Leif Welding-Olsen

Leif Welding-Olsen 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. 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.