D/S Favør - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Related item on this website:
Interned Ships - Favør was 1 of the 26 Norwegian ships interned in North and West Africa in 1940; follow the link for a list of all 26.

Internment & Escapes:

Info found in "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 1-1981, article written by Ingvald Wahl
(due to its length this summary has been drastically reduced).

Favør was chartered to France for service North Africa-France, carrying grain and vegetables from Casablanca. As can be seen when going to the archive document above, she was in Merseilles when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940, leaving that day for Casablanca, where she arrived, via Gibraltar, on Apr. 14.

She had a crew of 19, captain was Even Larsen. Ingvald Wahl says that on the day France capitulated she departed Marseille with a French escort together with K. G. Meldahl, Tønsbergfjord and several French ships heading for Gibraltar. Favør still had a cargo of grain on board and was ordered to Oran, while the other 2 Norwegian ships, which were in ballast, continued to Gibraltar, thereby avoiding Favør's subsequent fate. (It appears Bosphorus was also in this convoy, possibly Convoy 7 P?* [external link - Fernhill is also included], please read my text for Bosphorus).

* Ingvald Wahl's statement that Favør left Marseilles on the day France capitulated, fits better with Convoy 8 P (also external link), which left Marseilles on June 22-1940 and arrived Oran on the 26th. However, none of the above mentioned ships are named in this convoy. The archive document gives departure Marseilles as about June 19, arrival Oran as about June 22 (and this fits with Convoy 7 P).

"Nortraships flåte" states Favør was interned in Oran in June-1940, then requisitioned on Sept. 6 the following year and renamed Ste Rosaline.

Guri Hjeltnes' "Sjømann - Lang Vakt", agrees that Favør had a crew of 19 when she was interned, 17 were Norwegian, 7 escaped, while 9 went home to Norway.

On June 21-1941, Favør's 3rd Engineer Olaf Langseid and the Irish "Paddy" succeeded in escaping in a lifeboat from D/S Patria. The Polish deckboy Bernhard had paid off(?) in Aug. the previous year, so now Favør's complement had been reduced to 16. On July 27-1941 another group escaped in a lifeboat; they were: Cook Kr. O. Frøvold, Able Seaman Peder Pedersen, Able Seaman Oscar Jacobsen, Ordinary Seaman Harry B. Halvorsen (this external page has the names of his later ships), and Stoker Thorvald J. Evensen from Favør, as well as 2nd Mate Ole M. Blikshavn, 3rd Engineer Georg Fosen, Electrician Andersen, and Ole Mikkelsen from M/T John Knudsen. Before they left the captain had given them an iron pipe filled with papers which they were to hand over to the British authorities. This pipe was to be thrown overboard in the event they were caught, it had holes drilled into it so that it would sink. Since the attack of a British force at Kabir near Oran in July-1940 when the French had lost several ships and about 2000 men (ref. external link below), Favør's captain had shown a great interest in the way the French had altered certain defence related installations, so it's likely this pipe contained information on these.

They reached Gibraltar on July 31 at 02:00 and went alongside a patrol vessel, whose crew took them on board and fed them, before they went back in their lifeboat and continued into the harbour while a whole "orchestra" of ships' bells welcomed them to freedom. Together with 22 other Scandinavian seamen, who had also escaped from North Africa, they joined a French ship named Isac (captured by the British) for Swansea and were now free to reenter allied service. This may have taken place at the beginning of Sept.-1941? Isac is listed in Convoy HG 72 from Gibraltar at that time (external link - report only available on my own site).

T. J. Evensen and O. Jacobsen rejoined Nortraship's service, K. O. Frøvold went into intelligence service while H. B. Halvorsen and P. Pedersen offered their services to the navy. They were sent to Dumbarton, Scotland to be trained as gunners for Nortraship. Jacobsen died in an explosion on board M/T Herbrand in 1945 and Able Seaman/Gunner Pedersen died when M/S Leif was torpedoed and sunk on Febr. 28-1942.

Related external links:
Attack on Mers-el-Kébir

Operation Catapult

Those who stayed in Oran:

When Favør was requisitioned on Sept. 6-1941 Captain Larsen, 1st Engineer Oskar Andersen (who ran a veritable "chicken/turkey/rabbit farm" on board) and Stoker Karl G. Olsen were interned, while 8 of the crew, who had chosen to go home were transferred to Meonia of Copenhagen which was interned at Mers el Kebir near Oran. The 3 who had chosen to remain were allowed to rent hotel rooms, along with 8 from John Knudsen. On June 16-1941 another group of Scandinavian seamen went home and this time 1st Engineer Andersen, who wasn't well, joined them. (He and the captain worked out their own special code when corresponding with each other in order to fool those who checked their letters). After the allied invasion on Nov. 8-1942 Captain Larsen and Stoker Olsen were taken to Gibraltar on D/S Brisk which had arrived Oran as a supply ship for Operation Torch. From Gibraltar they got passage back to England on a troop transport and again joined Nortraship's service. (Several other previously interned and imprisoned Norwegian seamen were also given passage on Brisk).

As soon as I get a chance I'll look all these names up in Kristian Ottosen's "Nordmenn i fangeskap" (Norwegians in imprisonment) and post more details here.

In another issue of "Krigsseileren" there's also an article about the Danish Meonia mentioned above. This ship seems to have been used as an accommodation vessel for interned seamen. Additionally, the article gives some information on the plight of Danish sailors.

Final Fate - 1943:

"Skip og Menn", Birger Dannevig says Favør was sunk by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on Jan. 18-1943 while under the German flag (from Oct. 15-1942). However, Jürgen Rohwer says in his book "Allied Submarine Attacks of World War Two" that she was sunk at 00:45 (agreeing with the date) by the destroyer Loyal, 15 miles south of Carbonara. Hocking simply says "sunk by British warships southeast of Sardinia".