M/T Fenris
Updated June 9-2009

To Fenris on the "Ships starting with F" page.

Crew List

Torpedoed - 1944:

Fenris had left Port Pirie on Febr. 4-1944 - see Page 2. In the evening of Febr. 21-1944, she was torpedoed amidships by U-168 (Pich), in position 08 32S 65 35E, and damaged but able to reach Bombay. According to "Nortraships flåte" the radio was damaged, but repairable so that a message could be sent. It was received by Bombay Radio which forwarded it to the high command of the British forces. It appears she was sailing as a fleet oiler, and that she was not supposed to be in that area in the first place. New orders had been sent to her a few days earlier, but obviously not received. After she had been torpedoed she was at first ordered to Addu Atoll, but when she notified authorities that she was able to do 11 knots she continued to Bombay for repairs. 90' of her port side hull had been ripped away by the explosion; As can be seen from her Voyage Record, she remained in Bombay for about 5 months. (Japanese and German subs torpedoed 29 ships in the Indian Ocean in the course of the first 3 months of 1944).

Some later Voyages:

In the spring of 1945, she's listed in Convoy HX 347, departing New York on March 29. (Fenris had previously arrived the U.S. from Augusta at the end of Nov.-1944 - see Page 3 of the archive documents). This convoy is not yet available among the HX convoys listed on my own website (will be added - see ships in all HX convoys), but I've linked directly to Hague's listing at the end of this page, and as will be seen, the Norwegian Brasil, Buenos Aires, Dalfonn, Lektor Garbo, Marit II, Roald Amundsen, Sophocles, Sverre Helmersen and Thorsholm are also listed, as is the Panamanian Norlys, which had Norwegian managers and is included under the N's of this website. Fenris had station 44 of the convoy, and carried USN fuel as well as air craft, serving as escort oiler. She returned to the U.S. the following month with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 298. This convoy, which left Southend on Apr. 21 and arrived New York on May 7, will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section; in the meantime, please scroll down to ON 298 on this page. Dalfonn, Marit II, Morgenen, Reinholt and Thorsholm also took part, as did Norlys. Fenris, which had joined from Clyde, arrived Hampton Roads on May 9. According to A. Hague, she headed back to the U.K. again in Convoy HX 356, together with Dalfonn, Emma Bakke, Lista, Sørvard, and the Panamanian Norvinn. Fenris, in station 53, again served as escort oiler. This convoy left New York on May 13, arrived Liverpool on the 26th, and is also available via the link provided at the end of this page.

Further voyages are listed on Page 3 and Page 4 of the archive documents.

Crew List - No casualties:
* See this Guestbook message, as well as this one and this message.

Captain August Clifton	1st Mate Johannes Melkevik	2nd Mate Sverre Johansen	3rd Mate Lars Kleppe	Radio Operator Aage Bjørvik	Carpenter Olav Grøsle
Boatswain Aage Egeland	Able Seaman Monrad Dypevåg	Able Seaman Erling Holtan	Able Seaman Kåre Olsen	Able Seaman Armand Tanava (Estonian)	Able Seaman Olav Olsen
Able Seaman Olav Bygnes	Able Seaman Kåre Thingstad	Able Seaman Ivar Ruud	Able Seaman Børge Jørgensen (Danish)	Able Seaman Wilfred* Gulbrandsen	Able Seaman Frank Mathiesen
Ordinary Seaman Richard McDonald (British)	Ordinary Seaman Martin Naylor (Australian)	Ordinary Seaman Einar Nekola (Finnish)	1st Engineer Lars Dyrø	2nd Engineer Olav Skåle	3rd Engineer Gerdt E. Christensen (Danish)
4th Engineer Erling Røed	Assistant Nils O. Johansen	Electrician John P. Johansen	Repairman Ole K. Olsen	Mechanic Arvid Edvardsen	Mechanic Jacob Hauge
Mechanic Desmond Stock (British)	Mechanic Thoralf Olsen	Mechanic Anfinn Hagebø	Mechanic Asvald Warholm	Oiler Unta Koskinen (Finnish)	Steward Einar Andersen
Cook Paul Bang	2nd Cook Nils Nilsen	Mess Boy Raymond Lazarus (South African)	Mess Boy Kevin Twomey (Australian)	Gunner Rolf Hansen	Gunner Alfred Siem
Gunner Kjell Sæthre

Related external links:
Convoy HX 347 - The site (based on A. Hague's database) also has information on Convoy HX 356.

U-168

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

Back to Fenris on the "Ships starting with F" page.

Norway had previously had a small steamship by this name from 1913, originally delivered in Nov.-1884 as Ituna for London & Solway S. S. Co. Ltd., London, 457 gt. When purchased by Jacob Kielland & H. O. Warloe, Trondheim in 1897 she came from owners in Grangemouth, still Ituna. From 1898 she belonged to A/S D/S Ituna (Albr. W. Selmer), Trondheim. Purchased by Ole L. Waage, Kopervik in 1907. Aground on Jan. 8-1908 on Langeland in heavy storm with snow on a voyage Hadersleben, Germany (now Haderslev)-Rostock in ballast. Condemned, then sold in 1909 to O. A. A. Hirsch, Moss, repaired and sold in 1913 as Fenris to Johan T. Østbø, Stavanger, purchased by D/S A/S Fenris (O. Emil Lea), Haugesund in June-1915, then sold in 1916 to Erik Evanger, Fosnavåg/Ålesund. Managed by Ingv. Bjørnebos Rederi, Kristiansand in the period 1917-1919, from 1919 she belonged to Skibs-A/S Crescendo (Thor Hals), Christiania. Sold in Aug.-1920 to Malta (T. Gasan) and renamed Ituna again. Struck a mine and sank on March 26-1921 near Santa Maria on a voyage Piræus-Malta via Korfu with cargo of flour. ("Våre gamle skip").

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I (Norwegian Maritime Museum), and misc. - ref. My sources.