M/T Høegh Giant - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

M/T Høegh Giant
Updated Oct. 24-2011

To Høegh Giant on the "Ships starting with H" page.

Crew List

Received from Ken Dunn.
This picture can also be found in Leif Høegh & Co.'s fleet list, and I have the company's permission to use it on my site.
The Australian War Memorial has another picture of this ship, taken in Apr.-1940 (external links).

Owner: Skibsaktieselsk. Abaco, Aruba, Astrea & Noruega.
Manager: Leif Høegh & Co. A/S, Oslo.
Tonnage: 10 990 gt, 6590 net, 16 008 tdwt.
Dimensions: 508' 1" length x 69' 2" beam.
Machinery: 7-cyl. two-stroke cycle double acting oil engine by Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg A.G., Augsburg.
Call Sign: LJJN.

Completed in Febr.-1937 by Deutsche Werft A.G., Hamburg.

Captain: Finn Ager Madsen.

Related items on this website:
Guestbook message from someone whose uncle served on this ship (Robert McKeich). See also the message posted on Febr. 26 (scroll down on the page)..
Robert McKeich's letter to his brother - Gives quite a bit of details about their recurrent problems with the electrical system and how he got it fixed.

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.

Voyage Record
From March-1940 to June-1942:

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

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	March 20	Sourabaya	Brisbane	Apr. 26	Independent	A. Hague says: Notional sailing date. Page 1 gives departure Apr. 2.
	Apr. 26	Brisbane	Wellington	–	Independent	–
	May 10	Wellington	Miri	May 28	Independent	–
	May 31	Miri	Durban	June 19	Independent	–
	June 19	Durban	East London	June 20	Independent	–
	June 21	East London	Port Elizabeth	June 22	Independent	–
	June 23	Port Elizabeth	Capetown	June 25	Independent	–
	July 13	Capetown	Tampico	Aug. 6	Independent	–
	Aug. 10	Tampico	New York City	Aug. 17	Independent	–
	Aug. 21	New York City	Tampico	Aug. 28	Independent	–
	Sept. 3	Tampico	New York City	Sept. 10	Independent	–
	Sept. 14	New York City	Tampico	Sept. 22	Independent	–
	Sept. 25	Tampico	New York City	Oct. 3	Independent	–
	Oct. 10	New York City	Tampico	Oct. 18	Independent	–
	Oct. 22	Tampico	New York City	Oct. 29	Independent	–
	Nov. 1	New York City	Tampico	Nov. 8	Independent	–
	Nov. 12	Tampico	New York City	Nov. 20	Independent	–
	Nov. 26	New York City	Tampico	Dec. 3	Independent	–
	Dec. 6	Tampico	New York City	Dec. 13	Independent	–
	Dec. 15	New York City	Tampico	Dec. 23	Independent	–
	Dec. 27	Tampico	New York City	Jan. 3-1941	Independent	–
1941	Jan. 7	New York City	Tuxpan	Jan. 14	Independent	–
	Jan. 15	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	Jan. 22	Independent	–
	Jan. 24	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	Jan. 31	Independent	–
	Febr. 1	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	Febr. 8	Independent	–
	Febr. 11	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	Febr. 17	Independent	–
	Febr. 18	Tuxpan	Houston	Febr. 20	Independent	–
	Febr. 24	Houston	Tuxpan	Febr. 26	Independent	–
	Febr. 27	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	March 6	Independent	–
	March 8	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	March 17	Independent	–
	March 18	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	March 26	Independent	–
	March 27	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	Apr. 4	Independent	–
	Apr. 4	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	Apr. 11	Independent	–
	Apr. 13	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	Apr. 20	Independent	–
	Apr. 21	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	Apr. 28	Independent	–
	Apr. 30	Philadelphia	New Orleans	May 5	Independent	–
	May 8	New Orleans	Tuxpan	–	Independent	Page 2 gives arrival May 12.
	May 13	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	May 20	Independent	–
	May 22	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	May 29	Independent	–
	May 29	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	June 5	Independent	–
	June 8	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	–	Independent	–
	June 16	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	June 23	Independent	–
	June 25	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	–	Independent	Page 2 gives arrival July 1.
	July 3	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	July 10	Independent	–
	July 13	Philadelphia	Tuxpan	–	Independent	Page 2 gives arrival July 21.
	July 22	Tuxpan	Philadelphia	July 29	Independent	–
	Aug. 1	Philadelphia	New York City	Aug. 5	Independent	–
	Aug. 14	New York City	Baltimore	Aug. 16	Independent	–
	Sept. 4	Baltimore	Aruba	Sept. 10	Independent	–
	Sept. 12	Aruba	Halifax	Sept. 20	Independent	–
	Sept. 28	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Oct. 12	HX 152	–
	Oct. 13	Belfast Lough	Avonmouth	Oct. 16	BB 88	Convoy available at BB 88 (external link)
	Oct. 20	Avonmouth	Walton Bay	Oct. 21	Independent	–
	Oct. 24	Walton Bay	Milford Haven	Oct. 24	Independent	–
	Oct. 25	Milford Haven	–	–	ON 30	For NYC Via Belfast Lough (Page 2). Dispersed 43 10N 5 33W, Nov. 9.
	Nov. 9	Dispersed from ON 30	Port Arthur	Nov. 18	Independent	–
	Nov. 20	Port Arthur	Halifax	Nov. 29	Independent	–
	Dec. 3	Halifax	Clyde	Dec. 19	HX 163	See also Page 2.
	Dec. 24	Clyde	–	–	ON 50	For Baytown. Dispersed Jan. 3-1942. Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
1942	Jan. 3	Dispersed from ON 50	Baytown	Jan. 15	Independent	–
	Jan. 16	Baytown	Galveston	Jan. 16	Independent	–
	Jan. 22	Galveston	Baytown	Jan. 22	Independent	–
	Jan. 23	Baytown	Halifax	Febr. 2	Independent	–
	Febr. 7	Halifax	Clyde	Febr. 19	HX 174	Missing movements, Page 3
	Febr. 27	Clyde	–	–	ON 71	For Aruba. Dispersed March 8. Convoy will be added. See link above
	March 8	Dispersed from ON 71	Aruba	March 18	Independent	–
	March 23	Aruba	Freetown	Apr. 7	Independent	–
	Apr. 11	Freetown	Puerto la Cruz	Apr. 22	Independent	–
	Apr. 25	Puerto la Cruz	Curacao	Apr. 26	Independent	–
	May 1	Curacao	Freetown	May 17	Independent	–
	May 27	Freetown	–	–	Independent	Sunk - See "Final Fate" below

Notes:

According to "Nortraships flåte", Høegh Giant arrived Brisbane in convoy from the Thursday Islands, together with other Norwegian tankers on Apr. 19-1940, in other words, 10 days after the German invasion of Norway. Please see Havbør for an explanation. Note, however, that according to Page 1 of the archive documents, she arrived Brisbane on Apr. 26, as did Havbør; they had both left Thursday Island on the 19th. Her 1941 voyages also start on this document and continue on Page 2.

Some Convoy Voyages:

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

Høegh Giant made her first North Atlantic convoy crossing in the fall of 1941, having joined Convoy HX 152 from Halifax on Sept. 28 (in station 92) along with the Norwegian Drammensfjord (106), Beth (44), Evita (93 - returned), Trondheim (95), Salamis (84) and Storanger (83). Høegh Giant arrived Avonmouth, via Belfast Lough, on Oct. 16. She headed back to the U.S. later that month with Convoy ON 30, station 44 (the Commodore's narrative is also available). Her destination is given as New York, but her arrival there is not given on Page 2 of the archive documents, which says she arrived Port Arthur (via Belfast Lough) on Nov. 18, having started out from Milford Haven on Oct. 25 (the convoy had been dispersed on Nov. 9). From Port Arthur, she proceeded to Halifax 2 days later, and from there, she joined Convoy HX 163 on Dec. 3 and arrived Clyde on Dec. 19, Bowling the next day. That year was rounded off by sailing back across the Atlantic with Convoy ON 50*, which originated in Liverpool on Christmas Eve and dispersed on Jan. 3-1942. Høegh Giant (station 45) arrived Baytown on Jan. 15, having sailed from Greenock on Dec. 25. The Norwegian Charles Racine, Fagerfjell, Fernwood, Fjordheim (returned), Innerøy, Sama, Skandinavia, Strinda and Taborfjell are also listed.

On Febr. 7-1942, we find her in Convoy HX 174 from Halifax, together with the Norwegian James Hawson (returned), Athos, Fernwood, Vanja, Thorsholm, Beth and Anderson (ran aground, see Anderson), as well as the Panamanian Norvinn (collided, returned). Acanthus and Rose are named among the escorts. According to Page 3, Høegh Giant arrived Bowling (via Clyde) on Febr. 21, and a few days later, she joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 71*, which originated in Liverpool on Febr. 26 and was dispersed March 8. She was bound for Aruba and had station 73, arriving her destination on March 18. Other Norwegian ships, some of which were also bound for Aruba, were Athos, Fagerfjell, Fjordaas, Gallia, Garonne, John Bakke, Malmanger, Skaraas, Solfonn, Velma and the Panamanian Norvik (included under the N's on this website).

From Aruba, she later headed to Freetown, Puerto la Cruz and Curacao, then back to Freetown, bringing us to May 27-1942, when she embarked on her last voyage.

* 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. The HX convoys mentioned above will also be updated to show information from A. Hague's database, but for now, please see ships in all HX convoys. Escorts for them are named 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.

Final Fate - 1942:

There seems to be some disagreement with regard to the events surrounding the loss of this ship, and for info I've added all the details I can find in my misc. sources.

According to Arnold Hague, she had arrived Freetown from Curacao on May 17-1942*, departing Freetown (in ballast) for Trinidad on May 27 - see also Page 3. The Norwegian book "Nortraships flåte", says she was in position 07 17N 43 06W at 06:45 on June 3 when she was hit by a torpedo below the after deck, port side (U-126, Bauer - 3 torpedoes were fired in this attack). She stayed afloat, but engines had to be stopped for about half an hour, until she at 07:30 continued at 10 knots with the gun crew at their posts. Suddenly, the U-boat was spotted a couple of hundred meters behind them on the starboard side. The gunners immediately fired, then saw 3-4 columns of water around the boat which quickly submerged. The fourth shot landed where the boat had gone under, leading them to think it had been sunk. Nothing further happened until 21:00 that same day when the U-boat again attacked, this time with 2 torpedoes which struck on the starboard side, just forward of amidships (3 torpedoes may in fact have been fired in this attack as well).

*According to this external website, Høegh Giant had been scheduled for Convoy SL 110, which left Freetown on May 13-1942, but she did not sail - as mentioned above, she had not arrived Freetown until May 17.

The captain and 3 men launched the gig, while the rest of the crew went in 2 lifeboats. The U-boat came up and called twice over to the gig, but when the captain didn't understand what was being said, 3 bursts of machine gun fire were sent above the lifeboat, injuring the captain in the arm. Høegh Giant, which was still afloat, was then shelled, but this source does not specify whether the ship actually sank at that time.

The two lifeboats with 35 survivors landed at Devil's Island at 15:00 LAT on June 13, where they were placed under guard and disarmed of a 30 caliber machine gun and 2 pistols they had with them. They were kindly treated by those who were interned there, but after 6 days they were given the choice of staying there as internees until the end of the war or leave, whereupon they quickly chose the latter, and after the boats had been re-stocked they were allowed to leave. The occupants of one of the boats were picked up by the Canadian Keymont at 15:00 GCT on June 20, about 25 miles north of Paramaribo Lightship, and those in the other by the Dutch Princess Juliana at the same time and date. They arrived Paramaribo that same day; from there they were sent to Trinidad on board the Norwegian D/S Lindvangen (according to Lindvangen's Voyage Record for this period, she arrived Trinidad on June 24). The gig, meanwhile, had landed in Trinidad on June 18 (or 21st?).

Some of the above appears to have been taken from a report presented at the maritime hearings in New York on Aug. 7-1942, signed by Captain Madsen, Ordinary Seamen Bent Eilersen (who had been at the helm when the torpedoes hit), Able Seaman Alf Fjermestad (on lookout duty), and 3rd Mate Erik Mehus (on duty on the bridge). This report says they had departed Freetown in a convoy at 06:00 on May 27, and that the convoy had been dispersed at 20:00 on the 28th, Høegh Giant continuing as per sailing orders from Navy Control, Freetown. The captain states that 15 radio signals had been sent out in 3 periods after the ship had been hit the first time, adding that she received damages between No. 6 and 8 center tanks in that attack, developing a heavy list. This report also states that the explosion from the 2 torpedoes in the 2nd attack was so powerful that the starboard bridge wing was torn off, and the motor lifeboat was smashed. While the U-boat was shelling the ship, the gig was separated from the other 2 boats, and when they were not seen at daylight, the gig set a course for Trinidad.

A memorandum, based on interviews with the survivors, dated July 11-1942 and signed by U.S.N.R. Ensign E. D. Henderson, states:
At the time of the attack she was on a course 275° true, sailing at a speed of 12.5 knots and zigzagging in moderate sea with a light easterly wind, and it was pitch dark. She had 2 lookouts, 1 on top of the wheel house and 1 on the navigation bridge. One other ship was in sight, identity not known; a cargo vessel was sighted far away at 17:00 GCT, heading southwest. Time for the first attack on June 3 is given as 10:00 GCT in 07 17N 43 06W, the torpedo striking 10' below the water line in No. 7 cargo space, port side, breaching a hole 20' in diameter and resulting in a slow flooding. The course was altered to north and speed reduced to 10 knots. The sub was sighted about 3000 yards astern and 4 rounds were fired in 5 minutes by the gun crew, forcing the sub to crash dive though no hits were scored. Høegh Giant had a 3" gun aft and 4 machine guns. The second attack is said to have taken place about 14 hours later, at midnight GCT on June 3/4 in 07 32N 44 36W, when the sub was about 500 yards distant on a relative bearing of 090° from the ship, firing 2 torpedoes which both struck the ship; the first one in No. 3 cargo hold, starboard side, about 10' below the water line, and the second one about 10' aft of the first. She was abandoned before the extent of the damage had been ascertained. The U-boat then surfaced and when last seen at 00:30 GCT on June 4, it was circling and shelling the ship.

The Naval Observer at Paramaribo later expressed the opinion that the ship had been abandoned prematurely, as she was compartmented and very hard to sink, as evidenced by the fact that she was still afloat after 3 torpedo hits and 50 rounds of shell fire. Had the gun crew remained on board "they might have forced the sub to abandon its prey". The observer pointed out that an experienced Navy gun crew might have been able to hit the boat when it surfaced during the first attack which was made in daylight.

Details from misc. sources, for info:
"The World's Merchant Fleets 1939", Roger W. Jordan says Høegh Giant was torpedoed and shelled by U-126 on June 3 in position 06 52N 42 43W. Torpedoed again the next day, June 4, position 07 32N 44 36W, sunk 07 17N 43 06W, all 39 survived.
J. Rohwer ("Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two") has included just one incident, stating she was torpedoed and shelled at 11:24 German time on the 3rd, giving the time 00:05 on the 4th according to allied sources, which gave the position as 06 52N 42 43W. Rohwer gives the U-boat's grid position as EP 6334 which is closer to the position that "Nortraships flåte" gives.
Charles Hocking simply gives the position "400 miles east of Guiana".
Leif Høegh's fleet list says Høegh Giant was sunk 650 miles northeast of the mouth of the Amazon, giving the position 7N 43 06W, adding that 4 men were saved after 15 days in a 17' gig, the other 35 after 10 days in a lifeboat.
When interviewed later, the 1st mate and 2nd mate gave the position 07 17N 43 06W at 10:00 GCT on June 3, and 07 32N 44 36W at 00:00 GCT on June 4.
The captain and 3 of the crew members gave 06 52N 42 43W at 08:45 GMT on June 3, and 07 52N 46 20W at 23:05 GMT on June 3.
Later, the captain and 3 crew gave 06 52N 42 12W at 06:45 LAT on June 3, and 07 25N 44 12W at 22:30 LAT June 3.

U-126 was also responsible for attacks on Inga I, Gunny and Leiv Eiriksson - follow the links for details. U-126 was later sunk by aircraft in the Bay of Biscay in July-1943 - see external link at the end of this page.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

At the end of July, Høegh Giant's survivors were on the American passenger ship Robert E. Lee. She was on a voyage from Port of Spain to Tampa, Florida, but could not secure a pilot and was directed to New Orleans with PC-566 as escort. She had 268 passengers (mostly survivors of other sinkings), 130 crew members and 6 Naval Armed Guard. On July 30-1942, she was torpedoed by U-166 (Kuhlmann) in 28 40N 88 42W and sank after 15 minutes. 10 crew members and 15 passengers died. Other Norwegians on board were survivors from Andrea Brøvig. All the Norwegians survived and contributed to the rescue of about 185 of Robert E. Lee's passengers. (U-166 was sunk by PC-566 that same day).

According to "A Careless Word, A Needless sinking" by Arthur R. Moore, Robert E. Lee was in Convoy TAW 7 at the time (external link - as will be seen, this convoy is said to have arrived Key West on July 28, 2 days before Robert E. Lee was sunk). This book says she had a complement of 131, 6 Naval Armed Guard and 270 passengers. The ship was abandoned in 6 lifeboats and 16 rafts. PC-566, SC-519 and the tug Underwriter picked up survivors, who were landed at Venice, Louisiana, then transported by bus to New Orleans. According to this posting on my Ship Forum Robert E. Lee had arrived Antigua on July 12, left Antigua July 13, arrived St. Lucia same day. Left St. Lucia July 14, arrived Trinidad July 15. Left Trinidad July 21 (this fits with the departure date of Convoy TAW 7 - the Norwegian Athos and Ida Bakke are also listed in this convoy), arrived off Tampa July 29. No pilot was available so she proceeded to New Orleans escorted by PC-566. In other words, it looks like she was no longer in the convoy when she was sunk (this message is part of a thread that starts here).

Crew List - All survived:
Norwegian, unless otherwise noted

This list was sent to me by Ken Dunn, a visitor to my website, who in turn received it from the Maritime Museum in Oslo.

Captain Finn Ager Madsen	1st Mate Nils Tøgersen	2nd Mate Alf Mølbach	3rd Mate Erik Mehus	Radio Operator Reginald Adams (Canadian)	Carpenter Johannes Olsen
Boatswain Alf Ødegård	Able Seaman Petter Heen	Able Seaman Alf Fjermestad	Able Seaman Johan Gjølstad	Able Seaman Earl O'Hara (Canadian)	Able Seaman Mindor Fjørtoft
Able Seaman Haakon Andreas Engh*	Able S./Gunner Reidar Eikje	Able S./Gunner Reidar Olsen**	Ordinary Seaman Bent Eilersen	Ordinary S. Henry Whitehead	Ordinary S. Olof Berg (Swedish)
Ordinary S. Magnus Rutle	Ordinary S. Kaare Sjo	1st Engineer Arne Arnesen	2nd Engineer Jørgen Aslaksen	3rd Engineer Lorents Johansen	4th Engineer Karl J. Jørgensen
Electrician Robert McKeich*	Mechanic Carl Ericsson (Swedish)	Mechanic Mikal Selliseth***	Mechanic Olaf Larsen	Mechanic Erling Salomonsen	Petty Officer Alf Svendsen
Oiler Kristoffer Christensen	Oiler William Birch (Canadian)	Oiler Frank Nobile (Canadian)	Oiler Arne Løkke	Steward Walter Kristiansen	Cook Olaf Rørstad
Galley Boy Arne Nilsen	Mess Boy Eigil Petersen (Danish)	Saloon Boy Jens Kling (Danish)	See Guestbook message* and Robert McKeich's letter to his brother