The ongoing story of the SS City of Flint continued today, but now in the Soviet Union.
The American cargo ship, which was captured by the crew of the battleship Deutschland earlier this month, docked in Murmansk on 23 October 1939. The German prize crew hoped to use the time to repair the ship. The Soviet authorities decided instead to detain both the prize crew and their American prisoners, the original crew. Germany applied pressure to the Soviet authorities and eventually the crews were released back to the City of Flint and told to depart the port.
The City of Flint was first captured by the Germans on 9 October 1939. The ship, now under the control of a German prize crew, sailed for Tromsø in Norway, hoping to take on drinking water. The Norwegians refused and used a Norwegian warship to escort the City of Flint away from Norwegian waters.
