For Labour Valour,U/N 1955,Senior Engineer,Rescue Of The Norwegian Tanker "Folga"

[RedMaestro2]

Vikentii Ksaverevich Blumenfeld was the senior engineer and oldest crew member of the Soviet merchant ship Tartu. On the night of October 11, 1954, the Tartu came to the rescue of the Norwegian tanker Folga, which had struck a mine in the North Sea. For almost four hours, the Soviet sailors battled the blaze that had engulfed the Folga. Blumenfeld led one of the two firefighting teams. His group fought the fire from the deck of the Tartu while the other group, under the leadership of the first mate, boarded the Folga. When the fire was extinguished, the Soviets escorted the Norwegian ship safety to Rotterdam.

The rescue was dangerous, daring, and dramatic, to say the least. (The Folga was essentially an enormous bomb waiting to explode.) The only fatality was a Norwegian killed in the initial mine blast. The sailors of the Tartu were duly rewarded by Soviet authorities and thanked by the Norwegians (the Norwegian ambassador met with Molotov personally to deliver his thanks). The rescue was written about in detail in international and Soviet newspapers and magazines. Here is what I have been able to find:

Pravda 15.10.1954, page 4
Pravda 16.10.1954, front page (Blumenfeld mentioned by name)
Pravda 18.11.1954, front page
Izvestia 15.10.1954, front page (Blumenfeld mentioned by name)
Izvestia 21.10.1954, front page
Izvestia 15.01.1955, page 4
Pioneer magazine, March 1955, pages 38-43 (Blumenfeld mentioned by name)

Utrechts Nieuwsblad 12.10.1954, front page
Utrechts Nieuwsblad 13.10.1954, page 7
De Waarheid 12.10.1954, front page
Glasgow herald 12.10.1954, page 7
The Sydney Morning Herald 13.10.1954, page 2

There is probably more, especially in Norwegian and Estonia papers, but I haven't been able to find those.

I believe Blumenfeld's Valiant Labor Medal was awarded for the rescue of the Folga. I do not yet have specific confirmation, but it seems certain to me.

Enjoy!