D/S Ada
Updated Nov. 17-2012

To Ada on the "Ships starting with A" page.


Picture received from Per Myklestu.

When named Bessa post war. (From Bjørn Milde's postcard collection).
Another picture is available on this external page (click in it to enlarge).

Voyage Record From July-1940 to Aug.-1945:

Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database.
A. Hague's information has been supplemented with a list of voyages received from Tony Cooper, England, some of which were not included in A. Hague's record.

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each (it'll be noticed that some of the external convoy listings are incomplete). Where the "Convoy" column is left blank, it means that convoy is not known.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	July 6	Baltimore	Guaira	July 16	Independent	Earlier voyages, Page 1
	July 16	Guaira	Puerto Cabello	July 18	Independent	–
	July 19	Puerto Cabello	Maracaibo	July 21	Independent	–
	July 23	Maracaibo	Trinidad	Aug. 4	Independent	–
	Aug. 6	Trinidad	Mobile	Aug. 15	Independent	–
	Aug. 18	Mobile	Nuevitas	Aug. 24	Independent	Via Sagua la Grande (Page 1)
	Aug. 28	Nuevitas	Philadelphia	Sept. 4	Independent	–
	Sept. 22	Philadelphia	New York City	Sept. 22	Independent	–
	Sept. 28	New York City	Hampton Roads	Sept. 29	Independent	–
	Oct. 1	Hampton Roads	Bahia	Oct. 25	Independent	–
	Oct. 27	Bahia	Rio	Oct. 31	Independent	–
	Nov. 2	Rio	Capetown	Nov. 20	Independent	–
	Nov. 21	Capetown	Durban	Nov. 29	Independent	–
	Dec. 10	Durban	Aden	Jan. 3-1941	Independent	–
1941	Jan. 17	Aden	Suez	Jan. 24	BN 13	Convoy available at BN 13 (external link)
	Febr. 24	Suez	–	–	BS 17	Dispersed March 3 Convoy available at BS 17 (external link)
	March 4(?)	Detached from BS 17	Basra	March 14	Independent	–
	March 20	Basra	Durban	Apr. 18	Independent	Sailing date approximate
	Apr. 19	Durban	Capetown	Apr. 23	Independent	–
	May 1	Capetown	Pernambuco	May 17	Independent	–
	May 18	Pernambuco	Hampton Roads	June 4	Independent	–
	June 6	Hampton Roads	New York City	June 8	Independent	–
	Aug. 6	New York City	Parrsboro	Aug. 9	Independent	–
	Aug. 25	Parrsboro	Halifax	Aug. 27	Independent	–
	Sept. 7	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	Sept. 9	Independent	–
	Sept. 11	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	Sept. 27	SC 44	Convoy will be added See ships in SC convoys
	Sept. 28	Loch Ewe	Methil	Sept. 30	WN 186	Convoy available at WN 186 (external link)
	Oct. 1	Methil	Southend	Oct. 3	FS 609	Convoy available at FS 609 (external link) See also Page 2
	Oct. 14	Southend	Tyne	Oct. 15	FN 532	Convoy available at FN 532 (external link)
	Nov. 21	Tyne	Methil Roads	Nov. 22	FN 557	Convoy available at FN 557 (external link)
	Nov. 22	Methil Roads	–	–	EN 10	Did not sail, or returned to port(?) Convoy available at EN 10 (external link)
	Nov. 26	Methil	Loch Ewe	Nov. 28	EN 12	Convoy available at EN 12 (external link)
	Nov. 29	Loch Ewe	–	–	ON 41	For Halifax. Dispersed in 47 44N 45 16W, Dec. 11 Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Dec. 11	Dispersed from ON 141	Halifax	Dec. 20	Independent	A. Hague says: Engine repairs on arrival to Apr. 27-1942
1942	Apr. 30	Halifax	Belfast	May 15	SC 82	–
	May 16	Belfast Lough	Holyhead	May 17	BB 174	Convoy available at BB 174 (external link)
	May 19	Holyhead	Milford Haven	May 20	BB 176	Convoy available at BB 176 (external link), but Ada is not included
	May 22	Milford Haven	Southampton	May 24	WP 160	Convoy available at WP 160 (external link)
	May 29	Southampton	Barry Island	May 30	PW 163	Convoy available at PW 163 (external link)
	May 30	Barry Island	Newport	May 31	–	–
	June 2	Newport	Barry	June 2	–	–
	June 5	Barry	Milford Haven	June 6	–	Again, see also Page 2
	June 8	Milford Haven	Halifax	June 25	ON 102	For Chatham, N.B. Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	June 26	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	June 28	HS 17	Convoy available at HS 17 (external link)
	July 3	Sydney, C.B.	Chatham, N.B.	July 5	Independent	–
	July 14	Chatham	Sydney, C.B.	July 16	Independent	–
	July 17	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	July 30	SC 92	–
	July 31	Loch Ewe	Methil	Aug. 2	WN 316	Convoy available at WN 316 (external link) See also Page 2
	Aug. 3	Methil	Spurn Head	Aug. 4	FS 872	Convoy available at FS 872 (external link) Arrived Hull, Aug. 4 (Page 2)
	Aug. 10	Spurn Head*	Methil	Aug. 12	FN 783	*From Hull (Page 3). Convoy available at FN 783 (external link)
The above entries are from Arnold Hague's database. Tony Cooper's records show the following for this time period (green rows) - again, compare w/Page 2 and Page 3.
	–	–	Methil Roads	Aug. 2	–	–
	Aug. 2	Methil Roads	Spurn Head	Aug. 3	–	–
	Aug. 3	Spurn Head	Hull	Aug. 4	–	–
	Aug. 10	Hull	Spurn Head	Aug. 11	–	–
	Aug. 11	Spurn Head	Methil Roads	Aug. 12	–	–
	Aug. 17	Methil	Loch Ewe	Aug. 19	EN 125	Convoy available at EN 125 (external link)
	Aug. 22	Loch Ewe	Halifax	Sept. 5	ON 124	For Sydney, C.B.
	Sept. 11	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.*	Sept. 13	HS 50	Convoy available at HS 50 (external link) *Arrived Pugwash, Sept. 14 (Page 3)
	Sept. 25	Pugwash	Sydney, C.B.	Sept. 27	Independent	–
	Sept. 30	Sydney, C.B.	Oban	Oct. 14	SC 103	Convoy will be added See ships in SC convoys
	Oct. 14	Loch Ewe*	Methil	Oct. 17	WN 349	*From Oban. Convoy available at WN 349 (external link)
	Oct. 18	Methil	Southend	Oct 20	FS 937	Convoy available at FS 937 (external link) Again, see also Page 3
	Nov. 3	Southend	Methil	Nov. 6	FN 856	Convoy available at FN 856 (external link)
	Nov. 6	Methil	Loch Ewe	Nov. 8	EN 159	Convoy available at EN 159 (external link)
	Nov. 15	Loch Ewe	Halifax	Dec. 5	ON 146	For New York City Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Dec. 9	Halifax	New York City	Dec. 13	ON 148	Convoy will be added See link above
1943	Jan. 19	New York City	Gitmo	Jan. 26	NG 338	Convoy available at NG 338 (external link)
	Jan. 26	Gitmo	Trinidad	Febr. 1	GAT 40	Convoy available at GAT 40 (external link) Missing voyages: Page 3 & Page 4*
	*Unfortunately, arrival dates are missing from the scan for Page 4.
	Sept. 26	Trinidad	Gitmo	Oct. 1	TAG 87	Convoy available at TAG 87 (external link)
	Oct. 2	Gitmo	Key West	Oct. 5	GK 761	Convoy available at GK 761 (external link)
?	–	Key West	Mobile	–	–	–
	Nov. 3	Mobile	Key West	Nov. 6	HK 151	SW passage to Key West Convoy available at HK 151 (external link)
	Nov. 6	Key West	Gitmo	Nov. 9	Not listed, but possibly KG 668?	Convoy available at KG 668 (external link)
	Nov. 11	Gitmo	Trinidad	Nov. 16	GAT 98	Convoy available at GAT 98 (external link)
	Nov. 18	Trinidad	Paramaribo	Nov. 21	–	–
	Nov. 23	Paramaribo	Trinidad	Nov. 26	–	–
	Nov. 28	Trinidad	Paramaribo	Dec. 1	–	–
	Dec. 4	Paramaribo	Trinidad	Dec. 6	–	–
	Dec. 7	Trinidad	Demerara	Dec. 9	–	–
	Dec. 13	Demerara	Trinidad	Dec. 15	–	–
	Dec. 16	Trinidad	Demerara	Dec. 18	–	–
	Dec. 22	Demerara	Trinidad	Dec. 23	–	–
	Dec. 25	Trinidad	Demerara	Dec. 27	–	–
	Dec. 29	Demerara	Trinidad	Dec. 31	–	–
1944	Jan. 3	Trinidad	Demerara	Jan. 5	–	–
	Jan. 7	Demerara	Trinidad	Jan. 8	–	–
	Jan. 11	Trinidad	Demerara	Jan.13	–	–
	Jan. 16	Demerara	Trinidad	Jan. 18	–	–
	Jan. 20	Trinidad	Demerara	Jan. 22	–	–
	Jan. 24	Demerara	Trinidad	Jan. 25	–	–
	Jan. 29	Trinidad	Demerara	Jan. 30	–	–
	Febr. 2	Demerara	Trinidad	Febr. 3	–	–
	Febr. 5	Trinidad	Demerara	Febr. 7	–	–
	Febr. 11	Demerara	Trinidad	Febr. 13	–	–
*All of the above 1944 entries and some of the 1943 voyages (from Nov. 18-1943 and onwards) are from Tony Cooper's additions. These are missing from Arnold Hague's Voyage Record. A. Hague now has the following, but this entry appears to be an error, compare w/Page 5 - I'll leave it in for now:
	*Febr. 13	Key West	Gitmo	Febr. 17	KG 688	Convoy available at KG 688 (external link)
The next 8 entries are also missing from A. Hague's Voyage Record (in fact, none of the Demerara voyages are included in his listing).
	Febr. 16	Trinidad	Demerara	Febr. 18	–	–
	Febr. 20	Demerara	Trinidad	Febr. 22	–	–
	Febr. 23	Trinidad	Demerara	Febr. 24	–	–
	Febr. 26	Demerara	Trinidad	Febr. 28	–	–
	Febr. 29	Trinidad	Demerara	March 2	–	–
	March 4	Demerara	Trinidad	March 5	–	–
	March 8	Trinidad	Paramaribo	March 11	–	–
	March 14	Paramaribo	Trinidad	March 16	–	–
	March 19	Trinidad	Gitmo	March 24	TAG 122	Convoy available at TAG 122 (external link)
	March 25	Gitmo	Key West	March 28	GK 796	Convoy available at GK 796 (external link)
	March 28	Key West	Galveston Bar	Apr. 1	KH 507	Key West to Pilottown for Mobile Arrived Mobile March 31 Convoy available at KH 507 (external link) Compare w/Page 5
	–	Mobile	Pilottown	–	–	–
	May 1	Pilottown	Key West	May 4	HK 223	Pilottown to Key West Convoy available at HK 223 (external link)
	May 4	Key West	Gitmo	May 7	KG 704	Convoy available at KG 704 (external link)
	May 7	Gitmo	Trinidad	May 13	GAT 134	Convoy available at GAT 134 (external link)
	Again, the following voyages to and from Demerara are not included in A. Hague's record.
	May 19	Trinidad	Demerara	May 20/21	–	–
	May 22	Demerara	Trinidad	May 24	–	–
	May 27	Trinidad	Demerara	May 29	–	–
	May 30	Demerara	Trinidad	May 31	–	–
	June 3	Trinidad	Demerara	June 5	–	–
	June 6	Demerara	Trinidad	June 8	–	–
	June 11	Trinidad	Demerara	June 13	–	–
	June 15	Demerara	Trinidad	June 16	–	–
	June 18	Trinidad	Demerara	June 20	–	–
	June 22	Demerara	Trinidad	June 23	–	–
	June 25	Trinidad	Demerara	June 27	–	–
	June 28	Demerara	Trinidad	June 29	–	–
	June 30	Trinidad	Demerara	July 2	–	–
	July 4	Demerara	Trinidad	July 5	–	–
	July 8	Trinidad	Demerara	July 9	–	–
	July 11	Demerara	Trinidad	July 12	–	–
	July 15	Trinidad	Demerara	July 17	–	–
	July 19	Demerara	Trinidad	July 20	–	–
	July 22	Trinidad	Demerara	July 24	–	–
	July 25	Demerara	Trinidad	July 27	–	–
	July 28	Trinidad	Demerara	July 30	–	–
	Aug. 1	Demerara	Trinidad	Aug. 2	–	–
	Aug. 5	Trinidad	Demerara	Aug. 7	–	–
	Aug. 8	Demerara	Trinidad	Aug. 10	–	–
	Aug. 12	Trinidad	Demerara	Aug. 14	–	–
	Aug. 16	Demerara	Trinidad	Aug. 17	–	–
	Aug. 21	Trinidad	Gitmo	Aug. 26	TAG 153	Convoy available at TAG 153 (external link)
	Aug. 26	Gitmo	Key West	Aug. 29	Not listed, but possibly GK 827?	Convoy available at GK 827 (external link) This voyage not included by A. Hague (but see Page 6)
	Aug. 29	Key West	Mobile	Aug. 31	KH 569	Key West to Pilottown for Mobile Convoy available at KH 569 (external link)
	Sept. 22	Mobile	Caibarien	Sept. 26	–	–
	Sept. 28	Caibarien	Key West	Sept. 30	–	–
The last 2 voyages above are not included by A. Hague, but he now has:
	Sept. 30	Key West	New York City	Oct. 5	KN 341	Convoy available at KN 341 (external link)
while Tony's records have (compare w/Page 6):
	Sept. 30	Key West	Delaware Capes	Oct. 5	–	–
	Oct. ?	Delaware Capes	Philadelphia	Oct. ?	–	–
	Oct. 13	Philadelphia	New York	Oct. 13	–	–
	Oct. 18	New York	Niquero	Oct. ?	–	–
	Oct. ?	Niquero	Jucaro	Oct. ?	–	–
	Nov. 1	Jucaro	Delaware Capes	Nov. 9	–	–
	Nov. ?	Delaware Capes	Philadelphia	Nov. ?	–	–
	Nov. 19	Philadelphia	New York	Nov. 19	–	–
	Nov. 26	New York	Havana	Dec. 2	–	–
	Dec. 6	Havana	Puerto Tarafa	Dec. 8	–	–
	Dec. 10	Puerto Tarafa	Key West	Dec. 12	–	–
	Dec. 14	Key West	Philadelphia*	Dec. 19	KN 356	*A. Hague says New York (but see Page 6). Convoy available at KN 356 (external link)
	Dec. 24	Philadelphia	Hampton Roads	Dec. 24	–	–
	Dec. 27	Hampton Roads	Havana	Jan. 2-1945	–	–
1945	Jan. 3	Havana	Puerto Tarafa	Jan. 5	–	–
	Jan. 10	Puerto Tarafa	Key West	Jan. 12	–	–
The above 4 voyages not mentioned by A. Hague, who now has:
	Jan. 13	Key West	New York City	Jan. 19	KN 362	Convoy available at KN 362 (external link)
while Tony's records have:
	Jan. 13	Key West	Boston	Jan. 20	–	Agrees w/Page 7
	Jan. ?	Boston	New York City	Jan. 28	–	Left Boston Jan. 26 (Page 7)
	Febr. 5	New York City	Gitmo	Febr. 12	NG 488	Convoy available at NG 488 (external link)
	Febr. 13	Gitmo	Cristobal	Febr. 17	GZ 121	Convoy available at GZ 121 (external link)
	Febr. 22	Cristobal	Gitmo	Febr. 27	ZG 123	Convoy available at ZG 123 (external link)
	Febr. 27	Gitmo	New York City	March 6	GN 190	Convoy available at GN 190 (external link)
	March 17	New York City	Gitmo	March 24	NG 496	Convoy available at NG 496 (external link)
	March 25	Gitmo	Cristobal	March 29	GZ 129	Convoy available at GZ 129 (external link)
	?	Cristobal	Gitmo	Apr. 7	–	Left Cristobal Apr. 3 (Page 7)
	Apr. 11	Gitmo	Tybee Roads	Apr. 15	–	–
	Apr. 23	Tybee Roads	Pastelillo	Apr. 26	–	–
	Apr. 30	Pastelillo	New Orleans	May 5	–	–
	May 17	New Orleans	Cartagena, Col.	May 24	–	–
	May 28	Cartagena	Barranquilla	May 28	–	–
	June 4	Barranquilla	Cristobal	June 5	–	–
	June 8	Cristobal	New Orleans	June 14	–	–
	July 4	New Orleans	Barranquilla	July 14	–	Via Cartagena (Page 7)
*	July 14	Barranquilla	Cartagena	July 14	–	–
*	July 14	Cartagena	New Orleans	Aug. 2	–	–
*The stop at Cartagena is not mentioned for this voyage on Page 7. The document also shows some subsequent voyages.

I've extracted A. Hague's record and placed it on separate page; see A. Hague's Voyage Record

Some Convoy Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the convoy links provided for further details; several Norwegian ships took part.

A French visitor to my website has told me that Ada was stopped for examination in the Caribbean by French auxiliary patrol boat Gouverneur Mouttet on Apr. 15-1940 (shortly after the German invasion of Norway, Apr. 9). Ordered to Fort-de-France (French West Indies). Released Apr. 23 provided complying with orders from London-based operating office. See also Page 1 - her 1941 voyages also start on this document and it'll be noticed that she spent quite a long time at Suez at the beginning of that year. Page 2 has the rest of her 1941 voyages, and as can be seen she had a 2 months long stay in New York that summer/fall.

The eastbound North Atlantic Convoy SC 44*, in which Ada is listed with a cargo of lumber, station 64, left Sydney, C.B. on Sept. 11-1941 and arrived Liverpool on the 30th; Ada stopped at Loch Ewe on the 27th. The following Norwegian ships are also listed in this convoy: Barbro (sunk - follow link for details), Bollsta, Borgfred, Carrier, Cetus, Gudvin, Hjalmar Wessel, Iron Baron, Lago, Marita, Rolf Jarl, Sirehei, Sneland I, South Africa and Spero. Going back to Page 2, we see that Ada later spent a long time at Tyne (or Shields), before returning across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 41*, which originated in Liverpool on Nov. 27 and dispersed on Dec. 11, Ada arriving Halifax on Dec. 20 (she had started out from Loch Ewe on Nov. 29). Ruth I was the only other Norwegian ship in this convoy - Rose is named among the escorts (see ON convoy escorts).

A. Hague says that Ada had required engine repairs on arrival Halifax, and she did not leave again until Apr. 30-1942, when we find her in Convoy SC 82, cargo of steel and pulp for Southampton, where she arrived, via various other ports, on May 24. In June that year, she's listed as bound for Chatham, N.B. in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 102*, originating in Liverpool on June 9. Other Norwegian ships were Bernhard, Boreas, Grey County, Inger Elisabeth, Ingerfire, Norse King, Para, Rena, Rio Branco, Solitaire, Trolla and Vest. Ada arrived Chatham, via Halifax and Sydney, C.B., on July 5, having started out from Milford Haven on June 8. Some of these ships, including Ada, headed back to the U.K. on July 17 in Convoy SC 92 from Sydney, C.B. Ada had a cargo of steel and lumber for Hull, arriving there on Aug. 4 (Page 2).

She returned across the Atlantic later that month with Convoy ON 124. Ada joined from Loch Ewe and via Halifax, she arrived Pugwash on Sept. 14, later proceeding to Sydney, C.B. in order to join Convoy SC 103* from there. This convoy had originated in New York on Sept. 26 (arrived Liverpool on Oct. 14); Ada, carrying a cargo of steel and lumber, sailed from Sydney C.B. on Sept. 30 and arrived Oban Oct. 14 - her voyages in this period are shown on Page 3. She had again been in the company of the Norwegian Boreas, Ingerfire, Rio Branco, Rolf Jarl and Solitaire, as well as Carmelfjell, Jan, Norfalk, Pan Aruba, Solhavn, Solstad and Vinland.

A month later, we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 146*, departing Liverpool on Nov. 15 (Ada again joined from Loch Ewe), arriving New York, Ada's destination on that occasion, on Dec. 8. However, she had stopped at Halifax on Dec. 5, joining Convoy ON 148* from there a few days later in order to complete her voyage to New York. This convoy had originated in Liverpool on Nov. 23 and arrived New York on Dec. 13. Both had other Norwegian ships as well, namely Arosa, Boreas, Ingertre and Lido in ON 146, and Don, Far, Herma, Inger Lise, Ramø (returned) and Solsten in ON 148. Ada subsequnetly remained in New York for several weeks.

Her 1943 voyages start on Page 3 and continue on Page 4 and Page 5; the latter document also shows some of her 1944 voyages, while the rest are listed on Page 6 (as can be seen, she appears to have spent 3 weeks in Mobile that fall). Convoy information for a few of them can be found in the Voyage Record above.

From Page 7, we lern that she got to go home to Norway in Sept.-1945.

* The ON convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, with more information on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. The SC series will also be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated) - for now, please see ships in all SC convoys.

More information on the other Norwegian ships named here can be found with the help of the alphabet index at the end of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Renamed Bessa in 1946. Sold in Jan.-1961 to Kronos Shipping and sailed under Greek flag as Naftilos of Piræus. Drifted ashore on Apr. 17-1968 during bad weather near Jeddah while laid up. Refloated on Apr. 12-1971, broken up. See also this external page.

Back to Ada on the "Ships starting with A" page.

Other ships by this name: There was also an Italian and a Panamanian ship by the name Ada. The Panamanian one became the Norwegian Songa in 1940. Another Norwegian Ada can be found at the website of the Historical Index of the Great Lakes - Type "Ada" in the field for 'vessel', then on the page that comes up, click in the little box with the item number. The next page has technical details on Ada and a picture thumbnail - clicking on the thumbnail will bring up a larger picture. This ship was built in 1917 and belonged to Berg Hansen, Oslo. The page also names her later owners and names, namely Lake Oneida, Astmahco IV, Glendaruel, Willa Crosby, Admiral Moser. When lost in 1936 she was named Sinaloa and belonged to Mexico. Also, Norway had a much smaller ship named Ada in 1958 (300 gt). Later names: Ava and Snefjell.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Våre gamle skip" by Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn and misc. as noted in above text.