M/T Egerø
Updated July 11-2011

To Egerø on the "Ships starting with E" page.


Source: Roger W. Jordan collection.

The Australian War Memorial has another picture of this ship, taken in Jan.-1942 (external links).
This external page also has a picture (click in the photo to make it larger).

Misc. Convoy Voyages:

Please follow the convoy links provided for more details; most of them also include the Commodore's notes, and several Norwegian ships took part. For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please go back to A. Hague's Voyage Record and/or the archive documents.

According to Page 1 of the archive documents, Egerø left Abadan for Bergen, Norway on March 13-1940, but was diverted to Mancheser, where she eventually arrived, via various other ports , on Apr. 24/25.

The following month, she's listed in Convoy OB 140, bound for Pembroke in ballast (link in the table above). For info, this convoy had left Liverpool on May 2 and joined up with Convoy OA 140 on May 5, forming the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 28, which arrived there on May 10. OG 28 will be added to my website; in the meantime, the ships sailing in it are named on the page listing ships in all OG convoys - note, however, that Egerø was not part of this combined convoy; she arrived her destination before the convoy was formed.

Her 1941 voyages also start on Page 1.

Egerø played an important role for the British during their operations in Crete, in that she served as oiler for their war ships in Suda Bay from Jan. 18 till March 5-1941. She carried 6 cargoes of oil from Haifa to Alexandria that spring, as well as a load to Suda Bay. She also carried some evacuees from Crete to Alexandria. On Apr. 1, a couple of Breda 65 mm machine guns were installed (she had been without any kind of armament for a long time). However, these guns were inoperable, and they did not get better armament and an Australian gunner until they came to Fremantle in Febr.-1942 (see Page 2). The Australian gunner was replaced by a British gunner that fall, who had been on board Prince of Wales when that ship was sunk. In the spring of 1943, 6 Oerlikons were installed, later also an anti aircraft gun.

In May-1943, she's listed in the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 238, returning to New York with Convoy ON 195*, which originated in Liverpool on July 31, arrived New York Aug. 13, and also included Abraham Lincoln (Commodore Vessel), Bajamar, Bañaderos, Christian Michelsen, Duala, Gallia, Vav, Velma and Washington Express. From the U.S. she subsequently headed to Bizerta (convoy info in Voyage Record above) - her voyages in this period are shown on Page 3.

In Oct.-1943, she made a voyage from Bizerta to Port Said with Konvoy KMS 27*; she left Bizerta on Oct. 4 and arrived Port Said on the 11th. Later that month, I have her in Convoy AP 50 / AB 18, together with Heimvard, Havkong and Kong Sverre. As can be seen in her Voyage Record, Egerø was on a voyage from Aden to Abadan on that occasion.

Skipping now to March-1944, when she made a voyage from Port Said to Malta in Convoy MKS 43*, returning to Port Said in Convoy KMS 44* later that month. The following month, she headed to New York again, and subsequently stayed there for a long time, possibly in dock, because there's now a big gap in the dates in her Voyage Record - again, see also Page 3.

She was scheduled for Convoy HX 304 from New York on Aug. 17-1944, but did not sail. She was also cancelled from the next convoy on Aug. 25, HX 305, but eventually got away with HX 306. This convoy originated in New York on Aug. 31, but Egerø joined from Halifax a few days later (it'll be noticed, when going back to the archive document referred to above, that she had sailed from Boston to Halifax on Aug. 30). Her destination is given as Scapa, and she arrived there, via Oban and Loch Ewe, on Sept. 20. She returned to New York with Convoy ON 256*, which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 28, arrived New York Oct. 12 and also had Abraham Lincoln (Commodore Vessel), Fagerfjell, Ferncourt, Katy, Montevideo, Norsktank, Olaf Bergh, Sørvard and Thorsholm in its ranks. Already on Oct. 15, she went in the other direction again with Convoy HX 314 (Commodore in Emma Bakke). With Brasil, Ferncourt, Kronprinsessen, Lista, Nueva Granada, Solfonn, Stiklestad and Thorsholm, Egerø subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 264* back to New York (convoy left Liverpool Nov. 4, arrived New York Nov. 21), heading back to the U.K. on Nov. 24 with Convoy HX 322. Her last Trans-Atlantic voyage that year was made in the westbound Convoy ON 272*, which left Southend on Dec. 14 and arrived New York on Jan. 1-1945, so Christmas that year was celebrated while at sea. Ferncourt, Norsktank and Strix are also listed.

She was scheduled for the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 330 on Jan. 3-1945, but instead joined the next convoy on Jan. 8, HX 331 (Commodore in Montevideo), returning to New York the following month with Convoy ON 282*, with Brimanger, Ferncourt, Fjordaas, Frontenac, Kaldfonn and Topdalsfjord (Commodore Vessel). This convoy left Liverpool on Febr. 1 and arrived New York on the 19th. She left New York again on March 4 with Convoy HX 342*, together with Havfru, Norsol and President de Vogue, joining Convoy ON 292* later that month in order to head to New York again, arriving Apr. 8. Fjordaas, Fosna, Gefion, Havfru, Ivaran (Commodore Vessel), Lista, Norsol and President de Vogue are also listed. She can now be found in Convoy HX 350*, deaparting New York for the U.K. on Apr. 13, again with Fosna, Gefion, Havfru and President de Vogue in company, as well as Haakon Hauan and Thorshov. Egerø arrived Plymouth on Apr. 28, according to Page 4.

According to A. Hague, she often served as Escort Oiler for these convoys, also carrying extra depth charges.

Shortly after VE Day, she started getting ready for a voyage to Murmansk. Egerø, Roald Amundsen and Ivaran are all listed by Bob Ruegg/Arnold Hague ("Convoys to Russia") as taking part in Convoy JW 67, the last convoy to Russia, sailing from Clyde on May 12-1945 with 26 ships, arriving the Kola Inlet on May 20. Egerø subsequently joined the last convoy back to the U.K., namely Convoy RA 67, which left the Kola Inlet with 25 ships on May 23 (Kronprinsen also took part in this convoy). On my page Ships in Arctic convoys I've listed some of the other convoys (names of the 103 allied ships lost in the Murmansk run can also be found on that page).

Further voyages (to Apr.-1946) are shown on Page 4. See also the note at the end of the Voyage Record above.

POST WAR:

Sold to Egypt in 1958. According to this external page, owners became Misr. Tankers Hassan Egyptian Ezzat & Co., Alexandria, renamed Batal el Esteklat. Sold for breaking up in Egypt in 1965.

Related external links:
List of OA and OB convoys 1940 - Sailing and arrival dates in chronological order.

Operation Merkur - The Invasion of Crete - From the website Die Gebirgstruppen.

Back to Egerø on the "Ships starting with E" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Skip og menn", Birger Dannevig, "Convoys to Russia", Bob Ruegg/Arnold Hague and misc. (ref. My sources).