Owner: A/S Golden West
Manager: A. F. Klaveness & Co. A/S, Oslo
Tonnage: 6748 gt, 4046 net, 11 100 tdwt.
Call Sign: LDPP.
(Click on Teddy above to go to that ship on the Ships starting with T page).
Captain: Thor Lütken. Crew list has been added below.
Her voyages prior to being captured are listed on this original document received from the National Archives of Norway
From Bjørn Milde's postcard collection.
Received from and painted by Jan Goedhart, Holland.
Teddy was on a voyage from Abadan to Singapore with a cargo of 10 137 tons fuel oil when captured by Atlantis (disguised as the British Antenor). The captain's report gives the position as 05 30N 86 30E, and the date as Nov. 7 between 11-12 in the evening, while "Nortraships flåte" dates the incident to the night of Nov. 8/9-1940 (another source gives the position as 05 35N 88 22E, east of Ceylon).
The captain and 19 others were transferred to Atlantis, while 12 remained on Teddy, 8 of whom were engine room crew. Teddy was not sunk immediately, but with a prize crew under the command of Leutenant Breuers she was ordered south to await further orders, while Atlantis went looking for other ships, the Norwegian M/T Ole Jacob being her next victim on Nov. 10.
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Official Report on the Capture of Teddy:
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(received from Ron Granath, Canada - From Canadian archives)
The M/T Teddy, a Norwegian tanker of 6847 gross tons was attacked by a German raider in the Indian Ocean on Nov. 8-1940. She carried one defensive gun of Japanese make, approximately 4.7" (Captain was not certain of the calibre). (Note: This gun had been installed in Colombo on Oct. 13-1940, and was placed on the poop). Her cargo was fuel oil. The Teddy left Abadan in the Persian Gulf on Oct. 26 bound for Singapore. The Master carried routing instructions from Abadan, which were the first thing asked for by the boarding officer; the Master claims that he had no time to destroy them and so they were taken by the boarding officer.
Owners of vessel: Klaveness Line of Oslo.
Captain's name: Thor Kristian Lutken.
Charterers: British Tanker Co.
Ship's position when raider appeared was 5 30N 86 30E. Time: 00:45, November 8-1940.
Raider loomed up on starboard beam, disappeared ahead and then altered course 180 degrees and came close alongside on port side. The raider flashed searchlights on the tanker's gun and bridge and flashed to the captain: "This is HMS A...... (captain said it might have been Antenor but he was not quite certain) and I want to look at your papers. She further ordered them not to use their wireless. A boat was lowered from the raider and when it came alongside German voices were heard. They came aboard so quickly the boarding officer reached the bridge before anything could be done. Boarding officer's name was Mohr. The Teddy was abandoned by her crew at 3 am and they were taken on board the raider and sent below. The master reports that on Nov.-13 the Teddy was picked up again and she was sunk on the 14th after some difficulty. She was finally sunk by explosive charges, apparently two of them, then shell fire after she did not immediately sink. She was not seen to sink, but when raider left, a column of smoke 1000 feet high could be seen on the horizon.
The Teddy was fitted with W/T but had no chance to use it. Raider was only one ship's length away when she signalled Teddy to stop for examination, and her searchlight was trained on the gun and bridge. Captain said he knew if he sent out a signal a shell would destroy wireless room before the operator got started and lives would have been lost unnecessarily. When ship passsed by the first time master took her for a P & O. Only secret documents on board were the routing order, which the boarding party took, and the summary of instructions to master. These the mate managed to tear up and throw overboard because no one was watching him on the off side of the ship. Ship was boarded by from ten to fifteen men in Navy uniform. Explosive charges were put in the pump room and engine room.
Raider appeared to captain to be very like the blue print of the Narvik which was shown to him. None of the silhouettes of German ships quite filled the bill. Master said ship could well have been the Narvik, but he never saw her guns except for machine guns or pom poms just under the bridge. He observed a set of rings over skylight to galley before the funnel which would have taken a dummy second funnel and this could have been quickly rigged. Raider captain had a name something like Rogge. He was between 35 to 40 years old and pleasant enough. Raider has two engines geared to one propellor. She carried what were either torpedoes under canvas covers aft or torpedo shaped mines. She also carried one seaplane painted grey. She never displayed any flag. Master had some idea she might have been called Baden, why I could not get out of him. The raider was a ship between 10 000 and 12 000 tons with a normal speed of 19 knots. Her bottom was very foul which would reduce this speed until drydocked.
The same raider captured a British ship, the Automedon. Master shared space with her first mate who said he believed raider got Legation Mails and confidential books. Later the raider captured the Ole Jacob, another Norwegian tanker, which was put under a prize crew and taken into Kobe. Prize master was Lieutenant Kamenz who had been Commander of a training ship in Porsgrund in July-1938. Officers from Ole Jacob told him that much the same happened to them as happened to his ship. They had no chance to prevent capture. They got off a distress message but this was cancelled by raider on their own W/T just afterwards. Master and some of crew from Teddy were transferred from raider to Ole Jacob which was sent under prize crew to Japan. The food they were given was mostly black bread, coffee and soup with infinitesimal chunks of meat in it. He believed the Nazi crew got much the same but with possibly more meat in the soup. The raider took off the Teddy's provisions but none of the fuel oil. She took some of Teddy's diesel oil for her own use.
The seaplane was sent out nearly every day, and could be hoisted out within a very few minutes. This gave the raider plenty of time to avoid capture by day, and also revealed if any prospective prizes were in the offing. The raider's officers told him they picked him up by luck at night from the light from one porthole improperly darkened aft. The raider had an extremely efficient system of lookouts with excellent binoculars, and this system was extended to Ole Jacob when she was under prize crew.
Camouflage: Raider carried all sorts of devices for camouflage. Guns were completely concealed and were never seen by master of Teddy.
The Ole Jacob reached Kobe on Dec.-4. Master was transferred to Scharnhorst on Dec. 5. He observed no signs of this ship being fitted out as a raider. He was allowed ashore a free man on Dec. 7 or 9 and proceeded to Norwegian Consulate. Norwegian Consul showed him a photograph of the raider taken by one of his men who had left ship when the prize crew were taken off on Dec. 14. This film was developed by British Consular staff and he saw print subsequently. Master was made to promise before landing that he would not communicate with British authorities, and he complied with this condition over there. He made no promise not to sail again during war and intends to go to sea in another Norwegian ship.
Remarks: Raider captured this ship because she was improperly darkened by just one small glint of light from one porthole. Raider signalled ship to stop by lamp using Morse, and said she was one of H. M. ships. With her searchlights on the bridge and gun aft none of Teddy's crew could make out what she was because they were blinded. Even if master had known she was a riader, the only way an enemy report could have been sent out, before the W/T room was put out of action, would have been by the following idea:
A W/T auxiliary room in some other part of the ship from which a message could have been sent out while the main W/T room was being shelled. This would have entailed a second aerial in case the main one was shot away. It is possible that if this was on a completely different wave that it might not have been picked up or jammed. It is suggested that when distress messages are cancelled that some method be devised, and communicated verbally, whereby sending operator changes wave a little as if through bad operating which will indicate message is not a fake put out by raider over ship's own set, or by commencing message slowly, then increasing speed of transmission, and finishing slowly again. The main object being to have some method of informing Naval Wireless that the message is genuine, which is never put on paper but communicated verbally to master. He can tell W/T operator at the time the message is sent out only.
Four British sailors on the Teddy were not released by raider: Hubert Harold Burgoyne, Charles Matthew Lacey, Albert Edward Juniper and Daniel Patrick Dwyer. These men were signed on in Brisbane, Australia (see picture links below).
This report was sent on Jan. 15-1941 from the Naval Control Service Officer in San Francisco to the Director of Naval Intelligence in Ottawa, Canada, who in return replied:
With regard to cancellation of distress messages by a raider - Instructions which attempt to prevent the success of this enemy ruse have now been issued.
Failure to darken ship properly - Attention of masters has been drawn to the necessity for care in this important duty.
With regard to the provision of a W/T auxiliary room in some other part of the ship, the emergency set is being moved to a separate compartment from the main set in all ships, and the carrying of a separate emergency aerial has been made compulsory.
As mentioned in this report Atlantis met up with Teddy again on Nov. 13 at which time the captain was allowed to go back on board to pack his belongings, while the Norwegians who had remained on board Teddy since her capture packed theirs, as well as the belongings of those who were already prisoners on Atlantis, and after the Germans had removed what was considered worthwhile taking (including the gun as well as fresh water, some diesel oil and about 1000 tons fuel oil), and the remaining Norwegians had been transferred to Atlantis, Teddy was attempted sunk by explosives, position 02 21S 93 23E. The captain stated at the maritime hearings that 2 explosions occurred in the pump room and engine room at 11:00 in the morning of the 14th (she still had the majority of the fuel oil on board), but she could still be seen afloat when the prisoners were ordered below deck an hour later, in spite of subsequent shelling from Atlantis' guns. More shelling was heard while they were below deck, and at 13:00 they could feel that Atlantis had started to move. When the captain was allowed on deck at 14:00 they were about 10 miles away and all they could see was a tall column of smoke where Teddy had been*.
Rogge was later strongly criticized by his superiors for the sinking of Teddy, as her cargo of fuel oil could have been used for Orion, but Rogge "found it more important to supply himself with 500 tons fuel than helping his colleague out". To his defence Rogge stated that there seemed little point in sending a prize to Europe, if it would not be better protected than Tirranna had been.
* According to Ulrich Mohr, Bernhard Rogge's A.D.C., he took a ciné shot of the sinking of Teddy. This was later used in the film version of "The Cruel Sea" (Montsarrat).
After having signed the document as quoted in the text under Ole Jacob below, the 22 Norwegians and 6 Swedes from Teddy were moved to Ole Jacob on Nov. 16, while the 4 Australians who had been part of Teddy's complement remained on Atlantis and ended up in German prison camps. Ole Jacob arrived Kobe on Dec. 4-1940, and the next day they were all transferred to the German liner Scharnhorst. Teddy's captain was told that whoever wanted to go home to Norway would be accommodated in Kobe and sent home at the expense of the Germans, but whoever did not want to go home would be left to their own devices.
The maritime hearings were held in Kobe on Dec. 12-1940 with Captain Lütken, the 1st engineer (who had been on board for 4 years), and the 2nd engineer (since Sept.-1939) appearing.
Crew List - All survived:
P = Taken Prisoner
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Captain
Thor Lütken
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1st Mate
Josef Monsen
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2nd Mate
Trygve Nilsen
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3rd Mate
Hans Svenholt
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Carpenter
Bror Lindstrøm
(Swedish)
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Boatswain
Thoralf Larsen
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Able Seaman
Kaare Nilsen
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Able Seaman
Olav Berntsen
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Able Seaman
John Gislefoss
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Ordinary Seaman
Edvard Hansen
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Ordinary Seaman
Thoralf Gjesdal
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Ordinary Seaman
Erik Gustavsson
(Swedish)
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Ordinary Seaman
Erik Eriksen*
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Deck Boy
Huberth Harold Burgoyne
P
(Australian)
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Deck Boy
Sixten Persson
(Swedish)
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1st Engineer
Herman Jansen
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2nd Engineer
Finn Lindhjem
(P?)
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3rd Engineer
Alf Sømoe
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Assistant
Harry Hansen
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Electrician
Clas Collberg
(Swedish)
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Mechanic
Torstein Dalen
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Mechanic
Albert Akselsen
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Mechanic
Nils Møller
(Swedish)
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Mechanic
Johnny Hallquist
(Swedish)
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Pump Man
Magnus Fossum
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Stoker
Daniel Patrick Dwyer
P
(Australian)
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Stoker
Albert Edward Juniper
P
(Australian)
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Gunner
(Engine Boy?)
Charles Matthew Lacey
P
(Australian)
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Steward
Thoralf Ekenes
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Cook
Kristian Tallaksen
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Galley Boy
Olaf Eithum
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Mess Boy
Thorolf Elholm
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*Erik Eriksen later survived the sinking of Eidanger. He subsquently served on Crawford Ellis and Idræt. After the loss of Idræt, he joined Marpesia, later Kronprinsessen.
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Freed - or sent to Japanese Camps?
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A statement at the maritime hearings indicates that with the assistance of the Norwegian Consul 19 men from Teddy were paid off on Dec. 10 and sent to Hong Kong via Nagasaki that same day (later to London) and that the 6 Swedish men from Teddy and 2 officers were due to be paid off on Dec. 13, but whether this came to pass I do not know. However, one source says that the Swedish Erik Gustavsson and Sixten Persson later arrived Sweden in March 1943. Another source says 18 Norwegians from Ole Jacob were also freed and travelled the same route. ("Nortraships flåte" says that a total of 54 Norwegians were freed).
Also, again according to Norwegian sources 14 Norwegians from Ole Jacob remained on Scharnhorst, to be sent home to Norway by way of Siberia. However, I've been contacted by an Australian man who says his Norwegian father, who was on board Ole Jacob, was definitely not freed, but ended up in Japanese camps (see Ole Jacob further down on this page for a link to his message in my Guestbook).
I've come across indications that some of the men from Teddy may have been in the Japanese camp Ofuna and later Omori, but whether they were Norwegian or of other nationalities I've been unable to determine. These prisoners were not freed until Aug. 29-1945, by the Americans, except for the 2nd Engineer who is listed on my page Merchant Marine Prisoners of War as having been freed on Febr. 1-1941.
A merchant marine veteran in Norway by the name of Bård Haugland has sent me an article he himself has written (it appeared in an Oslo newspaper in Dec.-2001) in which he describes a rather 'inventive' (to say the least) method used by the Norwegian men to reach the consulate in Kobe, to make it be known that they were prisoners, even though they were in a neutral country. The article is accompanied by a picture of Teddy's 2nd Mate, Trygve Nilsen and the text says that while the crews of the Ole Jacob and Teddy were prisoners on board the German liner Scharnhorst it became important for them to get in touch with the Norwegian consulate to let them know what was going on. So they decided to give the 2nd mate German Measles, and the diagnosis was confirmed with the help of a very artistic crew member who painted red spots on him. The plan worked; their captors were of course eager to prevent an epidemic so the "patient" was taken in a lifeboat to shore (to be admitted to a hospital), guarded by an officer. But when the boat landed the patient suddenly had a remarkable recovery from his illness and pushed the officer into the water, then got in a taxi and went to the Norwegian consulate, whereupon they were freed from Scharnhorst. Bård Haugland says "Trygve Nilssen continued to sail on Norwegian ships and survived being torpedoed twice, just like he had survived the German Measles epidemic in Kobe anno 1940". Sounds like rather a tall tale if you ask me! However, I've received an E-mail from Scott Parry, the grandson of Able Seaman Kaare Nilsen (see crew list above) stating that he too heard this tale growing up. See also this Guestbook message
Related pictures:
Picture of the ship when named Thorsholm for Thor Dahl pre war. See also this page, listing other Thor Dahl ships.
The Australian War Memorial has pictures of the following (they can be found by running a search through this page):
Picture of Teddy's gunner - Westertimke, Germany, Dec.-1944. The caption reads: Informal outdoors portrait of Charles Lacey, aged 22 year, a prisoner of war (POW) at Marlag and Milag North [Marlag und Milag Nord], a Naval or Merchant Marine personnel POW camp. Lacey, of Brisbane, QLD, is standing outside Hut 19, the barracks building in which he lived with other POWs. He had been serving as a gunner on the Norwegian Motor Tanker 'Teddy' when it was captured by the German raider Atlantis and sunk in the Bay of Bengal on 8 November 1940. (This date is the date of capture, not the sinking).
Picture of Charles Lacey and a friend - Sept.-1945, with the caption: Informal studio portrait of Jim Shields (left) of Liverpool, England, and Charles Lacey of Brisbane, QLD, former prisoners of war (POWs) at Marlag and Milag North [Marlag und Milag Nord], a Naval or Merchant Marine personnel prisoner of war (POW) camp at Westertimke, Germany. The two men have just arrived in England after their release from the camp. Lacey had been a gunner on the Norwegian Motor Tanker 'Teddy' when it was captured by the German raider Atlantis and sunk in the Bay of Bengal on 8 November 1940. Shields had been a crew member of the merchant ship 'Automedon' when it was sunk by the same German raider in September 1940.
Some men from Teddy - Westertimke, Dec.-1944, with the caption: Informal group portrait of prisoners of war (POWs) standing outside Hut 18, the barracks building in which they live at Marlag and Milag North [Marlag und Milag Nord], a Naval or Merchant Marine personnel POW camp. The men are identified, left to right: Hubert Harold Burgoyne, of Brisbane, QLD; unidentified; unidentified, holding a cigarette; Daniel Patrick Dwyer, of Brisbane, QLD; Albert Edward Juniper, of Brisbane, QLD, who is also holding a cigarette. Burgoyne, Dwyer and Juniper had been serving as crew members on the Norwegian Motor Tanker 'Teddy' when it was captured by the German raider Atlantis and sunk in the Bay of Bengal on 8 November 1940.
See also
this picture, with the caption: Informal outdoors portrait of three prisoners of war (POWs) standing outside Hut 19 at Marlag and Milag North [Marlag und Milag Nord], a Naval or Merchant Marine personnel prisoner of war (POW) camp at Westertimke, Germany. The men are identified from left to right: Jim Aspinall, British; Sonny Drapou, Canadian; Charles Lacey of Brisbane, QLD. The photograph was taken secretly with a pinhole camera.
There are several more.
Description of Marlag und Milag Nord
Manager: Johs. Hansen, Arendal
Tonnage: 8306 gt, 4972 net, 12 630 tdwt.
Call Sign: LKDW.
(Click on Ole Jacob above to go to that ship on the Ships starting with O page).
Her voyages prior to capture are listed on this original document received from the National Archives of Norway.
Captain: Leif Christian Krogh (here's a Guestbook message from his grandson). Crew list has been added below.
Received from Finn Thorsen, Norway.
She was on a voyage from Singapore to Suez with a cargo of 10 000 tons aviation fuel when she was captured by Atlantis on Nov. 10-1940, position 06 30N 90 13E. Captain Rogge on the Atlantis signalled that the British aux. cruiser Antenor wished her to stop. Captain Krogh was not so easily fooled, and immediately changed course, while having the Radio Officer send out the distress signal; "QQQ 0629N 9016E Ole Jacob unknown ship has turned now coming after us". Atlantis repeated the signal to stop several times, all the while chasing the Norwegian ship, and because of her inferior speed (as compared to that of the Atlantis), and also considering the type of cargo they carried Captain Krogh eventually had no choice but to follow order. A prize crew under the command of Kapitänleutnant Kamenz was placed on board, and the first thing they did was to make sure the distress call was cancelled, and 23 of her men were transferred to Atlantis. Rogge then gave the order for Ole Jacob to head for a meeting place 300 n. miles south of the Equator, whereupon the two ships separated. 3 days later Atlantis met up with M/T Teddy (the rest of her crew was moved to Atlantis) and on the 16th Atlantis again met up with Ole Jacob. At this time, as mentioned under Teddy above, 22 Norwegians and 6 Swedes from Teddy were moved from Atlantis to Ole Jacob. Rafts, lifeboats and pieces of wood from the latter ship were then thrown overboard to make it look like she had been sunk in the area, then she was sent to Japan, arriving Kobe on Dec. 4 (another source says Dec. 6).
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Maritime Hearings in Kobe Dec. 12-1940:
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Summary of the captain's report presented at the hearings, and the 2nd mate's and the carpenter's statements
Received from Gregory Fromyhr, Australia, the son of a crew member.
According to Captain Krogh's statement Ole Jacob departed Singapore on Nov. 7-1940 with a cargo of petrol and paraffin for Port Sudan via Colombo. On Sunday Nov. 10 at 19:30 hrs a large vessel was spotted ahead on the starboard side, steering in the opposite direction from Ole Jacob. When the vessel was behind Ole Jacob it changed course and came after them. Through the binoculars the ship looked like an ordinary, large cargo vessel. After the ship had been watched for about 10 minutes the captain, fearing it was an enemy raider ordered the gun crew (7 men) to their posts. The report states that the 2nd mate/radio operator, who was one of the witnesses at the maritime hearings, was in charge of the gun crew, so this must have taken place after he had been ordered by the captain to send a radio message about what was taking place, including their position, which at the time was 6 30N 90 30E (differs slightly from my text above). However, the unknown vessel signalled orders to not use the radio, saying she was the HMS Antenor wishing to check their papers.
At the time Ole Jacob was ordered to stop, the foreign ship was barely a mile away according to the captain's statement. After a while a motor boat with 3 men came alongside, at which time another 8-10 men who had been hiding under some tarpaulins came into view *. The captain had decided not to fire since no shots were fired from the other ship. The armed men came aboard and took command of Ole Jacob, distributing a prize crew between the bridge, engine room and deck. The captain and 23 men, including the 1st and 2nd mates were transferred to the raider around 22:00 hrs, having been told to pack only what was necessary for 2-3 days. It appears from the statements that 9 men (among them Carpenter Monsen) remained on Ole Jacob.
* The 3 men visible in the boat from Atlantis were Ulrich Mohr, Paul Kamenz and a helmsman, all disguised in British Royal Navy gear. 10 armed men were hiding under the tarpaulin (Ulrich Mohr says 7).
Rogge's reason for not shelling Ole Jacob was the fact that he was in need of a tanker with diesel fuel, and thinking Ole Jacob carried such cargo, he wanted to take the ship intact.
It turned out Ole Jacob's signals had been heard, and light cruisers Capetown and Durban, heavy cruiser Canberra and AMC Westralia were sent out, though without success, and Atlantis caught another ship already the next day (Automedon).
After the 24 Norwegians had been transferred to the raider, Ole Jacob was not seen again until Friday Nov. 15. They were told that all the Scandinavians would be moved back to Ole Jacob and sent to a neutral port, provided everyone signed an agreement to obey the prize crew and not attempt sabotage. Everyone signed (the 24 men), after having been told that failure to do so would mean that only the necessary engine crew would be moved to Ole Jacob.
"In See, on Nov. 15.-1940.
I declare I will not try to endanger the safety of this ship under German command bound for a neutral port, I will cooperate with the German prize crew and I will use immediately the possibility of going back to Norway without conferring with a British consul or anybody taking charge of British interests. I will follow instructions from the prize-crew until dischargement."
Upon request the captain received this statement:
"It is stated that the motortanker Ole Jacob has been captured by force against resistance of the master, that the crew has been removed as prisoners of war and that the master and the crew have agreed to cooperate with the German prize crew under their orders, and subject to the option of being retained as prisoners of war on board the German warship which has effected the capture, in case of non-willingness to submit to orders of cooperation.
Kriegsmarine, Schiff nr. 19
Rogge, Kapitan zur See und Kommandant eines deutschen Kriegsschiffes".
Before noon on Nov. 16 all the Scandinavians were transferred to Ole Jacob, which continued to Kobe, arriving on Wednesday Dec. 4 around 10 o'clock (morning?). During the voyage to Kobe the gun and all the ammunition were dumped overboard on orders from the German prize crew. On Dec. 5 around 15:00 hrs the entire crew, together with crew from M/T Teddy who were on board were transferred to the German liner Scharnhorst which was in Kobe harbour. The next morning, Dec. 6 the captain did not see Ole Jacob.
Crew List - All survived:
Received from Gregory Fromyhr, Australia (whose father was a crew member).
The list has since been compared to what is found in "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig" (Maritime Declarations form WW II) Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I.
* The 1st mate's story has been added to my Warsailor Stories section, Norwegian version. He died in 1986. His full name was Finn Julius Falch, and he had been on board since Nov.-1939.
**Johannes Andreassen had been on board since Sept.-1939. Following the capture of Ole Jacob, he was transported from Kobe to Singapore, where he was paid off on Dec. 27-1940, joining Mabella as 2nd mate that same day until that ship was sunk in March-1942. He then joined Hermod as 2nd mate in Apr.-1942 and was on board when that ship was sunk just a few days after he had joined her. He later became 2nd mate, 1st mate and captain of Nyco - follow the links for details (source: An E-mail from Helge Christoffersen, Norway; his source: National Archives of Norway).
Here's a Guestbook message from a descendant of the 2nd mate/radio operator.
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Captein
Leif Christian Krogh
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1st Mate*
Julius Falch
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2nd Mate
Radio Operator
Johan Henry Jacobsen
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3rd Mate
Sverre Røvig
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Carpenter
Frithjof Monsen
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Boatswain**
Johannes Andreassen
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Able Seamen
Leif Svenungsen
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Able Seaman
Karlow (Marlow?) Johansen
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Able Seaman
Sigurd Mørk
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Ordinary Seaman
Karl Øverdal
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Ordinary Seaman
Roald Refsnes
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Ordinary Seaman
Malvin Gundersen
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Ordinary Seaman
John Holm
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Ordinary Seaman
Holger Anderson
(Swedish)
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Deck Boy
Marthon Hulback
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1st Engineer
Nils Thomasgaard
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2nd Engineer
Olav Værstad
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3rd Engineer
Asbjørn Flakstad
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Assistant
Ellef Tørjesen Rød
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Electrician
Thoralf Kjell Frømyhr
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Mechanic
Emrik Hammarlund
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Mechanic
Kåre Hesthagen
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Mechanic
Magne Førre
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Pump Man
Harald Johannessen
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Oiler
Ola Remme
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Oiler
John Løberg
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Oiler
William Toftesund
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Oiler
Alfred Gundersen
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Steward
Henry Mosberg
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Cook
Sigurd Magnussen
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Mess Boy
Oskar Mathisen
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Mess Boy
Odvar Høgenhaug
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Mess Boy
Arne Hellerød
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According to Captain Krogh's report presented at the maritime hearings, 18 of Ole Jacob's crew were paid off on Dec. 10 with the assistance of the Norwegian Consulate and sent to Nagasaki, for further transport to Hong Kong in accordance with arrangements made by the Norwegian legation in Tokyo. The rest of the crew were kept on board Scharnhorst. The plan was to land them in Kobe on the 13th, then send them to Norway, via Siberia, as soon as possible. As mentioned under Teddy, Norwegian authorities succeeded in freeing the Scandinavians from Teddy as well. However, Gregory Fromyhr, Australia says his Norwegian father Thoralf Frømyhr was definitely not freed, but ended up in Japanese camps. His message can be found in my Guestbook. If anyone can shed some light on what really happened to the crews of Teddy and Ole Jacob, please contact me. I can be reached via the address at the bottom of this page.
There's also a more recent Guestbook message from the nephew of Oiler Ola Remme which states that some of the crew did indeed remain in Japan for the rest of the war.
This website (external page) states that the crew, together with crews of Automedon, City of Baghdad and Teddy and other ships captured or sunk were left in Japan (the page is a section of Children of Far East Prisoners of War, and gives a list of ships involved in SE Asia).
Once in Japan, arrangements were made with the Japanese for Ole Jacob's aviation fuel to be exchanged for an equal amount of diesel oil, (as well as a Japanese seaplane), and Rogge's fuel problem was thereby solved. The aviation fuel from Ole Jacob was handed over to the Japanese in the Marianas.
See also
S.S. Automedon - The Ship That Doomed A Colony - (external link) details on events surrounding final fate of this ship, as well as the role Ole Jacob played in connection with the secret documents found on board Automedon (the main page is Force Z Survivors Association which also has a lot of information on the fate of HMS Prinse of Wales and HMS Repulse with crew lists, online forum and much more.
From a visitor to my website: On her maiden* voyage she arrived at Wellington NZ 31 July 1940 and was ordered on to Lyttelton NZ. A few hours later off Cape Campbell she collided with the MV Armadale 4066 tons. Both ships badly damaged returned to Wellington. The Ole Jacob was repaired at Auckland and then proceeded to Palembang, Sumatra.
*Compare w/the information found on the the archive document, showing her voyages. Ole Jacob was completed in the fall of 1939, and left Gothenburg on Sept. 3.
On 10 Nov 1940 she was captured in the Bay of Bengal by the raider Atlantis and sent to Japan in charge of a prize crew. The raider Orion arrived at the Caroline Islands 31 December 1940 and found the Regensburg and Ole Jacob from Japan awaiting her. On 7 January 1941 the Orion sailed from the Island base followed by the Ole Jacob. (Note: Fritz Steinkrauss, who had tried to take Tropic Sea to France in the fall of 1940 [follow link for details on what happened] later made his way to the Orient via the Trans-Siberian Railway and subsequently took command of Ole Jacob which was renamed Benno under the German flag). On the 12th January the Orion and her tanker arrived at Maug in the Marianas and carried out an overhaul of engines and boilers. 18th January the Regensburg arrived with fresh water from Japan and the Munsterland with stores and a replacement seaplane
On 6th February, on orders from Berlin to operate in the Indian Ocean, Orion and Ole Jacob set sail. They passed through the Bougainville Channel in the Solomon Islands during the night of 15th February. It was Captain Wyber's intention to sail south through the Tasman Sea, but next afternoon the ships were seen by a flying boat which circled the Orion and reported the position by wireless. The ships separated and Orion steamed east to the Santa Cruz Islands then south between New Hebredes and Fiji. On 25th February Orion refuelled from the Ole Jacob 180 miles NE of the Kermadec Islands. Thereafter they steamed in company across the trade routes east of NZ but not a single vessel was seen. They passed west of Chatham Islands on 2nd March 1941. Sailing west they passed well to the South of New Zealand and for the next three months cruised the Indian Ocean without success. The Ole Jacob was used as a reconnaissance vessel. The sea-plane made 38 reconnaissance flights.
In the morning of 18 May, north east of the Seychelles, the Orion's plane sighted a heavy cruiser on an intercepting course 45 miles away, and altered course but did see the smoke on the horizon. The Orion received orders to leave the Indian Ocean and refuelled from the Ole Jacob for the last time on 3 June. The now empty tanker was sent away, arriving Bordeaux on 19th July 1941.
That same day she was torpedoed and damaged by the British submarine Tuna (Cavenagh-Mainwaring), west Gironde. At the time she was escorted by M18, M25, M27 and M30, whose crews heard six detonations. In Dec. of that same year she was put back into service, still under the name Benno, but was bombed, torpedoed and sunk by British aircraft on Dec. 24-1941 off Puerto de Carino, northwest of Spain, 1 died. According to a posting to my Ship Forum she was later purchased by Spanish breakers.
The text in this section was compiled with the help of various sources, including "Skip og men", Birger Dannevig, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Handelsflåten i Krig" (The Merchant Fleet at War) Guri Hjeltnes, "Tusen norske skip", Lise Lindbæk, "German Raiders of World War II", August Karl Muggenthaler, "Atlantis, the story of a German Surface Raider", by Ulrich Mohr, as told to A. V. Sellwood (all listed in My Sources), "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume II, and documents received from visitors to my website (some of these documents originated from the Maritime Museum in Oslo, others from Canadian archives).
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