Danish WW2 Pilots

Bendt Poul Rasmussen

(1922 - 1998)

Profile

Bendt Poul Rasmussen was a merchant sailer before the war. He volunteered for the Royal Norwegian Air Force in 1941. He shipped overseas to England in late 1942, at which point he transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy.

Bendt Paul Rasmussen was born on 24 May 1922 in Aarhus, Denmark, the son of Broder Povl Rasmussen and Kirsten Wittenburg Rasmussen (née Jensen).[1]

The Merchant Navy

Rasmussen served on the training ship Danmark for nine months in 1938-1939. Prior to this he had served as a messboy for eight months. At the end of the voyage he was engaged on M/S Gertrude Mærsk[2]. He served on this vessel from 20 April 1939 and participated in several trips between the USA and Asia.[3]

He was discharged at some point and worked as an assistant to the postmaster at the newspaper Nordisk Tidende in New York in 1939-40.[4] He was in New York on 9 April 1940, when the German forces occupied Denmark.

M/S Gertrude Mærsk (1930) arrived in Japanese occupied Shanghai on the eve of the German occupation of Denmark and under US Administration during the war. Rasmussen served on-board this vessel at the outbreak of war (Danish Maritime Museum).
M/S Gertrude Mærsk (1930) arrived in Japanese occupied Shanghai on the eve of the German occupation of Denmark and under US Administration during the war. Rasmussen served on-board this vessel at the outbreak of war (Danish Maritime Museum).

Gertrude Mærsk arrived in Japanese occupied Shanghai in China on 10 April 1940. After a while the vessel was able to leave Shanghai and sailed for Manila in the Phillippines, where it was laid up. The vessel was taken over by the US War Shipping Administration on 30 March 1941 and later served as M/S Cavalcade.[5]

Rasmussen seems to have been discharged from the this prior to this trip, however, he was engaged on the Norwegian merchant vessel M/S Reinholt in Manila on 21 September 1940. He was discharged in New York, where the vessel had arrived on 23 March 1941.[6] Rasmussen travelled to Canada to volunteer for military service.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force

Rasmussen volunteered for service in the Royal Norwegian Air Force in "Little Norway", Toronto, Canada, on 28 May 1941. He served as a medic (sanitetssoldat) from 27 June to 2 December 1941, and again after initial training school from 5 January to 22 November 1942. He was promoted to Corporal.

Rasmussen was transferred overseas arriving in England on 1 December 1942. Two days later, he was transferred to the the Royal Norwegian Navy.[7]

Endnotes

[1] Parish register, Aarhus, Skt. Johannes Sogn, Fødselsanstalten.

[2] DNA: 1513, Skoleskibet "Danmark" Elevprotokol, 96, 14/6 1938 - 20/3 1939.

[3] Ancestry: New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957.

[4] DAHS: Rasmussen’s service record (Rulleblad).

[5] Lund, C. (1998). Danske skibe under det japanske solbanner. Handels- og Søfartsmuseet på Kronborgs Årbog, 57, 84-99.

[6] Ancestry: New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957.

[7] DAHS: Rasmussen’s service record (Rulleblad).