M/S Gausdal
Updated Sept. 8-2011

To Gausdal on the "Ships starting with G" page.

Source: Bjørn Pedersen's collection.

Scanned from Leif Høegh & Co,'s fleet list and added to this website with the company's permission.
This external page has the same picture, saying it shows her as Guldborg (click in the photo to make it larger).

The Australian War Memorial has another picture of Gausdal, taken in Fremantle, WA during the war (external links).

(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database).

Some Convoy Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the convoy links provided for more details on them; several Norwegian ships took part.

Her 1940 voyages and some 1941 are listed on Page 1. As can be seen, she arrived Melbourne on Apr. 10-1940, the day after the German invasion of Norway.

At the beginning of 1942 she's listed, together with Rio Verde, in Convoy SL 97, which departed Freetown on Jan. 4. She had a cargo of tea, jute, iron and tobacco, sailing in station 23 - see the external link provided within the Voyage Record above for more convoy information. In March that year, we find her in the westbound North Altantic Convoy ON 73*, which originated in Liverpool on March 5 and dispersed on the 16th, Gausdal arriving New York on March 19 - her voyages in this period are shown on Page 2. Leiv Eiriksson and Rio Novo are also listed, and Acanthus, Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts - see ON convoy escorts.

Skipping now to Febr. 13-1943, when she can be found, with a cargo of iron and general, in station 105 of Convoy SC 120* from New York, arriving Liverpool on March 5. She had again been in the company of other Norwegian ships, namely Brand, Mathilda, Norhauk, Norsktank, Nyco and Vest. With Bestik, Cetus, Grado, Grey County, Mathilda and Petter II (Vice Commodore ), Gausdal returned across the Atlantic in the first convoy in the ONS series, Convoy ONS 1*, which left Liverpool on March 15. Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose were again among the escorts (see ONS convoy escorts). According to Page 2, Gausdal arrived Halifax on Apr. 2, proceeding to New York 2 days later. On May 26, she headed back to the U.K. in Convoy SC 132 from Halifax, and arrived Manchester on June 13 - see Page 3. Early the following month, she joined the westbound Convoy ONS 12*, which departed Liverpool on July 3 and also had Fana, Garnes, Hjalmar Wessel, Iron Baron, Mui Hock, Norvarg, Para (returned), Petter II, Suderøy and Tropic Star in its ranks. Her destination is given as Baltimore, but arrival there is not given on the archive document, which says she arrived New York on July 21.

Her next Trans-Atlantic voyage was made in Convoy SC 142 from Halifax on Sept. 15 that same year. She had a cargo of sugar and general for London, serving as the Rear Commodore Ship. Together with Ferncliff, Henrik Ibsen, Maud, Norhauk, Para, Petter II, Sommerstad and Suderøy, she later joined Convoy ONS 21*, originating in Liverpool on Oct. 22. She was bound for New York, where she arrived Nov. 8, and subsequently appears to have spent a long time there; Page 3 gives departure as Jan. 11-1944, for the Mediterranean (convoy info in A. Hague's Voyage Record above).

That summer, we find Gausdal in Convoy SL 162, which had started out in Freetown on June 20 and arrived Liverpool on July 12-1944, having joined up with Convoy MKS 53* from Gibraltar on June 30 (again, ref. external links provided in the table above - Fernbank and Mathilda are also named in the combined convoy). Gausdal joined from Dakar and stopped at Loch Ewe July 12 - see Page 4. The following month, she made another voyage across the North Atlantic, having joined Convoy ON 248(S)*, along with Glarona, Hardanger, Iron baron, Lago, Norvarg, Olaf Bergh, Peik, Solstad, Vav, Villanger and Vinland. This convoy originated in Liverpool on Aug. 10 and arrived New York on the 27th; Gausdal, however, joined from Oban and arrived Chatham, N.B. on Aug. 22, proceeding to Rimouski the next day, then on to Quebec, before heading to Sydney, C.B. From there, she joined Convoy HX 309, which had originated in New York on Sept. 15 (Vice Commodore in Laurits Swenson). Gausdal was bound for London with lumber. With Iron Baron, Maud, Solstad, Velma and Vera, she later joined the westbound Convoy ONS 35*, which originated in Liverpool on Oct. 29. Gausdal joined from Loch Ewe, and arrived her destination Baltimore, via New York, on Nov. 22. On Dec. 17 we find her, with a general cargo for Liverpool, in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 163, arriving Liverpool Dec. 31.

About a month later, she returned to New York in Convoy ONS 41*, which departed Liverpool on Jan. 29-1945 and also included Atlantic, Evanger, Geisha, Maud, Sommerstad, Titanian, Veni and Vinland. Gausdal arrived New York on Febr. 23 and again spent quite a long time there; departure date is given as Apr. 19 - again, see Page 4. Having made a voyage to Boston, she proceeded to Halifax in order to join Convoy SC 174* on Apr. 28, arriving Liverpool on May 15 - in other words, VE Day was celebrated at sea. Danio, Hilda Knudsen, Norse Lady, Para, Peik, Stirlingville, Veni and Vera are also listed.

From Page 5 of the archive documents, we learn that she went home to Norway in Oct.-1945. This document also shows some of her early 1946 voyages.

* The ON and ONS convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, with more details on each; in the meantime, the ships sailing in them are named in the section for ships in all ON convoys (with escorts) and on the page listing ships in all ONS convoys (also with escorts). The SC convoy series will also be completed, but for now, please see ships in all SC convoys. For the names of ships sailing in Convoy MKS 53, go to ships in all MKS convoys - escorts are listed on this page.

More information on all the other Norwegian ships mentioned here is available via the alphabet index at the end of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Sold in 1953 to Ångbåts A/B Bohuslänska Kusten, Uddevalla, Sweden (Knut Nordendorph, manager), and renamed Alfhem. Sold in 1960 to N. A. Valmas, Greece, then to Cia. Nav. del Egeo, Greece and renamed Antonios V. Transferred later that year to Lebanese registry. Demolition began in Febr.-1961 at Izumidzu by Sangyo Shinko K. K.

Back to Gausdal on the "Ships starting with G" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Leif Høegh & Co. fleet list and misc. (ref. My sources).