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M/T Caledonia To Caledonia on the "Ships starting with C" page. Owner: Lorentzen's Skibs-A/S Built by Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg in 1936. Captain: Ragnvald Andresen
(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database). Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each. Compare A. Hague's records to this document received from the National Archives of Norway.
In the spring of 1940 Caledonia is listed in Convoy OA 140, which left Southend on May 2 and joined up with Convoy OB 140 on the 5th, the combined convoy forming OG 28, which arrived Gibraltar on May 10. Caledonia, however, was bound for Texas City, where she arrived independently on May 20, having detached from the convoy on May 5. She returned to the U.K. the following month with Convoy HX 48 (listed in the Bermuda portion), bound for Milford Haven with diesel oil, station 26. With Carmelfjell, Heien, Ibis, Iris, John P. Pedersen, Lyra, Para and Suderholm, she later joined Convoy OB 187, originating in Liverpool on July 21-1940, dispersed on the 25th, Caledonia arriving her destination Aruba independently on Aug. 6. She was scheduled to return to the U.K. later that month with Convoy HX 66 (Bermuda portion), but did not sail - the Norwegian Norne was sunk in this convoy. Caledonia is also mentioned in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 67, but again did not sail, and does not show up again until Convoy HX 82 from Halifax in Oct.-1940; diesel oil for Clyde, station 32. In Febr.-1941 she joined Convoy OB 291, which left Liverpool on Febr. 27-1941 and dispersed on March 3. Other Norwegian ships in this convoy were Grena, Hardanger, Hilda Knudsen, Laurits Swenson, Skaraas and Storaas, as well as the the Panamanian Norvik, which is included under the N's of this website because she had Norwegian managers. Caledonia was again bound for Aruba, where she arrived on March 21. See the external links provided within the table above for more on the OA and OB convoys mentioned here. Caledonia was scheduled to return to the U.K. with Convoy HX 120 the following month, but instead joined the next convoy about a week later, and this was to be her last voyage, as will be seen in the next paragraph.
Caledonia left Aruba on March 31-1941 with 13 745 tons of diesel oil and fuel oil for Clyde, via Halifax for convoy. She arrived Halifax on Apr. 9, where her degaussing cable was renewed and minor repairs undertaken, before departing Halifax in station 31 of Convoy HX 121 on Apr. 16 - see also the Cruising order and Commodore's notes for this convoy. Torpedoed and sunk by U-96 (Lehmann-Willenbrock) on April 28-1941, position 60 03N 16 16W (northwest of the Hebrides). The torpedo hit in the engine room, port side, killing 7 men. The port lifeboat was destroyed, the engine stopped and she started to sink by the stern. The 24 who had managed to launch the starboard lifeboat desperately tried to save 5 of their shipmates who had tried to jump from the ship and into the lifeboat together with the captain, but all except the captain had missed the boat and were helplessly drifting into the burning inferno around the nearby torpedoed British M/T Oilfield (station 21, 47 died). The rescue effort had to be given up because of the intense heat of the flames, and the 5 perished. The survivors were picked up 2 1/2 hours later by the rescue vessel Zaafaran and landed in Gourock on May 1, continuing to Glasgow that same day. 12 had died out of a crew of 35 + 2 gunners. HX 121 arrived Liverpool on May 3-1941. "Convoy Rescue Ships 1940-1945" by Arnold Hague agrees that Zaafaran picked up 25 survivors of Caledonia's 37 crew. Zaafaran also picked up 97 survivors from the 98 crew and passengers of the British Port Hardy (also hit by U-96). M/T Oilfield is not mentioned in that account, but the British tanker Capulet is; she had been torpedoed about 3 hours earlier that day by U-552 (Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System", gives U-512), broke her back and caught fire. 9 died out of 44 crew, gunners and passengers. 17 were rescued by Zaafaran, while the destroyer Douglas probably picked up the rest before shelling the wreck. Rohwer says the abandoned wreck of Capulet was sunk on May 2 by U-201. He adds that from the convoy commodore's report it's clear that Oilfield, Caledonia and Port Hardy were hit in the same attack by U-96, Port Hardy being struck by chance after the torpedo missed the intended target. The maritime hearings were held in Glasgow on May 9-1941 with Captain Andresen, the 1st engineer, the 3rd engineer, the 2nd mate, and Able Seaman Struck (helmsman) appearing.
Related external links: Back to Caledonia on the "Ships starting with C" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I (Norwegian Maritime Museum), and misc. others as named within text above for cross checking info. - ref My sources.
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