M/S Høegh Silvercloud - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

M/S Høegh Silvercloud

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

Source: Scanned from Leif Høegh & Co,'s fleet list (w/permission).

Owner: Skibs-A/S Arizona.
Manager: Leif Høegh & Co. A/S, Oslo
Tonnage: 5287 gt

General cargo vessel completed in Apr.-1939 by Flensburger Schiffsbau Gesellschaft, Flensburg, 5287 gt, 3145 net, 8280 tdwt, 414' 4" x 55' 8", 5-cyl. two stroke cycle double acting oil engine by Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg A.G., Augsburg.

Managed during the war by S & J Thompson Ltd., London, managers of Silver Line Ltd., which had a joint service arrangement with Leif Høegh before the war (this according to R. W. Jordan, author of "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939").

Captain of this ship early in the war was Odd Findahl (until late 1943). In my Guestbook there's a message from his grandson.
2nd mate until Dec.-1941 was Petter von Tangen, who subsequently joined Høegh Silverdawn as 1st mate and took part in the harrowing lifeboat journey after having been attacked by Michel. For more on this, please go to Norwegian victims of Michel.

According to the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page, she took part in Convoy ZG 8, which departed Cristobal on Oct. 17-1942 and arrived Guantanamo on the 21st. The company's Høegh Silverlight is also listed, as is the Norwegian Tabor. All 3 of them continued to New York from Guantanamo on Oct. 23 in Convoy GN 14, which arrived New York on Oct. 30. Additionally, the Norwegian Atlantic, Danio, James Hawson, Meline, Torfinn Jarl and Tropic Star are listed.

She's mentioned in connection with Convoy HX 214 from New York to the U.K. at the beginning of Nov.-1942, but is crossed out on the form with a note saying "not for U.K.". Later that month she shows up, together with Britamsea, Fenja, Stirlingville, and Thorsholm, in Convoy NG 324, departing New York on Nov. 24-1942, arriving Guantanamo Dec. 1. Her destination is given as Cristobal, and she continued from Guantanamo the next day in Convoy GZ 14, which arrived Cristobal on Dec. 5. Stirlingville was again in company, as was the Norwegian Tabor.

In Febr.-1943 we find her in a convoy from Bombay, namely BM 42, departing on Febr. 19, arriving Trincomalee on the 25th. The next convoy she shows up in is ZG 29, which left Cristobal on Apr. 24-1943 and arrived Guantanamo on the 28th, and the next day she joined Convoy GN 56, arriving New York on May 6. Later that month she's listed, together with Tatra, in Convoy NK 543, departing New York on May 27, arriving Key West June 1.

She's also listed, with Alar and Ørnefjell, in Convoy KN 271, departing Key West on Oct. 17-1943, arriving New York on the 22nd. About a month later she made a voyage to Port Said in Convoy UGS 25 (departure Hampton Roads on Nov. 24-1943, arrival Port Said Dec. 21). Haakon Hauan, Meline, Norsol, Solør, Viggo Hansteen and Viva also sailed in this convoy, but they were not all bound for Port Said.

It now looks like she travelled to Bombay again; she's listed in a convoy from there to Colombo on Jan. 31-1944, Convoy BM 84, in which the Norwegian Løvstad is also said to have taken part. The following month she appears in the Bombay-Colombo Convoy BM 85, departing Bombay on Febr. 9, arriving Colombo on the 14th. No voyage information is given, so I don't know exactly where she joined or where she was headed, or whether she was scheduled for BM 84, but instead joined the next convoy.

About a month later she headed to the U.S. in Convoy GUS 34, which originated in Port Said on March 15-1944 and arrived Hampton Roads on Apr. 14; Høegh Silvercloud joined from Alexandria. Other Norwegian ships were Atle Jarl, Egda, Norholm, Ole Bull, and Tanafjord. She later returned with Convoy UGS 42, departing Hampton Roads on May 13-1944, arriving Port Said, her destination at the time, on June 8. This time the Norwegian Evviva, Gylfe, Høegh Hood, Norfjell, and Sverre Helmersen were in company, but note that they were not all present from the U.S.

Jumping now to Aug.-1944, when she shows up in Convoy GUS 50, departing Port Said on Aug. 23, arriving Hampton Roads on Sept. 18. This convoy included Elise, Meline, Roald Amundsen, Tatra, Viggo Hansteen, and Vivi, most of which (but not all) were bound for the U.S. Høegh Silvercloud later made a voyage to Colombo, having joined Convoy UGS 58, which departed Hampton Roads on Oct. 22-1944 and had Port Said as its final destination (arr. there Nov. 18). Belinda, Granville, Norsol, and Tanafjord were also in company for part of the convoy's passage.

In the spring of 1945 she's listed, with no voyage information, in Convoy GUS 75, which left Oran on March 3 and arrived Hampton Roads on March 20. Gallia, Ida Bakke, Kirkenes, and Marathon are also included. The following month, Høegh Silvercloud shows up in a convoy going in the other direction, namely UGS 87, which left Hampton Roads on Apr. 18-1945 and arrived Gibraltar on May 3, but no destination is given for Høegh Silvercloud.

She probably made several independent voyages in between the convoy voyages mentioned here. All these convoys are available by following the instructions provided at the first external link below. More details on all the other Norwegian ships named here can be found with the help of the alphabet index at the end of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.

Related external links:
Misc. convoys - By clicking on "Ship Search", using "Silvercloud" as keyword, the above mentioned convoys will come up.

Back to Høegh Silvercloud on the "Ships starting with H" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Leif Høegh & Co's fleet list and misc., including the first external website that I've linked to above.