Site Map | Search Warsailors.com | Merchant Fleet Main Page | Warsailors.com Home |
|
M/T Glarona To Glarona on the "Ships starting with G" page. Owner: Henry Tschudis Tankrederi A/S. Built by Götaverken A/B, Gothenburg, Sweden in 1928. Managed by British Tanker Co. Ltd, London during the war. Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives: Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.
(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database). Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each. Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.
As will be seen when going to Page 1 of the archive documents, Glarona was on her way from Trieste to Palermo when Norway was invaded by the Germans on Apr. 9-1940. In June that year, she's listed among the ships in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 49, in which Eli Knudsen and Randsfjord were sunk. Glarona was bound for Clyde with Admiralty fuel and joined with the Bermuda portion. The following month, she made a voyage to Trinidad, having started out from Clyde in Convoy OB 188, which originated in Liverpool on July 23 and dispersed on the 27th, Glarona arriving Trinidad Aug. 9. Going back to the archive document mentioned above (and Hague's Voyage Record), we see that she spent quite a long time in Durban later that year. She had arrived there from Capetown on Oct. 28 and did not leave again until Dec. 27. She reported having seen a U-boat in 06 30N 11 52W on May 26-1941; "Nortraships flåte" suggests this may have been U-38. According to J. Rohwer this boat sank the Dutch Berhala on May 23 - 09 50N 17 50W, the British Vulcain, on May 24 - 09 20N 15 35W, Tabaristan, on May 29 - 06 32N 15 23W, Empire Protector on May 30 - 06N 14 25W and the Norwegian Rinda on May 31 - 06 52N 15 14W. Judging from the positions and dates of these sinkings, it would seem to me that U-103 would have been closer to the position of Glarona's sighting on the 26th than U-38 (U-103 sank a ship in 05 24N 12W on the 25th). I asked one of the visitors to Uboat.net's forum about this (I was told he has info from the KTB's) and he has informed me that U-38 chased a steamer from 17:45 on May 25 until 03:00 on the 26th going from Quadrant ET 1182 to ET 1253, so he agrees it's improbable that this U-boat was in ET 6662 which corresponds to 06 30N 11 52W (the position reported by Glarona on that date). On the other hand, at noon on the 26th U-103 was in ET 68 so he agrees that this must have been the boat seen by Glarona. No other U-boat was in this area. (According to her Voyage Record, she was on her way from Freetown to St. Helena on that date, having left Freetown on May 25). A. Hague says she was docked for engine repairs in June-1941. She had arrived Capetown on June 26; departure date is given as Nov. 26. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 1 and Page 2. Skipping now to Aug. 29-1942, when she can be found in Convoy SC 98 from Halifax. Her destination is given as Stanlow, where she arrived Sept. 14/15. A. Hague says she straggled from the convoy on Sept. 8, so it looks she sailed alone from then on. She returned across the Atlantic the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 134*, but went into St. John's with defects, later joining ON 135* from there to Sydney, C.B., before proceeding to Halifax and New York, where she arrived Oct. 26, having joined Convoy ON 136* from Halifax. (ON 134 left Liverpool Sept. 26, arrived New York Oct. 17 - ON 135 had originated in Liverpool Oct. 2 and arrived New York Oct. 21, while ON 136 had sailed from Liverpool Oct. 3 and arrived New York Oct. 26). It looks like she may have undergone some repairs while in New York, because she did not leave again until Dec. 10. At the beginning of Jan.-1943, I have her in the Guantanamo-New York Convoy GN 32, bound for the U.K. via New York. The voyage to the U.K. was made in Convoy SC 118*, departing New York on Jan. 24. This convoy is not yet available among the SC convoys included in my Convoys section, but will be added - my page about Daghild has more information. Glarona had a cargo of fuel oil and dieso, sailing in station 83, and arrived Bowling, via Clyde, on Febr. 11. The following month, she joined the westbound Convoy ON 170, bound for New York, but according to A. Hague, she arrived Halifax with engine defects on March 19, proceeding to New York on May 6 (again, see also Page 2). On May 26, we find her in station 72 of the slow Convoy SC 132 from Halifax (having been cancellled from the faster Convoy HX 239 from New York on May 13); she arrived Bowling on June 12. Just a few days later, she joined the westbound Convoy ON 189*, which originated in Liverpool on June 16 and arrived New York July 1. Glarona had station 92, and served as Escort Oiler, which she also did on several other occasions. Acanthus, Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts (see this page). From New York, she later proceeded to Malta and Augusta. In Sept-1943, she made a voyage from Malta to Bizerta with Convoy MKS 24. For info, this convoy had started out in Alexandria on Sept. 4, arrived Gibraltar on the 13th, then continued to the U.K., after having joined up with Convoy SL 136 (from Freetown) on Sept. 14. Note, however, that Glarona, being bound for Bizerta, was not part of the Gibraltar-U.K. convoy; she had sailed from Malta on Sept. 8 and arrived Bizerta on the 11th. The following month, she made a voyage from Oran to Malta, having joined Convoy KMS 27* - she left Oran on Oct. 1 and arrived Malta on the 6th, according to Page 3. At the end of that year, she headed back to New York again, where she remained until March-1944, possibly for repairs of the defects mentioned by A. Hague in the above record. She was scheduled for Convoy HX 287 from New York to the U.K. on Apr. 12-1944, but instead joined the next convoy on Apr. 18, HX 288, for which the Norwegian Laurits Swenson acted as Commodore Ship. Glarona was bound for Stanlow, where she arrived, via Liverpool and Ellesmere Port, on May 7/8. Later that month, she's listed as bound for Curacao, Convoy ON 237*, departing Liverpool on May 19. She arrived her destination on June 11, having detached from the convoy on June 1. She was scheduled to return to the U.K. with Convoy HX 298 from New York on July 3, but did not sail. She was also cancelled from Convoy HX 299, but joined HX 300 on July 17 (this was the largest convoy ever). In Aug.-1944, we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 248S*, departing Liverpool on Aug. 10, arriving New York Aug. 27, and she was scheduled to go back across the ocean at the end of that month with Convoy HX 306 but was cancelled and shows up again in Convoy HX 309 on Sept. 16 (this time, Laurits Swenson was the Vice Commodore's ship). Glarona arrived Bowling on Oct. 6, and judging from Page 3 of the archive documents, it looks like she subsequently spent quite some time in Greenock, where she had arrived from Bowling on Oct. 9; departure date is given as Dec. 16, when she proceeded to Clyde, and from there, she joined the westbound Convoy ON 273* for New York, where she arrived Jan. 5-1945. She was scheduled for the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 165 on Jan. 16-1945, but instead joined SC 166 at the end of that month; her destination was Liverpool. In March, she joined the westbound Convoy ON 290*, returning with Convoy SC 172*, which departed Halifax on Apr. 6 and arrived Liverpool Apr. 22; Glarona arrived Bowling that day, according to Page 4. Just a few days later, she shows up in the westbound Convoy ON 299*, and her last Trans-Atlantic convoy voyage was made in Convoy SC 176*, departing Halifax on May 16 - she arrived Solent on May 30, Portsmouth the next day, cargo of sun fuel, serving as Escort Oiler, also carrying 60 depth charges.
Sold in1951 to Italy and renamed Isabella O, renamed Amalthea in 1954. Back to Glarona on the "Ships starting with G" page.
|
