D/S Bjerka - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Voyage Record
From Febr.-1940 to May-1945:

(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database).

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

Errors may exist, and voyages are missing.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	Febr. 16	Southend	Methil	Febr. 18	FN 96	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 23	Methil	Norwegian Waters	Febr. 27	ON 15	–
	Apr. 4	Norwegian Waters	Methil	Apr. 7	HN 24	–
	Apr. 10	Methil	Tyne	Apr. 10	MT 48	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Apr. 14	Tyne	Downs	Apr. 16	FS 146	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Apr. 16	Downs	Rouen	Apr. 17	Independent	–
	May 7	Rouen	Downs	May 8	Independent	–
	May 9	Downs	Tyne	May 11	FN 167	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link) Left Tyne May 16 (Page 1)
	May 16	Methil Roads	Downs	May 18	FS 172	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	May 18	Southend	–	–	OA 150	A. Hague says: For Sydney, C.B. With OB 150, formed OG 30, May 19. Convoy available at OA 150 (external link)
	May 20	OG 30 formed at sea	–	–	OG 30	For Sydney, C.B. Detached May 22. Convoy will be added. See ships in OG convoys
	May 22	Detached from OG 30	Sydney, C.B.	–	Independent	See also Page 1
	June 19	Caraquet	Halifax	–	Independent	A. Hague says: Sydney C.B/Caraquet passage, no data (Page 1 does not mention stop at Sydney - gives arrival Halifax June 22).
	June 25	Halifax	Preston	July 11	HX 53	–
	Sept. 21	Preston	Clyde	Sept. 23	Independent	–
	Sept. 27	Clyde	–	–	OB 220	Dispersed Oct. 1. Convoy available at OB 220 (external link)
	Oct. 1	Dispersed from OB 220	Reykjavik	Oct. 4	Independent	–
	Oct. 17	Reykjavik	Sydney, C.B.	Oct. 27	Independent	–
	Oct. 31	Sydney, C.B.	Chatham, N.B.	Nov. 1	Independent	–
	Nov. 9	Newcastle N.B.	Sydney, C.B.	Nov. 11	Independent	Chatham to Newcastle passage, no data
	Nov. 22	Sydney, C.B.	Clyde	Dec. 7	SC 13	See also narrative below
	Dec. 20	Clyde	Methil	Dec. 24	WN 57	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 25	Methil	Tyne	Dec. 26	FS 370	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
1941	Jan. 24	Tyne	Blyth	Jan. 24	–	–
*	Jan. 31	Methil	–	–	EN 65 (1)	*Did not sail. Convoy arrived Oban Febr. 4. Available at EN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 13	Blyth	Tyne	Febr. 13	Independent	–
	Febr. 27	Tyne	Methil	Febr. 28	FN 418	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
*	March 3	Methil	–	–	EN 80 (1)	Detached March 4. Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
*	March 4	Methil	–	–	EN 81 (1)	For Iceland. Convoy available at link above
	* Convoy EN 80 left Methil on March 3 and arrived Oban on the 6th. EN 81 departed Methil on March 4 and arrived Oban March 9. She's listed in both (but the March 4 entry seems off - see next entry). Departure date Methil is hard to decipher on Page 1 (looks like March 6).
	March 5(?)	Detached from EN 80	Reykjavik	March 11	Independent	–
	March 16	Reykjavik	Halifax	March 29	Independent	–
	Apr. 19	Halifax	Loch Ewe	May 8	SC 29	–
	May 10	Loch Ewe	Methil	May 12	WN 125	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	May 13	Methil	Tyne	May 13	FS 488	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
*	May 25	Tyne	Loch Ewe	May 28	EC 24	Convoy available at EC convoys (external link)
*	May 27	Methil	Oban	May 31	EC 25	Convoy available at link above
	* According to Page 1, she left Shields on May 25 and arrived Oban on the 31st, leaving again on June 1 for Montreal. EC 24 left Southend on May 24 and arrived Clyde on the 29th; EC 25 departed Southend on May 26 and arrived Clyde on the 31st (she's listed in both).
	May 31	Oban	–	–	OB 329	For Father Point. A. Hague says: Sailed Loch Ewe for Oban May 31 (again, compare w/Page 1). Convoy dispersed in 51 48N 20 48W, June 5. Available at OB 329 (external link)
	June 5	Dispersed from OB 329	Montreal	June 18	Independent	–
	June 26	Montreal	Sydney, C.B.	June 30	Independent	–
	July 1	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	July 17	SC 36	Convoy will be added See ships in SC convoys
	July 18	Loch Ewe	Methil	July 20	WN 154	Arrived Leith (see Page 1 & Page 2). Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	July 28	Methil Roads	Loch Ewe	July 30	EC 51	Convoy available at EC convoys (external link)
	Aug. 8	Loch Ewe	–	–	ON 4	For Sydney C.B. Dispersed in 52 40N 47 26W, Aug. 18.
	Aug. 18	Dispersed from ON 4	Sydney, C.B.	Aug. 23	Independent	–
	Aug. 23	Sydney, C.B.	Halifax	Aug. 24	Independent	–
	Sept. 13	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	Sept. 15	Independent	–
	Sept. 18	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	Oct. 4	SC 45	Convoy will be added See ships in SC convoys
	Oct. 4	Loch Ewe	Methil	Oct. 6	WN 188	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 9	Methil	Southend	Oct. 11	FS 615	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 2
	Oct. 31	Southend	Middlesbrough	Nov. 2	FN 539A	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 9	Middlesbrough	Tyne	Nov. 9	FN 547	Convoy available at link above
	Dec. 22	Tyne	Southend	Dec. 24	FS 680	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Again, see also Page 2
1942	Jan. 2	Southend	Hartlepool	Jan. 3	FN 594A	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Jan. 12	Hartlepool	Southend	Jan. 14	FS 698	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 2
	Jan. 22	Southend	Methil	Jan. 24	FN 612	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Jan. 31	Methil	Southend	Febr. 2	FS 714	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 2
	Febr. 7	Southend	Blyth	Febr. 9	FN 625	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 14	Blyth	Southend*	Febr. 16	FS 726	*Arrived Rochester, Febr. 16, left Febr. 19 (Page 2). Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Febr. 21	Southend	Blyth	Febr. 23	FN 637	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 7	Blyth	Southend	March 9	FS 744	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 2 & Page 3
	March 12	Southend	Hartlepool	March 14	FN 654	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 20	Hartlepool	Middlesbrough	March 22	FS 755	A. Hague says: Put Back. Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	March 23	Middlesbrough	Southend*	March 25	FS 758	*Arrived Rochester, March 25, left March 27 (Page 3). Convoy available at link above
	March 28	Southend	Sunderland	March 30	FN 667	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Apr. 3	Sunderland	Southend	Apr. 5	FS 767	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See aso Page 3
	Apr. 9	Southend	Blyth	Apr. 11	FN 678	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Apr. 18	Blyth	Southend*	Apr. 20	FS 780	*Again, compare w/Page 3. Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Apr. 25	Southend	Hartlepool	Apr. 27	FN 691	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 13	Hartlepool	Southend*	May 15	FS 801	*Compare w/Page 3. Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	May 21	Southend	Tyne	May 22	FN 714	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	June 5	Tyne	Southend	June 7	FS 821	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 3
	June 11	Southend	Blyth	June 12	FN 732	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	June 22	Blyth	Southend	June 24	FS 836	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 3
	June 27	Southend	Sunderland	June 29	FN 745	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 3	Sunderland	Southend*	July 5	FS 845	Arrived Rochester, left July 8 (Page 3*). Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	July 9	Southend	Tyne	July 10	FN 756	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 15	Tyne	Blyth	July 15	Independent	–
	July 20	Blyth	Southend	July 22	FS 860	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 3
	July 27	Southend	Sunderland	July 29	FN 771	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Aug. 1	Sunderland	Southend	Aug. 3	FS 870	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 3
	Aug. 6	Southend	Tyne	Aug. 7	FN 780	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Aug. 23	Tyne	Blyth	Aug. 23	–	–
	Aug. 28	Blyth	Southend	Aug. 30	FS 893	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 4
	Sept. 5	Southend	Tyne	Sept. 7	FN 805	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 28	Tyne	Southend	Sept. 30	FS 920	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Aslo, Page 4
	Oct. 6	Southend	Blyth	Oct. 8	FN 832	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 9	Methil*	Southend	Oct. 11	FS 929	From Blyth. Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 4*
	Oct. 19	Southend	Blyth	Oct. 21	FN 843	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 24	Blyth	Southend	Oct. 26	FS 942	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 4
	Oct. 31	Southend	Hull	Nov. 2	FN 853	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link) Left Hull Nov. 5 (Page 4)
	Nov. 6	Humber	Southend	Nov. 8	FS 953	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 4
	Nov. 17	Southend	Blyth	Nov. 19	FN 868	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 21	Blyth	Rochester	Nov. 23	FS 966	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Left Rochester Nov. 27 (Page 4)
	Nov. 28	Southend	Tyne	Nov. 30	FN 877	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 5	Tyne	Southend	Dec. 7	FS 978	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 4
	Dec. 14	Southend	Sunderland	Dec. 15	FN 891	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 19	Sunderland	Southend	Dec. 21	FS 990	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 4
	Dec. 26	Southend	Tyne	Dec. 28	FN 901	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
1943	Febr. 26	Tyne	Southend	Febr. 28	FS 1049	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 4
	March 4	Southend	Hull	March 5	FN 960	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 8	Hull	Southend	March 10	FS 1058	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 5
	March 13	Southend	Tyne	March 14	FN 967	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 19	Tyne	Southend	March 21	FS 1067	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 5
	March 25	Southend	Tyne	March 27	FN 978	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Apr. 3	Tyne	Southend	Apr. 5	FS 1080	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 5
	Apr. 8	Southend	Hull	Apr. 9	FN 990	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Apr. 12	Hull	Southend	Apr. 14	FS 1088	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 5
	Apr. 19	Southend	Tyne	Apr. 21	FN 999	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Apr. 24	Tyne	Southend	Apr. 26	FS 1098	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 5
	Apr. 29	Southend	Blyth	May 1	FN 1008	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 10	Blyth	Rochester	May 12	FS 1112	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Left Rochester May 17 (Page 5).
	May 18	Southend	Blyth	May 20	FN 1024	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 21	Methil*	Southend	May 23	FS 1121	From Blyth. Arrived Rochester May 24, left May 28 (Page 5*). Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	June 10	Southend	Tyne	June 11	FN 1044	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	June 16	Tyne	Southend	June 18	FS 1143	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 5
	June 21	Southend	Tyne	June 22	FN 1053	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 5	Tyne	Sunderland	July 5	–	–
	July 10	Sunderland	Southend	July 12	FS 1164	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 5
	July 15	Southend	Sunderland	July 16	FN 1074	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 21	Sunderland	Southend	July 23	FS 1173	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 6
	July 26	Southend	Tyne	July 27	FN 1083	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Aug. 21	Tyne	Southend	Aug. 23	FS 1200	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 6
	Aug. 28	Southend	Tyne	Aug. 29	FN 1111	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 6	Tyne	Southend	Sept. 8	FS 1214	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 6
	Sept. 11	Southend	Sunderland	Sept. 13	FN 1123	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 17	Sunderland	Humber	Sept. 18	FS 1223	A. Hague says: With defects. Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Sept. 20	Humber	Southend	Sept. 21	FS 1225	Convoy available at link above. See also Page 6
	Sept. 25	Southend	Tyne	Sept. 27	FN 1135	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 29	Tyne	Southend	Oct. 1	FS 1233	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 6
	Oct. 9	Southend	St Helens Roads	Oct. 10	CW 215	Convoy available at CW convoys (external link)
	Oct. 12	Cowes Roads	Bristol	Oct. 14	PW 414	Convoy available via this page (external link) Also, Page 6
	Oct. 20	Bristol	Cardiff	Oct. 20	Independent	–
	Oct. 26	Cardiff	Belfast	Oct. 28	Independent	–
	Oct. 29	Belfast	Liverpool	Oct. 31	Independent	–
	Nov. 3	Liverpool	Swansea	Nov. 4	Independent	–
	Nov. 7	Swansea	Barry	Nov. 8	Independent	–
	Nov. 14	Barry	Southampton	Nov. 16	WP 431	Convoy available at WP convoys (external link) Left Southampton Nov. 19 (Page 6).
	Nov. 25	St Helens Roads	Southend	Nov. 26	CE 224	Convoy available at CE convoys (external link)
	Nov. 27	Southend	Middlesbrough	Nov. 28	FN 1189	See also Page 6. Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 3	Middlesbrough	Southend	Dec. 5	FS 1289	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Dec. 9	Southend	St Helens Roads	Dec. 10	CW 230	Convoy available at CW convoys (external link)
	Dec. 11	Cowes Roads	Plymouth	Dec. 12	PW 444	See also Page 7 Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Dec. 15	Plymouth	Newport	Dec. 17	Independent	Via Falmouth (Page 7).
	Dec. 20	Newport	Liverpool	Dec. 22	Independent	–
1944	Jan. 12	Liverpool	Methil Roads	Jan. 16	–	–
	Jan. 17	Methil	Southend	Jan. 20	FS 1334	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 7.
	Febr. 1	Southend	Methil	Febr. 3	FN 1254	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 5	Methil Roads	Liverpool	Febr. 9	–	A. Hague says: Possibly in EN 342 (availble at EN convoys external link)
	Febr. 25	Liverpool	Aberdeen	Febr. 29	–	–
	March 5	Aberdeen	Leith	March 6	Independent	Left Leith March 8 (Page 7).
	March 8	Methil	Southend	March 10	FS 1385	See also Page 7. Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	March 23	Southend	Methil	March 25	FN 1305	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 26	Methil	–	–	EN 363	Detached March 28. Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
*	March 28	Loch Ewe	Preston	March 30	EN 363(*)	–
	* Instead of departure Loch Ewe March 28, this should probably read "Detached from EN 363". It follows then that she must have arrived Preston independently. (This convoy left Methil on March 26 and arrived Loch Ewe on the 28th).
	Apr. 1	Preston	Liverpool	Apr. 2	Independent	Missing movements, Page 7
	Apr. 15	Liverpool	Dundee	Apr. 19	–	–
	Apr. 23	Dundee	Methil	Apr. 24	Independent	–
	Apr. 25	Methil	Southend	Apr. 27	FS 1433	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 7
	May 1	Southend	Blyth	May 3	FN 1344	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 6	Blyth	Southend	May 8	FS 1444	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 8
	May 11	Southend	Sunderland	May 12	FN 1354	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 19	Sunderland	Southend	May 21	FS 1457	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	May 25	Southend	Tyne	May 26	FN 1368	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 29	Tyne	Southend	May 31	FS 1467	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	June 5	Southend	Tyne	June 7	FN 1379	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	June 9	Tyne	Southend	June 11	FS 1478	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	June 15	Southend	Blyth	June 16	FN 1389	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	June 21	Blyth	Southend	June 23	FS 1490	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	June 30	Southend	Sunderland	July 1	FN 1404	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 5	Sunderland	Southend*	July 7	FS 1504	*Arrived Rochester, left July 8 (Page 8). Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	July 9	Southend	Blyth	July 10	FN 1413	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 12	Blyth	Southend	July 14	FS 1511	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	July 21	Southend	Sunderland	July 23	FN 1425	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 26	Sunderland	Southend	July 28	FS 1525	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	Aug. 1	Southend	Tyne	Aug. 2	FN 1436	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 25	Tyne	Southend	Oct. 27	FS 1616	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	Oct. 31	Southend	Tyne	Nov. 1	FN 1527	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 4	Tyne	Southend	Nov. 6	FS 1626	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	Nov. 12	Southend	Tyne	Nov. 14	FN 1539	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 18	Tyne	Southend	Nov. 20	FS 1640	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 8
	Nov. 24	Southend	Tyne	Nov. 25	FN 1551	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 29	Tyne	Southend*	Dec. 1	FS 1651	Arrived Rochester, left Dec. 4 (Page 9*) Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Dec. 6	Southend	Hull	Dec. 7	FN 1563	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 14	Hull	Southend	Dec. 16	FS 1666	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Dec. 18	Southend	Barry Roads	Dec. 21	TBC 11	Convoy available at TBC convoys (external link)
	Dec. 24	Barry Roads	Bristol	Dec. 24	Independent	See also Page 9
1945	Jan. 5	Bristol	Newport	Jan. 5	Independent	–
	Jan. 8	Newport	Liverpool	Jan. 10	Independent	–
	Jan. 27	Liverpool	Loch Ewe	–	–	–
	Febr. 4	Loch Ewe	Methil	Febr. 6	WN 672	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link) Missing movements, Page 9
	Febr. 14	Methil	Southend	Febr. 16	FS 1728	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) Also, Page 9
	Febr. 20	Southend	Blyth	Febr. 21	FN 1639	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 26	Blyth	Methil	Febr. 27	FN 1644	Convoy available at link above
	March 1	Methil	Belfast	March 3	EN 478	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	March 10	Belfast	Preston	March 12	Independent	–
	March 17	Preston	Liverpool	March 17	Independent	–
	March 26	Liverpool	Mumbles	March 27	BB 63 (2)	A. Hague says: Joined convoy off Holyhead. Available at BB convoys (external link) See also Page 9
	March 27	Mumbles	Southend	March 30	BTC 110	Convoy available at BTC convoys (external link) Also, Page 9
	Apr. 14	Southend	Methil	Apr. 16	FN 1688	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link) Also, Page 9
	Apr. 21	Methil	Southend	Apr. 23	FS 1787	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 10
	Apr. 29	Southend	Tyne	May 1	FN 1699	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 4	Methil*	Southend	May 6	FS 1797	*From Tyne May 5 (Page 10). Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	May 11	Southend	Sunderland	May 13	FN 1708	Again, see also Page 10. Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	May 18	Sunderland	Methil	May 18	FN 1712	Convoy available at link above
	May 22	Methil Roads	Trondheim, Norway	May 27	Independent	Subsequent voyages: Page 10 & Page 11

Misc. 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 more details; the Commodore's notes and/or narrative are also available for some of them and several Norwegian ships took part.

Bjerka rescued 9 men from the Norwegian D/S Rudolf in the North Sea in 1939 - follow the link for details.

At the end of Febr.-1940, A. Hague has included her in Convoy ON 15 from the U.K. to Norway. In Apr.-1940 she was in Convoy HN 24, cargo of pulp. According to Page 1 of the archive documents, she had sailed from Bergen on Apr. 3 and arrived Methil Roads on the 7th, in other words, just 2 days before the Germans invaded Norway, and this meant that Bjerka ended up in allied service during the war. Her final destination is given as Rouen, where she arrived on Apr. 17, remaining there for 3 weeks before returning ot the U.K.

We now find her, together with Bruse, Ferncourt, Hadrian and Kaia Knudsen, in Convoy OA 150, which originated at Southend on May 18 and joined up with Convoy OB 150 on the 19th, the combined convoy forming the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 30 (see ships in all OG convoys). Bjerka, however, sailing in station 34 of the convoy, is said to have been bound for Sydney, C.B. on that occasion, and according to A. Hague she left the convoy on May 22 to proceed to that destination. Page 1 gives her destination as Caraquet, N.B. She later arrived Halifax from there on June 22, heading back to the U.K. on June 25 with Convoy HX 53 - Bjerka, cargo of pit props, arrived Preston on July 11 and again appears to have had a long stay in port; A. Hague gives departure Preston as Sept. 21, when she proceeded to Clyde (not included on archive document).

Together with Bruse, Svein Jarl and Torfinn Jarl, Arnold Hague has subsequently included her in Convoy OB 220 (ref. link provided within the Voyage Record), which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 27 and dispersed Oct. 1, Bjerka arriving Reykjavik on Oct. 4. She left again on the 17th for Sydney, C.B., with arrival there on Oct. 27, later making voyages to Chatham, N.B. and Newcastle, N.B., before returning to Sydney, C.B. With a cargo of pit props, she was scheduled for the slow eastbound North Atlantic Convoy SC 12 from there on Nov. 13, but instead joined the next convoy on Nov. 22, SC 13, and arrived Clyde on Dec. 8. It'll be noticed, when going back to Page 1, that she later had a long stay at Tyne (or Shields) and again in Blyth at the beginning of 1941.

In March-1941, she made a voyage from Reykjavik to Halifax, where she arrived March 29; according to A. Hague, this voyage was made independently. She now had a long stay in Halifax, then with a cargo of timber for Tyne, she returned across the Atlantic with Convoy SC 29 (departure Halifax on Apr. 19), and arrived Loch Ewe on May 8. Escort's report is also available for this convoy; Bjerka is mentioned under "Remarks" where she gets praise for her signalling and station keeping. She's later listed as bound for Father Point in Convoy OB 329, which originated in Liverpool on May 31 and dispersed on June 5; again, ref. external link provided within the table above, the Norwegian Belpareil, Bruse Jarl, Christian Krohg (sunk - follow the link for details), Finnanger, Garonne, O. A. Knudsen, Sirehei (returned) and Veni are also listed. According to Page 1, Bjerka arrived "Montreal for Father Point" on June 18, having started out from Oban on June 1.

Together with Berto (returned), Bollsta, Chr. Knudsen, Don, Einvik, Loke, N. T. Nielsen Alonso, Rena and Rym, A. Hague has now included Bjerka, with a cargo of flour, in station 34 of the slow Convoy SC 36*, which left Sydney, C.B. on July 1 and arrived Liverpool on the 19th. Bjerka stopped at Loch Ewe on the 17th, proceeding to Leith the next day, and the following month I have her, with destination Sydney, C.B., in station 55 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 4, originating in Liverpool on Aug. 6, dispersed Aug. 18. Bjerka had started out from Loch Ewe and arrived her destination on Aug. 23, continuing to Halifax that same day, where she again remained for quite a long time before returning to Sydney, C.B. Her voyages in this period are shown on Page 2. She subsequently joined Convoy SC 45*, leaving Sydney, C.B. on Sept. 18, arriving Liverpool on Oct. 4; Bjerka, cargo of lumber, station 25, stopped at Loch Ewe that day (the archive document gives her final destination as London). Libra (joined from Iceland), Nea, Orania, Rio Verde, Snar, Solhavn, Trolla and Varanger are also named in this convoy. At the end of that year, Bjerka had another long stay at Tyne.

This was her last Trans-Atlantic voyage; for the rest of the war, she remained in U.K. waters. Please see her Voyage Record and the documents received from the National Archives of Norway for information on her subsequent voyages (occasional long stays in port are shown, usually at Tyne). As will be seen when going to Page 10 and Page 11, she made several voyages to Norway in the course of 1945, the first one already in May; in fact, it looks like Christmas was celebrated in Norway that year.

* The entire SC series will be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated), but for now, see ships in all SC convoys. Escorts are listed on this page.

More information on all the other Norwegian ships named here can be found via the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

According to this external page, she sailed as Foo Ming for E. Hsiang S.S. Co., Shanghai from 1946. From 1949, E. Hsiang S.S. Co., Keelung, Taiwan, no name change. Broken up in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1958.

Related external link:
S/S Bjerka - Technical data and picture of funnel (Darren Dypevåg). Please note that the "Sold: A/S Nesjar (Eilert Lund) 1939" is incorrect - this was not Bjerka, but the same company's Betty.