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On this page:
M/S Høegh Silverdawn w/crew & passenger list | M/T Ferncastle w/crewlist | M/T India w/casualty list
Michel's log for this period was lost (presumably when she was sunk), so information on the following 3 vessels is based on survivors'statements, as well as a war diary reconstructed by the raider's only surviving officers.
Owner: Skibs-A/S Arizona.
Manager: Leif Høegh & Co. A/S, Oslo
Tonnage: 7715 gt, 4730 net, 10 550 tdwt
Dimensions: 465' 6" x 58' 4"
Machinery (when built): 5 cylinder two stroke cycle double acting oil engine by the shipbuilders
Call Sign: BNWQ.
(Click on Høegh Silverdawn above for information on some of her earlier war voyages).
Captain: Edgar Waaler, who had previously commanded Høegh Silverstar.
1st Mate was Petter von Tangen, who had joined Høegh Silverdawn in Dec.-1941, at age 27. At that time the captain was Dag Arnesen. Petter von Tangen had previously served as 2nd mate on Høegh Silvercloud, under Captain Odd Findahl.
Picture received from Historical Department, MAN B&W Diesel, Copenhagen (see their museum website - external link). More pictures are available on my page about Høegh Silverdawn.
In the spring of 1943 Michel underwent an overhaul and refit at the Mitsubishi yards, before heading out to sea again, departing Kobe on May 1-1943, now under the command of Gunther Gumprich, who had taken over the command after von Ruckteschell had taken ill. (See Page 1 for details on Michel's previous voyages). Gumprich also took over his predecessor's attack methods, which meant putting aside an important paragraph of international law, namely the paragraph that says: "Attempt at escape, and resistance do not entitle the commander of a warship to sink the vessel out of hand, nor does it entitle him, when the escape attempt and resistance have been stopped, to ignore the further safety of crew and passengers".
Høegh Silverdawn was en route from Fremantle to Basra with 9000 tons general cargo, including frozen meat and a considerable amount of war materials, having departed Fremantle on June 10-1943. The stores consisted of shells, tractors, guns and aviation fuel. According to Gunner Erling Olsen (see picture below) the 6 gunners were on regular duty through the day for a while after departure, but not during the night, however, on orders from the mate these watches were discontinued as there had been no enemy action in that area for 6 months, and therefore he did not consider them necessary. On June 15 at 03:30 hrs the 2nd mate reported to the captain that they were being followed by an unknown ship, but before he could get back to the bridge to sound the alarm Høegh Silverdawn was shelled, the radio station destroyed and the bridge on fire. The gunner is of the opinion that the raider would have been spotted a lot earlier, had they continued their gun watches. As it was, Høegh Silverdawn was sighted by Michel's plane (Ulrich Horn) in the evening of June 14, and at 03:35 on June 15 she was attacked without warning and caught on fire, position 25 40S 92 00E. By 04:10 she was gone.
During the initial attack the radio operator on duty was seriously injured, as was the 1st radio operator who had his cabin next to the radio station, while the helmsman and lookout were killed. According to captain Waaler the firing continued for almost an hour before the ship sank. He also says she received 2 torpedoes, 1 in No. 3 Hold, the other in No. 4 Hold, blowing the hatches off and setting the holds on fire. She was lit up by star shells and all exits to the deck and access areas to the guns were blasted with machine gun fire. 3rd Engineer Alf Hjelmaas ran down to stop the engine so that the boats could be launched. The captain says that the raider had come up in front of the ship and kept firing at the lifeboats and people on both sides, destroying both starboard boats and killing or injuring several passengers and officers. For some reason only 3 of the crew came aft after orders had been given to take to the boats. While the No. 4 boat was being launched a tackle was shot off, and the boat was lost. The boat on the poop had disappeared, so they now only had the No. 2 boat left, and it too was heavily damaged.
There had been 58 people on board, 11 of whom were passengers. 27 were killed, (6 passengers) and several injured. 6 of her complement appears to have been taken aboard the raider by von Schack on the motor torpedoboat Esau (they later died when Michel was sunk on Oct. 17), while 3 others got away on a raft and were picked up on June 26 by the American M/S Franklyn P. Mull in position 25 38S 90 40E and taken to Colombo on July 12. They were John Bakkemyr, Sverre Karlsen and Arthur Hansen. John Bakkemyr was one of the 9 men who had spent 49 days on a raft the year before, after the sinking of M/S Moldanger. 17 crew (including the captain) and the 5 surviving passengers got away in the damaged lifeboat, which in the course of 31 days covered 2865 miles, and landed on the coast of India, about 130 n. miles southwest of Calcutta Light Vessel (see account from lifeboat further down on this page). 3 had died on the way, the 1st died on June 15, the 2nd on June 23, and the last on June 28, making the total loss of life 36 (this number includes the 6 who died later when Michel was sunk. The numbers depend on source, one says the captain, 13 crew and 5 passengers reached land - Leif Høegh's fleet list says 14 reached India).
For further info, here's the "Summary of Statements by Survivors" and "Supplement to Summary of Statements"
From Memorandums dated Aug. 18-1943 and Nov. 23-1943 respectively (some of the info in these reports is slightly different from mine).
"The Høegh Silverdawn was shelled and machine gunned by an enemy raider, probably without warning, at 05:00 SAT on 15 June 1943, calculated position 28 15S 95 00E. She sailed from New York 21 April to Guantanamo, Panama, thence to Fremantle, Australia and cleared the latter port on 11 June bound for Basra, Iraq, with 8951 tons general, principally military cargo, part of which was a deck load, and 11 passengers; draft forward 28 1/4', aft 29 3/4'. Ship sank at 05:15 SAT settling on even keel.
Facts pertaining to ship's course, zigzagging, use of radio are unknown. Presumed to have been steaming at normal speed of 13 knots, blacked out, 1 lookout stationed topside on starboard wing of bridge, 2 Norwegians were on each of the heavy guns, forward and aft. Weather clear, sea fairly high, moderate wind, visibility restricted by darkness, no moon and not other ships in sight.
At 05:00 SAT the raider started her attack on the vessel, the shells striking midships, bridge and radio shack. All firing was broadside, the total rounds and hits scored are unknown. Survivors recalled 3 rounds from large guns fired in series of 3 (thus 1-1-1), at close range, striking midships. The ship's deck was raked by machine gun tracer fire, which was continued after abandonment by survivors. Large fires enveloped midships. Engines were secured after the opening salvo from the radier. Two explosions occurred in No. 2 hatch, the first blowing upward and the force of the second was lateral, bursting the hull of the starboard side at this hatch. Black smoke poured from this hole. Flooding was slow but after the explosion in No. 2 hatch it was rapid. The ship sank on even keel within one minute after the final explosion. It is unknown if distress signals were sent but believed improbable. Vessel's armament consisted of one 3" 50 cal. gun forward, which was out of order, one 4.7" aft, 3 Oerlikons, and 2 50 cal. machine guns. No counter offensive offered. The disposition of confidentials is unknown.
The vessel was abandoned without orders. Facts pertaining to the abandonment are vague but it is known at least 1 boat containing 10-15 occupants and 1 liferaft cleared the ship. The 3 survivors on the liferaft were rescued by the Franklin P. Mull on 26 June in 25 38S 90 40E and landed at Abadan, Iran 13 July. The ship carried 58 persons including 47 crew and 11 passengers, of which 2 were U.S. Army personnel. Of this number there are 3 survivors, 1 known dead, 35 presumed to have perished, 19 missing. It is unknown if any were taken prisoners.
Survivors saw raider before abandonment at a distance of approximately 600 yards. After abandonment, while they were aboard the raft, the bow of the raider scraped the raft, and at which time the survivors are certain they heard German language spoken aboard the enemy craft. The raider was described as being large 7000-8000 tons, freshly painted grey, no streaks, raked bow, cruiser stern, 2 bow masts, no king posts, squat streamlined stack, amidship, high forecastle, the after portion of which curves in convex fashion to main deck, stern deck house; as firing from 'large' gun came from amidships it was concluded they were located starboard amidships, no identifying colors, numbers or marks were seen, speed estimated at 15 knots. Raider was last seen at 05:20 SAT, course unknown.
Survivors reported that at time bow of raider scraped their liferaft they saw her gangway rigged for lowering. Shortly thereafter they observed a light flash on, in position to be at head of gangway, as though someone were aboard the attacked ship. However, it was not possible to ascertain whether raider was taking prisoners aboard or not.
It has been evaluated that the attacking vessel was probably German 'Raider 28', which is similar in appearance to the Cairo. This raider is believed to have attacked the English Ferncastle (Note: This ship was Norwegian, listed next on this page) on June 17 1943, and was probably operating in the general area of where the Hoegh Silverdawn was sunk."
Supplement to Summary of Statements (dated Nov. 23-1943):
"The Høegh Silverdawn was shelled, torpedoed and machine gunned without warning at 04:15 Zone time (22:15 GCT, 14 June) 15 June-1943, calculated position 25 45S 92 00E. Carried 8951 tons of cargo, including oil well machinery and 5 USA armored cars. Ship was on a Northwesterly course, speed 13 knots, in 3000 fathoms, not zigzagging, blacked out, radio silent, 2 trained lookouts equipped with binoculars on pill boxes over bridge. Weather squally, with rain, heavy choppy seas, wind SW gale force, no moon, visibility only 1/2 mile during squalls.
Just before the attack a ship was sighted coming up on a parallel course just abaft the starboard beam; shortly thereafter at a range of one mile the raider opened up with a salvo. In the first broadside it was estimated that seven guns of '6 to 8 inch caliber' were fired in quick succession. Several more such salvoes were fired at approximately one minute intervals. In the first two broadsides the stern gun was knocked out, as were the pill boxes on the bridge, the radio shack, and the controls on the bridge of the subject vessel. In the midst of the shelling two torpedoes fired from 1500 yards on starboard beam struck between #3 and 4 hatch, blowing the deck upward, the hatch covers off and setting those holds afire. Upper bridge set ablaze, steering gear, engine room telegraph, speaking tubes all knocked out by 2nd salvo. Flooding was slow, considerable fragment damage to personnel and lifeboats. Explosions gave off a sickening smell which made some men sick for a day. Because of the early destruction no guns could be fired in defense, and no distress signal could be sent. All the confidential documents were in a box in the chart room, which was completely gutted by fire before the captain could get to them. The captain ordered the engines stopped and told the men to take to the boats, as the ship was sinking and could not be steered. The raider crossed the bow at an unknown range and raked the boat with tracer fire from stem to stern while the ship was being abandoned. After the ship had been abandoned it appeared that she might not sink, and the raider turned and passed the starboard side, 400 yards away, missing the stern with a torpedo by 10-15'; she then circled astern and fired six heavy rounds into the port side at a range of about 500 yards, thereby causing vessel to sink. Approximately 40 shells were fired before ship was abandoned, majority of them hits. After abandonment 6 shells were fired, hits unknown. Unknown whether contact or delayed action, but the first shell passed through the captain's saloon without exploding.
Ship was abandoned on order of Captain, survivors got away in one lifeboat and a raft. Twenty-two survivors were in lfieboat and on 15 July boat landed about 130 miles SW of Calcutta Light Vessel with 19 men still alive after a trip of 3100 nautical miles. Three other survivors were also rescued and landed at Abadan, Iran 13 July. Total complement aboard was 58 including 47 crew and 11 passengers, no U.S. Army personnel aboard. Twenty-two survived, 19 known dead, 17 missing but presumed dead. Raider attempted to ram lifeboat but lost sight of it when boat became awash due to 17 holes from shell fire. Holes were patched and boat sailed 3100 miles in a seaworthy fashion."
Crew & Passengers:
The names of some passengers were initially found in the book "Siste mann fra borde" by Leif B. Lillegaard. Names of some of the survivors were received from the daughter of one of the survivors, Rolf Guldberg. Others were found in the book "Menn uten medaljer", A. H. Rasmussen, 1964. The list has been compared to what is found in "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I, and ammended accordingly.
In my Guestbook there's a message from someone who is looking for information on the Dutch Navy Airmen who were on board at the time; I have since found their names, but the poster of that message appears to have changed his E-mail address, so I'm unable to let him know - if anybody knows him, please pass this information on.
See also this message from the daughter of R. A. Guldberg, and here's a message from the daughter of Alf Hansen.
Another Guestbook messages gives more information on the Dutch passengers.
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Survivors
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Captain
Edgar Waaler
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1st Mate
Petter Lexau von Tangen
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Radio Operator
Rolf Hansen
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Able Seaman
John K. Bakkemyhr
(saved from raft)
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Able Seaman
Arthur Hansen
(saved from raft)
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Ordinary Seaman
Allen Cooper
(Canadian)
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Chief Engineer
Lars Kristoffersen
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3rd Engineer
Alf Hjelmaas
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Assistant
Alf Hansen
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Refrigerator Engineer
Hans Nilssen
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Cook
Rolf Anker Guldberg
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Mess Boy
Ronaldo Diaz
(From Goa)
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Mess boy
Caetan Collaco
(From Goa)
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Saloon boy
Sebastian George
(From Goa)
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Gunner
Erling Olsen
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Gunner
Odd Hodtvedt
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Gunner
Sverre Karlsen
(saved from raft)
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Carl Marvin Hensley
(British passenger)
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Jan Smith
(Dutch passenger)
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Charles Louis Swens
(Dutch passenger)
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Henry Anton Bolleurs
(Dutch passenger)
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Ronald Oltmans
(Dutch passenger)
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Non Norwegian Casualties:
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Chief Radio Officer
Paul F Keenleyside
(in lifeboat June 23)
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Radio Officer
Fred Allerston*
(British)
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Ordinary Seaman
Gordon Lyle Chase
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Ordinary Seaman
Walter Lindsay
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Ordinary Seaman
Maxwel Mosher
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2nd Cook
Paulo D'Costa
(From Goa)
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Mess Boy
Claude O'Brien
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Mess Boy
Thomas Trygve Yonkers**
(Canadian)
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Servant
Albert George
(From Goa)
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Servant
Laurence D'Souza
(From India)
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Servant
Santan Baratto
(From Goa
in lifeboat June 28)
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Dirk van der Bijl
(Dutch passenger)
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James McPhie
(Canadian passenger)
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Cornelis Bruijn
(Dutch passenger)
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Thomas E. Armstrong***
(American passenger)
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Anton Cornelis Diets
(Dutch passenger)
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Cornelis A. Palings
(Dutch passenger)
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Norwegian Casualties
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2nd Mate
Erling Hope
(in lifeboat June 15)
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3rd Mate
Johan Fredrik Clementsen
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4th Mate
Gullik Nor Gulliksen
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Carpenter
Herman Larsen
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Boatswain
Kåre Moen
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Able Seaman
Sverre Arntsen Bakken
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Able Seaman
Malvin Bjørsvik
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Able Seaman
Willy Normann Knutsen
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2nd engineer
Louis Normann Larsen
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Electrician
Gerdt Reimers
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Mechanic
Petter Olsen
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Mechanic
Erling Hoff-Olsen
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Mechanic
Robert Andreas Habel
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Mechanic
Finn Olavesen
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Mechanic
Håkon Øvrebø
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Steward
Thor Endresen
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Gunner
Håkon Hansen
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Gunner
Hubert Eugen Nilsen
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Able S./Gunner
Lars Rafael Slotsvik
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* Fred Allerston (From Hull - age 19) is commemorated at Tower Hill, Panel 57 - see this external link. Date of death is given as June 15-1943. I found the Canadian casualties of Høegh Silverdawn at the Canadian Merchant Navy War Dead Database by entering the name of the ship in the relevant search field. They are commemorated at the Halifax Memorial.
** Thomas K. Yonkers is listed as Norwegian at the Stavern Memorial which I've linked to below. I believe he was Canadian of Norwegian descent(?).
*** In the book "Siste mann fra borde", the story of the attack on Høegh Silverdawn, there's mention of an American priest who died in the lifeboat. This must have been Thomas E. Armstrong. However, this is not mentioned at all in the captain's report presented at the subsequent hearings, which only mentions 3 deaths in the lifeboat.
As usual, there's some disagreements in my various sources. According to the Captain's statement at the subsequent maritime hearings, which were held in Calcutta on Aug. 2-1943, the following were known to have died on board:
Steward Endresen, Radio Operator Allerston, Servant D'Souza, Servant George, Cook D'Costa, 3rd Mate Clementsen, Electrician Reimers, Ordinary Seaman Lindsay, Ordinary Seaman Mosher, Passenger Mc Phie, Passenger Armstrong, Passenger Diets, Passenger Bruijn, Passenger Palings, and Passenger van der Bijl.
He agrees that the following 3 died in the lifeboat: 2nd Mate Hope (died June 15, his left arm had been shot off at the elbow, and he had also received some bullets in his chest), Radio Operator Keenleyside (the night of June 23), and Santan Baratto on June 28, as noted above (the 1st mate says the steward died in the lifeboat).
Related external link:
Norwegian commemorations - 23 are commemorated at the Stavern Memorial for Seamen. This memorial has 3 extra names that don't appear in my list, namely: Electrician Trygve Reigstad, Seaman Leif Johan Carlsen, and Motorman Martin Nicolaisen. Leif Johan Carlsen is listed in "Våre Falne" (a series of 4 books naming all Norwegian casualties of WW II) as having died during a prisoner transport in the South China Sea on Oct. 24-1944. Received Truman's "Posthumous Award of an Accolade". Note that he's also included under the C's on my POW's page; he may have served on Høegh Silverdawn at some point. Martin Nicolaisen is listed as having taken ill, and died at St. George's Hospital in Bombay on Oct. 4-1942. I can't find Trygve Reigstad in this book.
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A brief summary of the weeks in the lifeboat:
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The 22 who had succeeded in getting in the lifeboat managed to stay hidden in the dark by covering up the little red lights on their lifevests, and were not seen when Michel passed by only 10-15 meters away. A torpedo had just barely missed them a little earlier. Captain Waaler decided to set sail for Ceylon, not Australia, even though the latter was closer, for the simple reason they were all scantily clad and he didn't expect them to survive for long in the more wintery temperatures of Australian waters. The boat was full of bullet holes and they were practically submerged in water inside it until the captain ordered most of them out, while he and 2 others started bailing. All night long the bailing continued. The captain pulled his shirt off, tore it into pieces and plugged some of the bullet holes with them. The others followed his example by tearing off pieces of their own shirts. When the boat was finally free of water, 2 men at a time had "bailing duty", day and night, through the entire trip. In addition to being damaged the boat was overcrowded, having twice the amount of people it was meant for. It had enough "food" and water for 11 men for 30 days, so rations were minute for each of the 22, and determined by the captain on the basis of an estimated 40 days in the lifeboat. Flying fish were caught and swallowed whole, rain later provided 50 extra liters of water. The captain stated, "one thing is for sure; if we give up, we die. If we don't give up, we'll make it. I've decided we're going to make it". Complaints were forbidden.
On the morning of July 15 they saw a ship about 4 n. miles off and sent up flares, but they were not seen. However, later that same morning, after 31 days and 13 hours in the boat land was observed. The British who later questioned them in India had a hard time believing them when they claimed to have covered a distance corresponding to the distance from Liverpool to New York!
When the 19 survivors landed they were so exhausted from the voyage and the strenuous attempts at landing through the breakers that some of them just remained on the beach for a while, partly unconscious. Since they were not sure whether there were people nearby who could assist them, the remaining supplies and water were taken from the lifeboat which in the course of half an hour was broken up by the breakers. Not long after landing some local fishermen found them, and they now had to proceed on foot to get to the nearest village which was located about 1 mile further inland. That evening they were fed rice and curry by the natives, then slept on the floor of the schoolhouse, after having contacted the police in a nearby village. The next morning they purchased a goat which according to Alf Hjelmås, the 3rd Engineer, was consumed within the hour. They boiled water in which they threw little pieces of meat, eating them as soon as they were cooked. They ate and drank till they were sick.
In order to reach a larger city that had a train connection to Calcutta, they had to walk for 11 miles through the jungle. Only 7 of them managed to walk all the way, while the rest collapsed on the road. A truck later picked them up and took them to the police station where they were well taken care of and questioned by British authorities. But then it happened, the most horrible stomach problems set in. They were all accommodated at a hospital that night. They were scheduled to travel by train to Calcutta the next day, July 17, but before they entered the train at the station they were all sick. When the train arrived a red carpet was waiting, and there they all were, with their clothes showing clear signs of their previous ailment. The British on the train had offered them something to drink, but they did not accept for fear of the results. At the Norwegian Seamen's Home in Calcutta sandwiches, chocolate, coffee and all kinds of goodies awaited them, but again they had to decline. Instead they requested a bed, whereupon they were admitted to a hospital (July 18).
This is scanned from "Norge under Haakon VII, 1905-1945" Odd Hølaas (1945). When I added these names (found in "Menn uten medaljer", A. H. Rasmussen, 1964), I did not know the identity of all the survivors, but I have since found more names. Note that according to his daughter's Guestbook message, Alf Hansen is sitting next to number 4 (at 9 w/question mark). The photo shows 18 men. The 1st Mate's story is included in this book and according to him the 2nd mate, who was seriously injured died after about a week in the lifeboat (incorrect), and an injured radio officer died on the 13th day, leaving 20 men in the boat. Later, the steward also died of his injuries (incorrect). When they reached land they collapsed on the beach and awoke the next morning to find some Indian fishermen standing over them. A few days later they were all in a hospital in Calcutta. The captain and 1st mate did not need to be admitted.
Compiled with the help of information found in "Skip og men", Birger Dannevig, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Handelsflåten i Krig" (The Merchant Fleet at War), Book 4, Guri Hjeltnes, "German Raiders of World War II", August Karl Muggenthaler, "Siste mann fra borde", Leif B. Lillegaard, "Menn uten medaljer", A. H. Rasmussen, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I, Leif Høegh & Co. fleet list, reports received from T. Cooper, England (from PRO) and misc. E-mails from visitors to my site.
Back to M/S Høegh Silverdawn on H-list
Back to page about Høegh Silverdawn
Owner: A/S Glitre.
Manager: Fearnley & Eger, Oslo
Tonnage: 9940 gt, 5986 net, 14 770 tdwt
Call Sign: LJEG.
(Click on Ferncastle in the box above to read about some of her previous voyages).
Captain: Toralf Andersen.
In "Norsk Tidend" (Norwegian newspaper in U.S.A.) for Oct. 9-1943 an article appeared which described Ferncastle's fate. This article was in turn printed in Issue No. 4/1987 of the magazine "Krigsseileren", and from this and various other sources listed at the end of this text, the following emerges:
Ferncastle had departed Esperance Bay, Australia for Abadan in ballast on June 11-1943. On June 17 she was spotted by Michel in position 25S 97E. Gumprich adopted a parallell course until the sun went down, then steered closer and launched the motor torpedo boat (Esau). AT 19:25 hrs Ferncastle was hit by 2 torpedoes on the port side at an interval of 5 seconds. Captain Toralf Andersen, who had been in his cabin at the time of attack, ran up to the bridge where the 1st mate was on duty, and as the damages appeared to be minimal, gave orders to shift the ballast in the tanks in an effort to right the vessel which was listing heavily to port, and while the guns were readied for action the course was altered to starboard, away from the enemy, which at that time was believed to be a U-boat. But about half an hour later, when they saw a large ship not far away it became clear that a U-boat was not the culprit, and realizing they had no chance, the captain ordered the engine stopped and told everyone to head for the lifeboats. Shortly thereafter the raider started a heavy shelling, and aboard the tanker the situation became "very unhealthy" (according to the captain), with shells exploding all over the ship and shrapnel raining in all directions. She was listing so heavily that it was impossible to use the gun with any success so the captain ordered the gunner to not fire. The radio installations had been destroyed so no SOS could be sent.
The 2nd and 3rd mates oversaw the launching of the 2 largest (aft) lifeboats while the captain, 1st mate, steward and helmsman started to launch the motorboat amidships from the starboard side. At this time the pumproom was hit by a shell, the skylight was blown away with pieces of it landing in the boat, while at the same time a fire broke out in the pumproom. The motorboat fished 1 man out of the water (Mechanic Halvorsen, who had been injured), another 6 were picked up from a raft, and a little later they found 8 men (incl. the 2nd mate) in the starboard lifeboat, meaning there were 19 survivors altogether. The shelling from Michel had killed 1 man while the starboard boat was lowered, 1 had jumped overboard with his life jacket on fire, and the captain estimated several had been killed in their cabins and on deck.
They stayed close by while keeping a lookout for more surviviors. The 3rd lifeboat was nowhere to be seen. As none of them wanted to be taken prisoners both boats pulled away from the ship and into the darkness. At 20:30 hrs an explosion occurred on the ship, and shortly afterwards another. In the light from the flames the people in the lifeboats could see the torpedo boat going back and forth between the 2 ships. At 21:30 the sea started to gradually extinguish the fire, until Ferncastle finally sank, and at about 23:00 the raider took off.
Thinking that the people in the port boat might have been picked up by the raider, the 2 boats set sail, heading northwest, in the hope of being helped by the wind to reach the Chagos Islands about 1500 miles away, rather than attempting to go east against the wind and current to reach Australia. As they soon realized that the lifeboat sailed much faster than the motorboat, the men in the latter were transferred to the former 2 days into the voyage (June 19). 2 days later they had to use the oars because there was not enough wind to sail, course was altered to west, then southwest, having given up the idea of reaching Chagos, and instead hoping to reach Reunion, Mauritius or Madagaskar. The boat kept taking in water so they were always wet. Some of them had received hand wounds while trying to get in the boats, and these now became infected. 2 men had been injured by shrapnel (inlc. Mechanic Andreassen).
On July 9 the 1st man died, Mechanic Halvard Halvorsen, who had received a shrapnel in his back which had probably touched his lung. He had been given an extra water ration all along, and his wound had been seen to by the 1st mate every day and appeared to be healing well, but after a few days he had been unable to eat. The next day they lost Able Seaman Jens Olsen, whose hands had been infected the whole time. The following day, July 11 Able Seaman Hajum died, believed to have drunk too much sea water. That morning, 2 heavy seas washed over the boat, causing it to capsize and washing 1 man overboard, though he managed to hold on while the others bailed the boat, whereupon he was pulled back on board. They had lost their compass and some other items from the boat. A 4th man died on July 12, namely Saloon boy Carl Simmons from the Dutch West Indies, who had not been injured but he had refused to eat the food offered to him. 2 days later, on July 14 they lost a 5th man, 1st Engineer Håkon Fallang, whose hands had also been badly infected the whole time. That day it started to rain, so they were able to collect some more drinking water. On the night between July 14 and 15 a man came aft in the boat wanting to buy some cigarettes. On his way back to his own place he fell overboard, but was hauled back by helping hands. The following night another man went overboard, saying he wanted to go and buy some milk. In order to get him back they had to take their sails down and row up against the weather.
The last man to die was the cook Bjarne Schicht, on the very day they saw land on July 17; he too had probably drunk too much sea water. They sailed northwards along the beach to find a good landing point, then landed near a white house. The breakers had caused the captain to fall overboard and he eventually ended up about 100 meters from the spot where the boat had landed. The 2nd mate pulled him to safety, away from the waves, too weak to help himself, but after a brief rest he was able to help the other 12 bring the sails ashore and light a small fire, using the sails to put up a tent to protect them from the rain that had started to fall.
A couple of hours later 2 native boys came walking towards them, and the sailors asked them to bring a written message to their chief, who as it turned out was the "Chef du District" of Nosy Varika, Madagaskar. They had landed almost 3000 n. miles from where Ferncastle had sunk (25S 97E). Later that afternoon the chief and a group of helpers came to the beach and they were taken to his house a few kilometers away. Some of the seamen were unable to walk so they had to be carried, others were supported by the natives on the walk to the village. They were fed, supplied with dry clothes, then slept all through the night and most of the following day. On the 19th they were taken to Mananjary where 4 men were admitted a hospital, while the rest were given lodgings at hotels or private homes. They were later taken by a troop transport to Durban, where some joined other ships whereas others required a longer rest. The maritime hearings were held there on Oct. 4-1943 with the captain, the 1st mate, the 2nd mate, Able Seaman Skar, Able Seaman Hansen (helmsman), Mechanic Gundersen, Mechanic Andreassen, and the steward appearing - ref. crew list below.
"German Raiders of World War II", A. K. Muggenthaler indicates that Michel picked up 13 from Ferncastle (they all died when the raider was sunk by Tarpon on Oct. 17-1943). Muggenthaler says 5 of 37 men went down with Ferncastle. According to Charles Hocking a lifeboat with 16 on board was never seen again; these men may have been the ones picked up by Michel. The total number of casualties from Ferncastle is listed as 24, so perhaps Hocking's number is correct. If the number 13 is used the total adds up to 21 (when adding the 2 who are known to be killed during the attack and the 6 who perished in the lifeboat; though according to the captain some may also have been killed in their cabins). Hocking also says that Ferncastle was hit by 4 torpedoes from the MTB (giving the position as about 700 miles south of Cocos Island) and sunk by gunfire from Michel, adding that she had a cargo of wheat at the time and was en route from Fremantle and that 2 were killed on board.
A book written by Oddm. Ljone entitled "Captain Toralf Andersen and his Men", published in 1953, claims that 18 were lost during the attack or disappeared in one of the lifeboats. (According to Hümmelchen, who sites David Woodward as source, some were picked up by a British ship on June 28, but this might be a mix up with Høegh Silverdawn).
Crew List
From the above mentioned book. The list has been compared to what can be found in "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig" (Maritime Declarations from WW II).
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The following reached land in the lifeboat
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Captain
Toralf Andersen
(Husøy, Tønsberg - born 1900)
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1st Mate
Einar Aronsen
(Tønsberg - born 1913)
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2nd Mate
Otto A. Andersen
(Mandal - 1914)
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Able Seaman
Oddvar Breiland
(Kvinesdal - 1921)
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Able Seaman
Ole Hansen
(Strømsbuneset, Arendal - 1917)
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Able Seaman
Arne Skar
(Bremsnes, near Kristiansund - 1921)
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Mechanic
Willy Andreassen
(Larvik - 1922)
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Mechanic
Karl Trygve Gundersen
(Hurum - 1921)
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Mechanic
Harry Gram Lodden
(Haugesund - 1922)
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Mechanic
Arild Lorentzen
(Leinstrand, Sør-Trøndelag - 1902)
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Mechanic
Gunnar Rolid
(Ådal, near Hønefoss - 1913)
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Steward
Hans Chr. Nielsen
(Nøtterøy - 1882)
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Gunner
Harry Alfred Brooklyn
Cambridge
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These men died in the boat before they reached land:
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Able Seaman
Martin Hajum
(Drammen - 1908)
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Able Seaman
Jens Torp Olsen
(Salterød, Arendal - 1921)
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Chief Engineer
Haakon Fallang
(Oslo - 1905)
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Mechanic
Halvor Halvorsen
(Skoger, Drammen - 1900)
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Cook
Bjarne Schickt
(Steinkjer - 1910)
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Saloon Boy
Carl Aloysius Simmons*
(Saba, NWI - 1910)
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| * The official crew list says the saloon boy was from Jamaica, but I've received an E-mail from Jos Rozenburg (who's researching seamen from the Netherlands West Indies who died in the period 1940-1945) saying he was from Saba. He had joined the ship in Aruba on May 14-1941. See my page about Ferncastle as well as this document and this document. |
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Died during the attack, or went missing in the port lifeboat:
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3rd Mate
Kristian W. Pedersen
(Lykling, near Haugesund - 1904)
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Carpenter
Bernhard Wikner
(Sundsvall, Sweden - 1899)
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Boatswain/Gunner
Schrøder Tønnesen
(Hesnesøy, Grimstad - 1914)
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Able Seaman
Nikolai Rotevatn
(Volda - 1903)
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Able Seaman
Trygve Tønnesen
(Krokkenes, Lillesand - 1910)
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Ord. Seaman/Gunner
Finn Lindstrøm
(Årstaddalen, Egersund - 1918)
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Ordinary Seaman
Robert William Andersen Sundbye
(Bamble - 1922)
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Ordinary Seaman
James Whittle*
Sydney, Australia (born 1925)
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2nd Engineer
Harry Ranvik
(Sandar - 1904)
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3rd Engineer
Jacob Amundsen
(Sandefjord - 1907)
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Assistant
Nils A. Syringen
(Elverum - 1908)
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Mechanic
Karl A. Fredrikson
(Sandnes, near Stavanger - 1910)
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Mechanic
Anders Johannes Olavesen
(Onsøy - 1918)
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Mechanic
Reidar Olsen
(Sandar - 1914)
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2nd Cook
Lee Chong Wong
China (1920)
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Mess Boy
Lesh Siang
China (1908)
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Gunner
Raymond Henry Bayliss*
Coventry, England
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Gunner
George Kitchener Cockram
Fremantle, Australia**
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The men denoted * can be found at the Commonwealth War Graves Comm. website by entering each name in the relevant search field and using WW II and 1943 in the other fields to narrow the search. Ordinary Seaman Whittle is listed as Mess Boy at the Australian War Memorial, Commemorative Roll Database. By using his last name as keyword he will appear in the search result. He's also commemorated at Tower Hill Memorial, Panel 49 - son of Clifford and Mary Margaret Whittle, of Woodville North, South Australia.
**According to this Guestbook message, George K. Cockram was from Perth, Australia - he's commemorated at Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon.
Michel's next and last victim was M/T India.
Related external links:
Stavern Memorial's list - 17 Norwegians are commemorated at this memorial. The list agrees on the whole with mine above.
The Australian War Memorial has a picture of M/T Ferncastle. The caption is: "Fremantle, WA. Aerial port side view of the Norwegian tanker Ferncastle, which was sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser Michel 1800 miles west/northwest of Pertch on 1943-06-17. An RAN (Royal Australian Navy) DEMS rating was lost in the action. Note the 4 inch gun mounted aft".
The text for Ferncastle was compiled with the help of information found in "Skip og men", Birger Dannevig, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Handelsflåten i Krig" (The Merchant Fleet at War), Book 4, Guri Hjeltnes, "Krigsseileren, Issue 4/1987, "German Raiders of World War II", August Karl Muggenthaler, "Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam - including sailing ships and ships of war lost in Action 1824-1962" by Charles Hocking, "Kaptein Toralf Andersen og hans menn" by Oddm. Ljone, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I (all listed in My sources).
Manager: The Texas Company (Norway) A/S, Oslo
Tonnage: 9977 gt, 14 250 tdwt
Call Sign: LKCX.
(Click on India above for information on her previous voyages).
Captain: Anton Holm Paulsen.
After having sunk Høegh Silverdawn and Ferncastle, and with the 19 prisoners from those ships on board, Gumprich headed south of Australia, across the Pacific to the coast of South America, cruising around in that area without spotting any potential allied victims. At the beginning of Sept.-1943 he decided to give up and head for Japan but en route a large tanker appeared on Sept. 10, west of Easter Island, approx. position 12 00S 11 400W.
M/T India had departed Talara, Peru with a cargo of oil for Sydney N.S.W. on Sept. 3-1943 with a complement of 28 Norwegians and 13 of other nationalities, and was never heard from again. Since there were no survivors (and Michel's own log was later lost) not much is known about this incident, except what Michel's survivors remembered later on. Michel shadowed India all day Sept. 10 without being seen, but was still out of range by midnight, and therefore, the motor torpedo boat was launched, in case the tanker should become aware of her follower and try to get away at high speed. Not long afterwards (Sept. 11 by then) Michel was close enough to fire the first shells. In seconds she was engulfed in flames, and because of the intensity of the fire, Michel quickly withdrew, presumably from fear the fire would attract allied warships. German reports claim that the torpedo boat (Esau) approached at full speed, to see if there were any survivors that could be rescued. It had been able to identify the tanker, but it was impossible to get close enough for a rescue operation, due to the spreading flames. This claim does not appear to have been believed by the Allies. Instead, they believed that Gumprich had quickly ordered the torpedo boat back on board at 01:00 hrs on Sept. 11, then proceeded at full speed away from the tanker. The times given show that only half an hour had passed between the shelling and the retreat, not enough time for the torpedo boat to have searched the area around India for surviviors. It appears (accordng to allied sources) that the boat had only been interested in establishing the identity of the ship. No-one knew until a long time after the war what had happened to India and her 41 men.
Birger Dannevig questions the fact that the American light cruiser Trenton, which he says had observed Michel on Aug. 29, let the raider pass without investigating further, taking it for granted they had encountered a regular merchant ship. Incidentally, Michel's lookouts had identified this vessel as a heavy cruiser of the Pensacola class. Trenton's own log, signed by Capt. S. C. Norton, says she was patrolling that day between 22 05S 72 46W and 20 16S 74 56W on a base course of 132°. She had had a radar contact the previous day but only for about 15 minutes. With her twelve 6" guns, six torpedo tubes and speed of 35 knots it would appear Michel was very lucky indeed to not have been recognized for what she really was that day. On the other hand, India's crew might have been saved had Trenton known.
Crew List - No Survivors:
Hans Gundersen had previously served on Spero, Tai Ping Yang and Gylfe.
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Casualties:
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Captain
Anton Holm Paulsen
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1st Mate
Frits Bjerkan
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2nd Mate
Sigurd Tønnesen
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2nd? Mate
Ingolf Thorbjørnsen
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3rd Mate
Knut Enge
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Carpenter
Hans Gundersen
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Boatswain
Arnold Samuelsen
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Able Seaman
Thomas Alexandersen
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Able Seaman
Edvin Brandal
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Able Seaman
James Brannigan*
(British)
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Able Seaman
Hans Kjærsdalen
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Able Seaman
Kristian Kristensen
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Able Seaman
Ole Johan Petersen
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Able Seaman
Hjalmar Sande
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Ordinary Seaman
Martin Weisene
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Deck Boy
Roger Bruce Fennell*
(S. African)
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Deck Boy
William Gale*
(S. African)
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Deck Boy
Louis George Van Rooyen*
(S. African)
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1st. Engineer
Rolf Bøhn
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2nd Engineer
Johnny A. G. Hansen
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3rd Engineer
Per Aksel Carlsen
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Assistant
Nils Rødland
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Assistant
Karl Fossbakk
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Electrician
Thomas Gregory*
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Mechanic
Sverre Selboe
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Mechanic
Odd Johan Stalheim
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Mechanic
Gunnar J. Andersen
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Mechanic
Odvar Sjuls-Olsen
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Mechanic
Kristian Tangen
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Mechanic
Kaare Liberg
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Pump Man
Karl Gunnar Bentsen
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Oiler
Ronald Sommerville*
(Australian)
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Engine Boy
Young Kok Erg
(Chinese)
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Steward
Arne I. Hansen
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Cook
Olav Løsnes
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Saloon Boy
Lee Ah Hee
(Chinese)
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Helper
Kung Juan Lun
(Chinese)
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Helper
Hung Pin Kiao
(Chinese)
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Gunner
William Allan
(British)
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Gunner
John Graham*
(British)
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Gunner
Thomas Harknett*
(British)
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* Billy McGee in England has told me that some of India's men are commemorated at Tower Hill, Panel 58. Further details on them can be found by entering each name in the relevant search field on the The Commonwealth War Graves website, using WW II and 1943 in the other fields to narrow the search. Able Seaman Brannigan was 19 years old, Deck Boy Fennell was from Natal, South Africa (age 18), Deck Boy Gale was also from Natal (age 20), as was Deck Boy Van Rooyen (age 21), while Electrician Gregory was from Clifton, Bristol (age 47). Thomas Harknett is also listed - see this page for more details. Date of death is given as Sept. 3 (the date India left Peru). He's commemorated at Chatham Naval Memorial (there's also a William Patrick Allan and a John Graham listed for the same date, but they may not be the same men). Additionally, I found Ronald Sommerville - follow link for info. He can also be found at this site, Commemorative Roll Database (Australian War Memorial, Canberra). By using his last name as keyword the Australian Greaser will appear in the search results, spelt with one m in this case. He's commemorated at Port Moresby Memorial, Papua New Guinea, Panel 10.
* Here is a this Guestbook message from the grandson of John Graham.
Related external link:
Stavern Memorial commemorations - The 28 Norwegians are commemorated at this memorial in Stavern, Norway.
Back to M/T India on I-list
The text for India was compiled with the help of information found in "Skip og men", Birger Dannevig, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "German Raiders of World War II", August Karl Muggenthaler and "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I.
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