Editing SS City of Flint (1919) (section)

==Seizure==
In October 1939, ''City of Flint'' was carrying a cargo of tractors, grain and fruit to Britain. On 9 October, the {{Ship|German pocket battleship|Deutschland}} seized the ''City of Flint'' {{where|date=January 2025}}, declaring her cargo to be [[contraband]] and the ship a [[prize of war]]. A German [[prize crew]] was put on board the ship to sail her back to Germany.{{sfn|Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939|p=9 October 1939}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Å være eller ikke være – Under orlogsflagget i den annen verdenskrig |last=Bjørnsson |first=Nils |year=1994 |publisher=Sjømilitære Samfund ved Forlaget Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen |location=Haakonsvern |isbn=82-990969-3-6 |page=23 |language=no }}</ref>

To avoid ships of the [[Royal Navy]] and obtain water, the ship headed for [[Tromsø]] on the north coast of Norway, arriving on 20 October 1939.{{sfn|Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939|p=21 October 1939}} Norway, neutral at the time and disturbed by the sinking of the merchant ship {{SS|Lorentz W. Hansen}}, refused entry to the Germans, giving them 24 hours to leave.{{sfn|Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939|p=21 October 1939}} The Norwegian destroyer {{HNoMS|Sleipner|1936|6}} escorted the ''City of Flint'' out of Norwegian territorial waters at 1620hrs the next day.<ref>{{cite book | title = Norges sjøkrig 1940–1945. Bd. 1, Sjøforsvarets nøytralitetsvern 1939–1940: Tysklands og vestmaktenes planer og forberedelser for en Norgeaksjon | first = Erik Anker  | last = Steen |author-link=Erik Anker Steen| language = no | location = Oslo | publisher = Gyldendal | year = 1954 |pages= 38–42 | oclc = 186039825 }}</ref>

The prize crew then sailed for [[Murmansk]] in the [[Soviet Union]], arriving on 23 October.{{sfn|Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939|p=23 October 1939}} Claiming ''[[havarie]]''{{sfn|Naval History and Heritage Command: Gainard}} (the privilege of sanctuary for damage caused at sea),{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} the ship lay in Murmansk harbor under the control of the German prize crew for several days and was eventually forced to leave by the Soviet Union, stating that if the Germans claimed ''havarie'', the American crew could not be [[prisoners of war]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} The Soviets interned the German prize crew on 24 October but restored them to control on 27 October under the principle requiring a ship to leave in the same condition as on entry.{{sfn|Naval History and Heritage Command: Gainard}}{{sfn|Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939|p=24 & 27 October 1939}} On 28 October the ship sailed for Norway under German control without Captain Gainard, who was an inactive United States Naval Reserve officer, having been allowed to communicate with United States Embassy officials.{{sfn|Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939|p=28 October 1939}}

In the several weeks that elapsed, the United States ordered many US merchant ships to register with other countries, so as to continue supporting the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] without violating the US's nominal neutrality. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy began closing on the captured ship.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

The prize crew then tried Norway again, proceeding to the port of [[Haugesund]]. The Norwegian government again refused entry, describing the German crew as kidnappers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} The approaching Royal Navy left the prize crew no choice, though; on 3 November the ''City of Flint'' entered the harbor.{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}}

The ship anchored in Norway, and no one could claim the crew was making her right for passage. In consequence the Norwegian Admiralty dispatched the minelayer {{HNoMS|Olav Tryggvason}} and boarded the ''City of Flint'' with its second in command, captain Bernt T. Dingsør and thirty armed sailors, who on 6 November returned ''City of Flint'' to Captain Gainard's command. He unloaded his cargo in [[Bergen]] and set sail in [[Sailing ballast|ballast]] for the US. The German prize crew was interned at [[Kongsvinger Fortress]].

''City of Flint'' continued in service in the Atlantic until she was sunk on 23 January 1943 by the {{GS|U-575}}.