D/S Germa
Updated Sept. 14-2011

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

Pictures are available on this external page (click in them to make them larger).

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.

When war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940, Germa was on her way from Calcutta to Hong Kong, see Page 1 of the archive documents. The page also has some 1941 voyages, while the rest are shown on Page 2, which also lists her 1942 voyages. Convoy info for a few of them can be found in the Voyage Record above.

As can be seen when going to Page 2, it looks like she spent quite a long time in Colombo at the beginning of 1942. She had arrived there from Calcutta on Jan. 28 and departure is given as March 27, when she proceeded to Madras. A. Hague mentions a collision in Dec.-1941 (I have no further details on this); perhaps she had been damaged and was in for repairs in Colombo? There's another long gap later on. She had arrived Bombay on Apr. 15-1942, and did not leave again until May 25.

Germa experienced the battle of Convoy SL 125 in Oct.-1942 (ref. external link at the end of this page), but escaped unharmed. 12 ships were sunk, Alaska was damaged (follow the link to my page about this ship for more info, see also the external link provided in the Voyage Record, Belnor is also listed). Germa arrived Oban on Nov. 8, having sailed from Freetown on Oct. 16. There's now another long gap in her voyages. She arrived Tyne on Nov. 16-1942, and Page 2 shows departure as March 10-1943, and another month appears to have been spent at Tyne from March 28 to Apr. 28 that year (A. Hague mentions her having boiler defects).

The following month, she's listed in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 182*, which originated in Liverpool on May 6-1943 and arrived New York on the 22nd (the archive document gives Germa's arrival New York as May 21; she had joined from Loch Ewe). Dageid, Fernwood, Gallia, Hiram, Ivaran, Oregon Epress, Skiensfjord, Thorshov, Thorshøvdi and Villanger are also listed. She was scheduled to return to the U.K. in Convoy HX 243 from New York on June 7, but instead joined the slow Convoy SC 134 from Halifax on June 16 (Page 2). With Anna Odland, Belinda, Brimanger, Dagrun, Fernmoor, G. C. Brøvig, Heimvard, Kaia Knudsen, Lista, Morgenen, Noreg, Norheim and Skandinavia, she later returned with Convoy ON 194*, which sailed from Liverpool on July 24 and arrived New York Aug. 7; Germa arrived Boston Aug. 6, having started out from Loch Ewe on July 24. Acanthus, Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts for this convoy - see ON convoy escorts. On Sept. 3, we find her in station 64 of the Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 141, cargo of grain and general for Hull, where she arrived Sept. 21 - her voyages in this period are shown on Page 3.

She later made a voyage to Augusta, having joined Convoy OS 57/KMS 31, which originated in Liverpool on Oct. 27-1943 and split up on Nov. 9, the Gibraltar bound ships arriving there on Nov. 10, while the OS convoy continued to Freetown, with arrival Nov. 19. Germa joined from Clyde, and had a cargo of ether, vehicles and stores. She was in the Gibraltar portion of the convoy (KMS 31*), and arrived Augusta on Nov. 16. Again, follow the link within the table above for more convoy info, Askeladden, Jenny, Lido, Norlom and Somerville are also named. See also the external link at the end of this page.

On Jan. 17-1944, she made a voyage from Bizerta to Algiers in Convoy MKS 37 (she had previously arrived Bizerta on Jan. 6, and according to A. Hague's record, she was involved in a collision on that date - I have no further info on this). She arrived Algiers on Jan. 19, leaving again on Jan. 30, joining Convoy MKS 38*, which joined up with the Freetown Convoy SL 147 off Gibraltar on Febr. 2, before proceeding to the U.K. as Convoy SL 147/MKS 38 (link in Voyage Record; Helgøy, Jenny, Norefjord, Norelg and Sirehei are also included). Germa arrived Milford Haven on Febr. 13, proceeding to Southampton the next day. As will be seen when going back to Page 3 of the archive documents, she later spent quite a long time in Falmouth, from arriving there from Southampton on Febr. 28, to departing again for Barry on Apr. 25.

She now headed to the U.S. again, joining Convoy ON 235*, which started out in Liverpool on May 4-1944 and also had Gallia, Ivaran, Katy, Marit II and Reinholt (Commodore Vessel) in its ranks. Germa joined from Belfast Lough and arrived New York on May 18. From New York, she made a voyage to Macoris, then returned to New York, and on June 24, we find her in Convoy HX 297, for which the Norwegian Brimanger served as Commodore Vessel. Germa was bound for Methil and London with a cargo of sugar - see also Page 4. She later returned across the Atlantic with Convoy ON 251*, which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 1 and in which Fjordheim was sunk, follow the link for details. Bernhard, Elg, Evanger, Ferncliff (returned), Grey County, Heimgar, Henrik Ibsen, Rutenfjell, Snar, Thorhild, Tungsha (Commodore Vessel), Veni and Vera, as well as the Panamaian Norbris (Norwegian managers) are also listed. Germa again joined from Belfast Lough and arrived New York Sept. 19. Her next Trans-Atlantic voyage commenced on Nov. 17, when she joined the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 161, carrying sugar and general for Liverpool, where she arrived Dec. 5. New Years Eve that year was celebrated in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ONS 39*, originating in Liverpool on Dec. 28, arriving Halifax Jan. 13-1945; Germa, however, was bound for New York, where she arrived Jan. 16, having started out from Belfast Lough again. She had again been in the company of other Norwegian ships, namely Annik, Cetus, Ferncliff, Mui Hock, Novasli and Tercero.

According to Arnold Hague, she later returned to the U.K. in Convoy SC 169*, departing Halifax on March 7-1945. She had a cargo of sugar, sailing in station 71. Sommerstad and Velma are also listed, and Acanthus and Buttercup were among the escorts for a while - see SC convoy escorts. Her last westbound convoy voyage was made in ONS 49*, originating in Liverpool on May 2, arriving Halifax May 18; Germa had sailed from Belfast Lough on May 3 and arrived Corner Brook on May 18, having detached from the convoy on the 15th. In other words, VE Day was celebrated at sea. Askepot, Brush, Evanger, Grey County, Henrik Ibsen, Iron Baron, Maud, Orwell and Velox are also named in this convoy. On the 25th, Germa proceeded to Sydney, C.B. (Page 4), and from there, she joined Convoy SC 177*, which had started out in Halifax on May 26 and also included Geisha, Hardanger, Heimgar, Lago, Orwell, Sir James Clark Ross, Slemmestad, Sommerstad, Strix and Velma. Germa had a cargo of paper and took station 23 of the convoy, arriving Liverpool on June 8 - see Page 5. From that page, we also learn that she got to head home to Norway already in July-1945, making another voyage home before that year was over.

* 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 for ships in all ONS convoys. The entire SC series will also be updated and completed, but for now, please go to ships in all SC convoys. See also ships in all KMS convoys and ships in all MKS convoys, where Germa is listed in KMS 31 and MKS 38, as mentioned; these will also be added to individual pages.

More information on all the Norwegian ships mentioned on this page is available via the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Owned in 1951 by Wallem & Co, Panama. Renamed Norway Maru in 1951 for Dai-ichi Kisen K.K., Kobe. Owned from 1960 by Dai-ichi Chuo K.K, Kobe, and from 1965 by Fujita Kaiji Kogyo K.K, Osaka. Scrapped at Sakai in 1970.

Related external links:
Convoy SL 125 - Info on the battle and list of ships sunk.

Attack on KMS 31

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

Norway had another Germa post war, originally delivered as Olav Ringdal in 1965 and managed by Olav Ringdal, Oslo. Sold to Arendal in 1970 and renamed Claro, then renamed Germa in June-1974 for A/S Gerrards Rederi, Kristiansand. Later sailed as Al Tajdar for owners in Monrovia from 1979, broken up in 1985.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: E-mails from Roger W. Jordan - and misc.