ships to elude the British blockade and stay within neutral territorial waters. If they kept within Russia's and Norway's three-mile limit, hopefully the British would not attack. They encountered no problems on the Russian leg of their transit, but not long after they entered Norwegian waters, three Norwegian warships-two destroyers and a minesweeper-escorted the American vessel through the fjords. On the second night underway, a British cruiser lit up the tiny convoy with a searchlight. The Norwegians returned the favor and signaled to the British ship that the tiny flotilla was in Norwegian waters. With typical British wit and aplomb the English captain responded, "Sorry. We do not wish to intrude but we would have liked to include your friend in our convoy." 6 With obvious trepidation, the German prize crew declined this gracious offer.
Even though the ship's radio supposedly did not work, the Germans somehow received orders to anchor the ship in Haugesund, Norway. This command placed the prize crew in a delicate position. As a combatant, the City ofFlint could only stop in a neutral port if the vessel faced a legitimate problem-a strategy they followed when they pulled into Troms0. But at the time, the ship was performing up to specifications, and other than a skinned shin, all the officers and crew were healthy and fit. There was plenty of potable water in the tanks, the fuel supply was more than adequate, and the recently repaired boiler was working well and producing more than enough steam. With no good alternatives and orders to follow, the German commander ordered Captain Gainard to anchor the ship in Haugesund. The City of Flint dropped the hook on 3 November. "That night," according the Gainard, "a wellarmed Norwegian boarding party secured the ship and arrested the German prize crew for violating Norwegian neutrality laws." For the second time since the Deutsch/and captured the unsightly Hog Islander, the German prize crew unwillingly left the American ship-this time never to return. Under Norwegian escort, the City of Flint proceeded to Bergen and began the tedious process of filling out the proper paperwork so the ship could once again regain its neutral status, fly the American flag, and deal with its cargo. With the revelation that the United States had recently
German Lt. Hans Pushbach, at right, with his crew, after their internment in Norway.
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