Kilbotn

Kilbotn is a village in the municipality of Harstad in Troms county, Norway. The population (2001) of the village is 332,[1] but since 2002 it has been considered a part of the Harstad urban area.[2] The village is located about 12 km (7.5 mi) south of the center of the city of Harstad, along the Vågsfjorden on the east side of Hinnøya island.[3] The villages of Fauskevåg and Sørvika are just a few kilometres to the south of Kilbotn.

History

During World War II, Nazi Germany used Kilbotn as a U-Boat base. On 4 May 1945, the last air raid of World War II in Europe took place when the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm attacked the Kilbotn anchorage with 44 aircraft from three offshore aircraft carriers in Operation Judgement. The harbour contained a submarine depot ship "Black Watch" with the unfortunate German submarine "U-711" moored alongside. The wreck of the Black Watch[4] lies in Kilbotn harbour close to the wreck of the U-711.[5]

References

  1. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå (2001) (in Norwegian) (PDF). Folke- og boligtellingen 2001, kommune- og bydelshefter 1901 Harstad. http://www.ssb.no/fob/kommunehefte/1901/fob_1901_tabeller.pdf. 
  2. ^ Statistics Norway (1 January 2002). Omitted settlements. 1 January 2002. http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/02/01/10/beftett_en/arkiv/tab-2002-09-03-06-en.html. 
  3. ^ Store norske leksikon. "Kilbotn" (in Norwegian). http://www.snl.no/Kilbotn. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  4. ^ "Black Watch" (in Norwegian). Dykkepedia. http://dykkepedia.com/wiki/Black_Watch. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  5. ^ "U 711" (in Norwegian). Dykkepedia. http://dykkepedia.com/wiki/U_711. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 

External links