[6] When the German trawler entered the small port she was swiftly boarded by a locally raised guard unit led by løytnant (Lieutenant, Junior Grade) C. A. Carlsen and seized before the crew could set off the two scuttling charges they had placed in the engine room.

This was the second German trawler the Honningsvåg riflemen had captured; two days previously they had seized control of the München of "Nordsee" Deutsche Hochseefischerei AG.

[11][12] On 23 April 1940, ten days after the capture of Malangen, the Royal Norwegian Navy fenrik (Ensign) A. E. T. Plyhn assumed command of the trawler.

The other warship on the Helgeland coast was the 192 ton requisitioned local steamer HNoMS Heilhorn[14][15] On 9 May the British troopship Royal Watch arrived at Bodø carrying a 600 men-strong force of two companies codenamed Scissorforce to help block the German advance northwards from Trondheim.

Honningsvåg loaded the aircraft's machine guns and ammunition as well as the food cargo and brought the German airmen with her back to Sandnessjøen.

[13] After encountering rifle fire from armed guards at the Alstahaug plane wreck Branger decided to continue on to Sandnessjøen to free the wounded Germans held there.

[16] The cargo was intended to be landed at Mosjøen or Mo i Rana, to supply troops of the German 2nd Mountain Division that were advancing northwards in the direction of Narvik.

Albion's mission came nine days after the Germans had successfully used the Norwegian Hurtigruten passenger-cargo vessel Nordnorge to land troops in Hemnesberget on 10 May and bypass strong Allied defensive lines in Nordland.

By the evening of 19 May the Norwegian warships found Albion riding at anchor at the Strømøyene islands some 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) north of Brønnøysund.

The German crew jumped overboard, swam ashore, and were quickly captured by a waiting militia unit of volunteers from Brønnøysund and Velfjord Municipality.

[16][19][20] The Albion was the last German blockade runner to attempt to break through the coastal areas under Norwegian control, with parts of the Helgeland coastline remaining unoccupied until early June.

This time also being attacked with bombs, as well as strafed, Honningsvåg made evasive manoeuvres and returned fire with her two anti-aircraft machine guns.

Being completely out of machine gun ammunition, and suffering from major leaks after several near misses from bombs, Honningsvåg sailed to Harstad where she was placed on a slipway for repairs.

[2][16] As the repairs on Honningsvåg were being completed her commander, løytnant Plyhn, was amongst the Norwegian naval officers that received orders on 7 June to sail their vessels to the UK as the Allies had decided to evacuate from Norway in response to the German invasion of France.

[16][24] As the Royal Norwegian Navy assembled in the UK later in the month its total force was 13 warships and five seaplanes manned by 80 officers and 520 men.

[27] Although the Iceland Group had been operational since August 1940 the official establishment of the unit only occurred in June 1941 when a formal RNoN administration was put in place in Reykjavik.

The crew of the Fridtjof Nansen had managed to abandon ship in lifeboats and land at the nearby Eggøya peninsula on Jan Mayen, from where they were picked up by the Honningsvåg on 12 November and brought back to Iceland.

[38] In response Honningsvåg and a Royal Navy escort vessel counter-attacked with depth charges, claiming a sinking after hearing a large underwater explosion, seeing oil slicks on the surface, and losing the Asdic contact.