M/T Egerø
Updated Aug. 30-2008

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


Source: Roger W. Jordan collection.

Further to the above:

(For voyages in between the ones mentioned in this narrative, please refer to her voyage record).

Egerø is listed in Convoy OB 140 in the spring of 1940, bound for Pembroke in ballast. This convoy had left Liverpool on May 2, joined up with Convoy OA 140 on May 5, forming the Gibraltar Convoy OG 28, which arrived there on May 10. See the external link to OB 140 provided in the table above. (OG 28 will be added to my own 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).

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. 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.

She's listed in the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 238 in May-1943, returning to New York at the end of July with the westbound Convoy ON 195*.

Later that year, in Oct.-1943, 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, and continued sailing in that part of the world until the end of Apr.-1944, when she went from Algiers to New York with Convoy GUS 37. It looks like she stayed there for quite a while, probably in dock, because there's now a big gap in the dates in her Voyage Record.

She was scheduled for Convoy HX 304 from New York in Aug.-1944, but did not sail. She was also cancelled from the next convoy, HX 305, but eventually got away with HX 306 at the beginning of Sept. This convoy originated in New York on Aug. 31, but Egerø joined from Halifax. She returned to New York at the end of Sept. with the westbound Convoy ON 256*, heading back to the U.K. in Oct.-1944 with Convoy HX 314. Egerø wasted no time; she subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 264* back to New York early in Nov.-1944, returning to the U.K. at the end of that month with Convoy HX 322, and by the middle of Dec. she was again on her way back to New York, this time with the westbound Convoy ON 272*, so Christmas that year was celebrated while at sea.

At the beginning of Jan.-1945 she was scheduled for the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 330, but instead joined the next convoy, HX 331 a few days later, returning to New York the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 282*. She went back to the U.K. in March with Convoy HX 342, joining the westbound Convoy ON 292* towards the end of that month in order to head to New York again, and in the middle of Apr.-1945 she joined the eastbound Convoy HX 350 for the U.K.

* All the ON convoys mentioned here are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. As will be seen, they all had several Norwegian ships.

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 23-1945 (Kronprinsen also took part in this convoy). See also my page Ships in Arctic convoys where 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).

POST WAR:

Sold to Egypt in 1958.

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

The Australian War Memorial has another picture of this ship. It can be found by running a search through their collection search page.

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, "Convoys to Russia", Bob Ruegg/Arnold Hague and misc. (ref. My sources).