  Motivated by the recent interest in dynamical properties of topologically
nontrivial spacetimes, we study linear perturbations of spatially closed
Bianchi III vacuum spacetimes, whose spatial topology is the direct product of
a higher genus surface and the circle. We first develop necessary mode
functions, vectors, and tensors, and then perform separations of (perturbation)
variables. The perturbation equations decouple in a way that is similar to but
a generalization of those of the Regge--Wheeler spherically symmetric case. We
further achieve a decoupling of each set of perturbation equations into
gauge-dependent and independent parts, by which we obtain wave equations for
the gauge-invariant variables. We then discuss choices of gauge and stability
properties. Details of the compactification of Bianchi III manifolds and
spacetimes are presented in an appendix. In the other appendices we study
scalar field and electromagnetic equations on the same background to compare
asymptotic properties.
