Dronning Maud set off from Sørreisa at around 11:30 on 1 May 1940, arriving at Foldvik three to four hours later in calm seas and sunshine.
As the ship was about to dock with the small wharf on her port side two or three aircraft of the German Lehrgeschwader 1 made a low-level attack with bombs and machine gun fire on the Norwegian steamer.
Seven bombs were dropped from the aircraft, with two being direct hits, one between the funnel and the bridge, the other just aft of the fore cargo hatch.
The first bomb entered the engine room and blew out the ship's sides and the second exploded in the bottom of the hull.
The first bomb killed everyone in the refrigeration room, four men and three women.
As the crew and passengers tried to abandon ship only one or two boats could be lowered into the water due to the fire that had broken out on board.
The fire also threatened to destroy the wooden wharf at Foldvik, until a local fishing boat managed to pull the burning ship some distance away from shore.
Dronning Maud drifted a short distance, then ran aground, burned and sank listing to port.

Following their attack on Dronning Maud the German aircraft proceeded to bomb nearby Gratangen, destroying several houses and killing two civilians.

After the attack the wounded survivors were given first aid by the crew of the 378 ton hospital ship MS Elieser.
In the evening the British destroyer HMS Cossack brought the most severely wounded to hospital in Harstad while Elieser transported those less critically wounded to Salangsverket.

Nine medics lost their lives during the attack, while a tenth later died in a hospital near Harstad.
Of the ship's crew eight died and all the materiel on board was lost when Dronning Maud went down.
Thirty-one medics and crew members were injured in the sinking of the ship, two of them severely.

The wreck of Dronning Maud remains where she sank, a short distance off the wharf at Foldvik in Gratangen.
The ship is still upright at around 26 to 35 metres (85 to 115 ft) depth, at coordinates 68°41.917′N 017°26.367′E.
Dronning Maud set off from Sørreisa at around 11:30 on 1 May 1940, arriving at Foldvik three to four hours later in calm seas and sunshine. As the ship was about to dock with the small wharf on her port side two or three aircraft of the German Lehrgeschwader 1 made a low-level attack with bombs and machine gun fire on the Norwegian steamer. Seven bombs were dropped from the aircraft, with two being direct hits, one between the funnel and the bridge, the other just aft of the fore cargo hatch. The first bomb entered the engine room and blew out the ship's sides and the second exploded in the bottom of the hull. The first bomb killed everyone in the refrigeration room, four men and three women. As the crew and passengers tried to abandon ship only one or two boats could be lowered into the water due to the fire that had broken out on board. The fire also threatened to destroy the wooden wharf at Foldvik, until a local fishing boat managed to pull the burning ship some distance away from shore. Dronning Maud drifted a short distance, then ran aground, burned and sank listing to port.
Following their attack on Dronning Maud the German aircraft proceeded to bomb nearby Gratangen, destroying several houses and killing two civilians.
After the attack the wounded survivors were given first aid by the crew of the 378 ton hospital ship MS Elieser. In the evening the British destroyer HMS Cossack brought the most severely wounded to hospital in Harstad while Elieser transported those less critically wounded to Salangsverket.
Nine medics lost their lives during the attack, while a tenth later died in a hospital near Harstad. Of the ship's crew eight died and all the materiel on board was lost when Dronning Maud went down. Thirty-one medics and crew members were injured in the sinking of the ship, two of them severely.
The wreck of Dronning Maud remains where she sank, a short distance off the wharf at Foldvik in Gratangen. The ship is still upright at around 26 to 35 metres (85 to 115 ft) depth, at coordinates 68°41.917′N 017°26.367′E.
SS Dronning Maud (1925)