M/T Gylfe
Updated Sept. 27-2011

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


Source: Lillesand Sjømannsforening, Norway.
The Australian War Memorial also has a picture of this ship, taken in 1941 (external links).

With Eidsvold, Fosna, Gunny, Norfold, Velma and Vilja, Gylfe is listed in Convoy BN 11, which departed Aden on Dec. 18-1940 and arrived Suez on the 25th, however, according to Arnold Hague, she was towed to Aden with defects by the escorting Shoreham. Page 1 of the archive documents states she arrived there that same day, and judging from her record for this period, the repairs must have taken quite a long time - departure Aden is given as Apr. 25-1941. Some of her 1941 voyages are also shown on Page 1, while the rest of her 1941 voyages, 1942 voyages and 1943 voyages are listed on Page 2. Unfortunately, the latter scan is not very good, but the missing dates can be found in A. Hague's record above. As can be seen, there's also a long gap in her voyages for 1942, from arriving Montevideo on Sept. 26-1942, to departing for Rio on March 23-1943. A. Hague says this was due to her requiring major repairs (she had also spent over 2 months in Durban in the summer/fall of 1942).

Gylfe, cargo of Admiralty fuel, was scheduled for Convoy HX 239 from New York to the U.K. on May 13-1943, but instead joined the next convoy on May 19, HX 240, bound for Invergordon, station 42. With Abraham Lincoln (Commodore Vessel), Bajamar, Bañaderos, Belinda, Duala, Evita, G. C. Brøvig, Kaia Knudsen, Kaldfonn, Montevideo, Mosdale, Skandinavia, Strinda, Thorhild, Vav and Velma, she returned across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 188*, which originated in Liverpool on June 10 and arrived New York on the 26th; Gylfe, however, joined from Loch Ewe and was bound for Halifax, where she arrived on June 24 (Page 2). With destination Grangemouth, she's also listed among the ships in the slow Convoy SC 140 from Halifax on Aug. 21, and arrived Loch Ewe on Sept. 4, continuing to Grangemouth, with arrival there on Sept. 6. Later that month, we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 202 (ONS 18), in which Oregon Express and Skjelbred were sunk. Gylfe was part of ON 202, sailing in station 52, and arrived New York unharmed on Sept. 30, having joined the convoy from Loch Ewe. Follow the links for much more information; the Commodore's report and several other reports are also available. On Nov. 6, she joined Convoy SC 146 from Halifax in order to head back to the U.K. (Commodore in Rena), but she put into St. John's with propeller damage, arriving there on Nov. 12, according to the archive document. Departure is given as Apr. 22-1944, so again, repairs appear to have taken a long time.

Instead of heading to the U.K., she now sailed to Augusta on May 13, with arrival June 3 - please see her Voyage Record, as well as Page 3. Having made a voyage to Naples and back to Augusta, she left Augusta for Algiers on June 13, arriving June 17, having sailed in Convoy MKS 52* (Facto, Hermelin, Høegh Hood and Tore Jarl are also named, but with different voyage information). From Algiers, she subsequently headed back to the U.S. again on June 22, and this time she did go to the U.K. from there, having joined the large Convoy HX 300 from New York on July 17, bound for Grangemouth and Coryton. She arrived Grangemouth, via Loch Ewe, on Aug. 6, later returning to the U.S. in Convoy ON 249*, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 18-1944 and arrived New York Sept. 2; Gylfe started out from Loch Ewe on the 18th and arrived Baltimore on Sept. 4. She had again been in the company of several other Norwegian ships, namely Frontenac, Høyanger, Høegh Hood, Kaia Knudsen, Laurits Swenson, Lista, Maud, Minerva, Norden, Norma (Vice Commodore's Ship), Skaraas, Skiensfjord, Torborg and Velma.

Page 3 has information on her subsequent voyages, while Page 4 shows the rest.

* The ON convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. See also ships in all MKS convoys, where Gylfe is included in MKS 52, as mentioned.

For more information on the other Norwegian ships named on this page, please see the alphabet index below, or use the Master Ship Index.

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

This company later had another Gylfe. This ship was originally delivered in 1962 as Nina Borthen for Harry Borthen & Co., A/S, Oslo. Renamed Gylfe for Eiv. Evensen, Oslo in 1968. Sold in 1976, renamed Dea Brøvig for Th. Brøvig, Farsund. Sold to Greece in 1984, renamed Warlord. Broken up in 1985.