This section describes the composition of the assault groups landed by warships in Norway on the 9th of April.
The sea transports were organized in Staffels (squadrons ?).
The Kriegschiffstaffel was responsible for the transport of the initial invasion troops, lightly equipped, that would secure the primary objectives.
The Ausfuhr Staffel was seven transport ships that would travel in advance to the more distant objectives, and bring supplies that were important for the warships and the initial assault groups. They would disguise as normal cargo ships.
The Seetransport Staffels would bring in the bulk of the army units to the Oslo area for breakout from the initial landing area and linkup with the other landing sites. After relatively high losses in the first two convoys (1. and 2. Seetranp. Staffeln) the transports were rearranged so that most personnel and lighter equipment were transported by air and a shuttle traffic of smaller crafts between northern Denmark and Oslo.
The two Battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst would function as escort for the two northern groups and then attempt a breakout into the Atlantic.
The group consisted of ten large destroyers (2200 to 2400 ton)
| ship | unit | notes | ||
| Georg Thiele | 1. Z.fl. | |||
| Wilhelm Heidkamp | 1. Z.fl. | |||
| Hans Luedemann | 3. Z.fl. | |||
| Hermann Kuenne | 3. Z.fl. | |||
| Diether v. Roeder | 3. Z.fl. | |||
| Anton Schmitt | 3. Z.fl. | |||
| Wolfgang Zenker | 4. Z.fl. | |||
| Bernd v. Arnim | 4. Z.fl. | |||
| Erich Giese | 4. Z.fl. | |||
| Erich Koellner | 4. Z.fl. |
Depart Wesermunde 7/4 00:00
Arrive Narvik 9/4
The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and 2.nd destroyer flotilla (4 destroyers) carried:
IR138 (reduced) and various specialists (1 mtn battery/AR112, 200 marine artillery
personell, etc)
| ship | unit | notes | ||
| Admiral Hipper (CA) | ||||
| Paul Jacobi (DD) | 2. Z.fl | |||
| Bruno Heinemann (DD) | 2. Z.fl | |||
| Theodor Riedel (DD) | 2. Z.fl | Damaged by coastal artillery | ||
| Friedrich Eckoldt (DD) | 2. Z.fl |
Depart Cuxhaven 7/4 00:00
Arrive Trondheim 9/4
Stab 69 I.D.
Stab/I.R.159
music corps/I.R.159
I/ I.R.159
II/ I.R.159 minus kp.5
Pi.kp.1,2/Pi.bat.169
2 komp. marine art. (no guns)
| ship | notes | |||
| Köln (CL) | ||||
| Königsberg (CL) | Damaged by coastal artillery and sunk by British air. | |||
| Bremse (training) | ||||
| Karl Peters (depot ship) | ||||
| Leopard (TB) | ||||
| Wolf (TB) | ||||
| 1. Schnellboot flotilla | 5 boats (MTB) |
Depart Willhelmshaven and Cuxhaven 8/4 00:00
Arrive Bergen 9/4
Reg.HQ/IR310, I/IR310, Fahrr.sq.234, marine artillery personell (150 men)
| ship | notes | |||
| Karlsruhe (CL) | Damaged by coastal artillery and sunk by British Submarine | |||
| Tsingtau (armed depot ship) | ||||
| Luchs (TB) | ||||
| Seeadler (TB) | ||||
| Greif (TB) | To Arendal with Fahrr.sq.234 | |||
| 2. Schnellboot flotilla | 7 boats (MTB) |
Depart Wesermunde 8/4 05:30
First entry into Kristiansandsfjord 9/4 05:23 (later than planned due to fog)
Arrive Kristiansand harbour 9/4 10:xx
Arrive Arendal 9/4 08:30 (later than planned due to fog)
I.D.163 Div HQ, I,II/I.R307, IV/I.R.138 (Mtn.Div.3) (in all 2000 men)
| ship | target | load | notes | |
| Blücher (CA) | Oslo | 800 men (HQ I.D.163) | Sunk by coastal artillery at Oscarsborg | |
| Lützow (CA) | Trondheim | IV/I.R.138/Mtn.Div.3 | Dispatched to Oslo due to engine trouble. Troops landed at Son and Moss. | |
| Emden (CL) | Oslo | Troops landed at Son and Moss and dispatched to the Raumboote. | ||
| Møwe (TB) | Oslo | Troops landed at Son and Moss. | ||
| Albatross (TB) | Horten | |||
| Kondor (TB) | Horten | |||
| 1. Raumboot flotilla R17, R20, R22, R23, R24, R27, R??, R?? |
R17, R27 to Horten R22, R23 to Bolærne R20, R24 to Rauøy 2 to Oslo |
8 boats (small mine sweepers) R17 destroyed at Horten by Olaf Tryggvasson. |
||
| Rau 7 (armed whaler) | ||||
| Rau 8 (armed whaler) |
Depart Swienemünde 7/4 22:00
Enter outer Oslofjord 8/4 23:30
Forces with Horten and the outer forts as targets dispatched at 02:00 - 02:30
Main force turned back at Oscarsborg 9/4 04:30
Troops later (from 6:00) debarked at Son and Moss
Fahrr.sq.169 (reinforced)
| ship | target | load | notes | |
| M1, M2, M9, M13 | Egersund | Fahrr.sq.169 (reinforced) |
Depart Cuxhaven 7/4 p.m.
wait outside Elbe mouth until 8/4 04:45
Arrive Egersund 9/4 04:15
7 ships, 51800 BRT (Bärenfels 7600, Rauenfels 8500, Alster 8500, Sao Paolo 5000,
Levante 4800, Main 7600, Roda 6800 )
Transported heavy weapons and equipment for the lightly equipped
troops transported by the Kriegschiff staffel.
Destination Narvik: Bärenfels, Rauenfels, Alster
Bärenfels was held up in Haugesund and redirected to Bergen, which it reached 10/4. Was sunk 14/4 in
Bergen by British aircrafts.
Rauenfels reached Ofotfjord one day late (10/4) and was sunk by British
destroyer Havoc.
Alster was taken by British naval units 10/4 outside Bodö.
Destination Trondheim: Sao Paolo, Levante, Main
Sao Paolo was delayed and redirected to Bergen where it hit a mine and sunk.
Levante reached Trondheim 14/4.
Main was held up in Haugesund and was sunk there 9/4 by Norwegian torpedo boat Draug.
Destination Stavanger: Roda
Roda was sunk 9/4 outside Stavanger by Norwegian destroyer Æger.
Four separate convoys with Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger and Bergen as destinations.
Destination Oslo;
5 ships, 25 800 BRT
Antares 2600
Jonia 3100
Muansa 5500, airbase equipment and aviation
fuel
Itauri 6800, airbase
equipment and aviation fuel
Neidenfels 7800, airbase
equipment and aviation fuel
I.D.163, 1250 men(?), 250 horses, 500 wagons and vehicles, 2000 ton
Departed from Stettin 7/4 02:00
Arrived to Oslo night between 10/4 and 11/4 (planned arrival 9/4)
Antares was torpedoed and sunk 10/4 by British submarine Sunfish.
Jonia was torpedoed 9/4 by British submarine Triad and sunk on 12/4.
Destination Kristiansand, with one third of I.D.163
4 ships, 16 700 BRT (Wigand 5900, Westsee 5900, Kreta 2400, August Leonhard 2500)
Kreta was torpedoed 9/4 by British submarine Trident, but survived.
Destination Stavanger, with
one third of I.D.69.
3 ships, 16 600 BRT (Tubingen 5500, Tijuca 5900, Mendoza 5200)
All ships arrived as planned.
Destination Bergen
3 ships, 12 900 BRT (Marie Leonhard 2600, Curityba 5000, Rio de Janeiro 5300)
Marie Leonhard reached Bergen.
Curityba ran aground near Helsingborg and
was redirected to Oslo.
Rio de Janeiro was sunk by Polish submarine Orzel
outside Lillesand on Norwegian south coast on 8th April (an event that very well
could have spoiled the whole invasion).
11 ships, 57 400 BRT (Friedenau 5200, Kellerwald 5000, Hamm 5900, Wigbert 3600, Espana 7500, Rosario 6100, Tucuman 4600, Hanau 5900, Wolfram 3600, Wandsbek 2400, Scharhörn 2600) all with destination Oslo
I.D.196, 8449 men, 969 horses, 1283 wagons and vehicles, 2170 ton
Left from Gotenhafen on 8/4 16:00 (except Scharhörn who left from
Königsberg same time)
Target Oslo; arrived 11/4 (planned arrival on evening 9/4).
2 ship sunk in Kattegatt by British submarine Triton:
Friedenau
- parts of Reg.HQ/I.R.340
- I/I.R.340
- cmp.9/III/I.R.340
- cmp.13/I.R.340 (inf.gun company)
- Pi.cmp.1/233
Wigbert
- Reg.HQ/I.R.345
- I/I.R.345
- cmp.13/I.R.345 (inf.gun company)
- 2 or 3 other units of I.R.345
8 ships (Moltkefels, Entreriros, Cordoba, Köln, Dessau, Buenos Aires, Leuna, Campinas)
I.D.181, 8052 men, 893 horses and 1175 wagons and vehicles.
Target Oslo;
After the losses of the first and second Seetransportstaffel to allied submarines, the third (and subsequent) was reorganized to only carry heavy equipment.
Florida was sunk 14/4 on Swedish west coast by British submarine Sunfish
Castillo was torpedoed 1/5 by the submarine Narwahl, but could be
saved.
Buenos Aires was sunk 1/5 by the submarine Narwahl. 30 men and 220 horses were
lost.
Cläre Stinnes was torpedoed 2/5 by the submarine Trident.
Monark (a Swedish steamer taken by the Germans in Bergen) was sunk by the
British submarine Severn.
A number of tankers were planned to deliver oil for the return of the ships, as well as aviation gasoline.
| ship | BRT | destination | starts from | departure | notes |
| Jan Wellem | 12 000 | Narvik | "Basis Nord" (Murmansk) | 6/4 evening | Reached Narvik |
| Kattegatt | 6000 | Narvik | Wilhelmshaven | 3/4 | Sunk by its crew when stopped by the Norwegian coast guard ship Nordkapp. |
| Skagerrak | 6000 | Trondheim | Wilhelmshaven | 3/4 | Sunk by its crew on 14/4 when stopped by a British cruiser. |
| Senator | 845 | Oslo | Hamburg | 6/4 12:00 | |
| Dollart | 535 | Stavanger | Brunsbuettel | 9/4 | |
| Belt | 322 | Bergen | Brunsbuettel | 9/4 | |
| Stedingen (unclear if part of Tanker staffel) |
? (small) | Trondheim | ? | ? | Sunk on 8/4 outside Staverner by British submarine Trident. |
| Moonsund | 322 | Trondheim | Brunsbuettel | 9/4 | Sunk on 12/4 outside Larvik by the British submarine Snapper. |
| Euroland | 860 | Oslo | Hamburg | 13/4 |
Horten
Albatross, Kondor with infantry, pioneers and marine art.
2 Räumboote with two infantry platoons from Emden
Bolærne
2 Räumboote with two infantry platoons from Emden
Rauøy
2 Räumboote with two infantry platoons from Emden
Drøbak
Torpedo Boat Kondor with two smaller boats (Räumboote?)
Submarines U 26, U 29, U 43 was converted for transport (start
10/4) and left 12 - 16/4 for Narvik, loaded with 40-50 ton ammunition and
equipment each. Due to the unclear situation in Narvik they were redirected to
Trondheim.
Submarines U 32, U A, U 101 left 27/4 for Trondheim, with 130 ton aviation fuel
and bombs each.
Hansestadt Danzig sailed from Warnemünde at 10/4 06:00
to Bornholm (Denmark) with II/IR305
Bärenfels
3 15cm
4 10.5 cm AA gun
10 20mm AA
30 Krad.
135 vehicles and vagons
1965 ton cargo