Posted by Visje visje@tref.nl on May 05, 2001.

I was reading in the book "Schiff 16" by Bernhard Rogge and Wolfgang Frank about the raider Atlantis (schiff 16). Atlantis laid mines near Cape Agulhas on May 10 or 11 1940. I haven't found any reference to any casualties by this minefield, but Rogge apparently thought he had hit the Norwegian tanker Jotnerfield (8642 gross tons). He got it from intercepted radiomessages. Was she damaged ?

RESPONSES:

Posted by Peter omk10@gmx.at on May 05, 2001.
Hi JAN!

I couldn´t found a Norwegian tanker JOTNERFIELD neither at Jordan nor at Gröner!

But both mentioned the JOTUNFJELL of Olsen & Ugelstad, Oslo:
motortanker of 8264 BRT
building year 1937
speed 13 resp. 12 kn
L 146,91 resp. 143,00 m
B 18,85 resp. 18,60 m
D 8,15 x 8,10 m

Regards from Austria
Peter
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Posted by Axel van Eesbeeck on May 05.
Hallo Visje

Name of ship: Jotnerfield
date of sunk: 15.05.40
type: tankship
nationalty: norway
gt: 8642
sunk by mine laid by HSK Atlantis

This are the information i have. (Dont't ask me where i got them).
On Siris site under J she lists the norwegian ship "Jotunfjell" with a post war history. But because the two shipsname sounds similar and have the same size it's may the same ship.

What happened between the sinking and the postwar info i can't tell you.

May Mister Jordan knows more ?

Best regards
Axel
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Posted by Siri siri@lawson.net on May 05.

I've checked into this before, and can't really find any ship of any nationality with a name similar to Jotnerfjeld that fits. My information on the J-list says:
"POST WAR: Sold in 1957 to O/Y Tank-Tonnage A/B (Henry Neilsen A/B O/Y, Helsinki, managers). Arrived Hirohata, Japan, on Oct. 7-1963 to be broken up".

So if this Jotnerfjeld was sunk by a mine, it can't have been identical to Jotunfjell, unless it was raised later and repairable (exaggerated report by Rogge perhaps?). I'll check this again and make sure I have that info in the right place.

Jotunfjell can be found here - ships starting with J:
[www.warsailors.com]
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Posted by Visje on May 06.
Hi Siri, Axel and Peter,

Rogge got it from radio-interceptions, so it doesn't necessarily have to be true. I was just wondering if his assumption was true. Perhaps it was Jotunfjell, which was raised and repaired. SNO Capetown sent out the following messages on May 15 1940:

"G.B.M.S (all British merchants) NOTHING TO REPORT"

Later that day:

"IMPORTANT TO ALL BRITISH AND ALLIED MERCHANTS. ACCORDING TO UNCONFIRMED REPORTS ABOUT AN EXPLOSION SOUTH OF AGULHAS, ALL SHIPS ARE WARNED TO AVOID CAPE AGULHAS, 1013/14".

Rogge then continues: "Our mines did their work. The report did not mention the name of our first victim, but intercepted messages suggested that she was probably the Norwegian tanker Jotnerfield of 8.642 tons, which hadn't reported in for several days. We could assume that our mines had been discovered".

It may simply have been a mine exploding prematurely.
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