Stories

“Suddenly the captain rubbed his eyes. Did he see correctly: (…) A warship! ´Full speed!´, the captain commanded. At the same time, he called the crew on the deck. All the boats were prepared for launching. But the Wellamo was mercilessly slow compared with its pursuer. In half an hour, the distance between them had shortened fearsomely. Then the Wellamo crew found out the truth: the pursuer was a German submarine. The Finnish vessel made a desperate attempt to escape. Then a shot from the deck gun rang out. The warning shot was soon followed by a hard shot: a shell whistled above the ship, almost touching the funnel." (Eka: Urheilusukeltaja magazine, 24 February1979)

“The submarine shows with flag signals that the crew must leave the ship. They need to rush. The youngest of them, 17-year-old Kalle, even leaves his pocket watch hanging in the crew room.  Lieutenant commander Heinrich Metzger and his crew master their task. The submarine opens fire: 16 gunshots and the Wellamo rapidly sinks, bow first. The crew of 28 men and the captain’s wife are saved. A fortune of over five million marks sinks into the depths, reports the Sundsvalls Tidning later.” (Latva-Teikari: YLE News, 9 October 2009)