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D/S Idefjord To Idefjord on the "Ships starting with I" page. Manager: Den norske Amerikalinje, Oslo Launched on Apr. 9-1921 by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal (Yard No. 81) for NAL, delivered in June-1921. Related items on this site:
At one of the external links provided below Idefjord is listed as bound for Montreal in Convoy OB 182, which left Liverpool on July 11-1940 and dispersed on the 14th. She headed back to the U.K. at the end of that month in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 62, joining with the Sydney, C.B. portion, bound for Glasgow with general cargo, station 54. She subsequently joined Convoy OB 203, leaving Liverpool on Aug. 24 (dispersed on the 28th) again with destination Montreal, heading back to the U.K. towards the end of Sept. in Convoy HX 76, again joining from Sydney, C.B. The following month she shows up in Convoy OB 231, which left Liverpool on Oct. 19 and dispersed on the 23rd. Her destination is again given as Montreal, station 83. Idefjord returned to the U.K. in Nov. with Convoy HX 86 (joined from Sydney, C.B.), and the following month she's listed in Convoy OB 259, which left Liverpool on Dec. 14-1940 and dispersed on the 17th. Her destination is given as St. John, N.B - the external website that I've linked to further down on this page has more information on the OB convoys. In Jan.-1941 she sailed in Convoy HX 102, bound for Avonmouth and Swansea with a general cargo, subsequently joining Convoy OB 289, departing Liverpool on Febr. 20 (dispersed 4 days later). No destination is given for Idefjord (the Norwegian G. C. Brøvig was torpedoed and damaged). In Apr. she was in Convoy HX 119, and in May she's listed as bound for Montreal in Convoy OB 322 (departure Liverpool May 12, dispersed May 20), heading back to the U.K. in June in Convoy HX 131, bound for Swansea with a general cargo and trucks in station 94 of the convoy, joining with the Sydney (C.B.) portion. The following month she's listed in Convoy OB 343 in which the Norwegian Ferncourt was bombed and damaged (convoy left Liverpool July 6, dispersed July 21 - Idefjord's destination was Montreal again). She sailed in station 35 of Convoy HX 148 in Sept.-1941, along with the Norwegian Ørnefjell (55), James Hawson (83), Grey County (93), Stigstad (64), Herbrand (52), Egda (54), Vivi (76), and Mirlo (23), as well as the Panamanian Norvinn (Norwegian managers, therefore listed on this website, station 53, between Herbrand and Egda). In Oct. that year she's listed as bound for Montreal in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 24*, which left Liverpool on Oct. 8 and dispersed on the 15th. She subsequently returned to the U.K. the following month in Convoy HX 159, heading back across the Atlantic again in Dec. with the westbound Convoy ON 46* (left Liverpool Dec. 13, dispersed Dec. 21). Her destination is given as St. john, N.B. on that occasion. In Jan.-1942 she's listed in Convoy HX 170 along with several other Norwegian ships, including Montevideo and Eidanger. All the others are unnamed, but are available on this external page (Anna Knudsen, Egda, Laurits Swenson, and Nueva Granada). Idefjord returned to St. John again the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 67*, in which the Norwegian Eidanger, among others, was sunk. This convoy left Liverpool on Febr. 14 and arrived Halifax on March 1. Idefjord headed back to the U.K. later that month in Convoy HX 180, returning in Apr. with the westbound Convoy ON 85* (departure Liverpool Apr. 10). Her destination is given as Halifax on that occasion. In May she's listed in Convoy HX 189 together with the Norwegian Kong Haakon VII, Olaf Bergh and Scebeli, and the following month she's listed as bound for Montreal in the westbound Convoy ON 103*, which left Liverpool on June 12. I also have her in Convoy HX 199 in July, and in Aug. she joined the westbound Convoy ON 121* in order to travel to Sydney, C.B., the convoy leaving Liverpool on Aug. 12, dispersed on the 27th. She must have returned to the U.K. shortly afterwards (see external link to Convoy SC 101 at * further down on this page), because she's also listed in the westbound Convoy ON 139*, which departed Liverpool on Oct. 16 and arrived New York on Nov. 1; however, Idefjord was bound for Halifax. She was scheduled to return in Convoy HX 214 a few days later, but instead sailed in the next convoy, HX 215, which left New York City on Nov. 11-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 25th. Idefjord, bound for Glasgow with a general cargo, joined this convoy from Halifax. She returned to Halifax the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 153, station 55. In Febr.-1943 she's listed in Convoy HX 226, general cargo for Garston, returning to Halifax in March with the westbound Convoy ON 173* (departure Liverpool March 13, arrival Halifax March 29). She headed back to the U.K. again the following month with Convoy HX 234, then in the middle of May she joined the westbound Convoy ON 184* (bound for Halifax), which left Liverpool on May 15 and arrived New York on the 31st. At the end of June we find her in Convoy HX 245, which had originated in New York on June 23, but Idefjord joined from Halifax on the 26th, taking up station 78 of the convoy, bound for Glasgow with general cargo. In the middle of July she shows up in the westbound Convoy ON 193* (departure Liverpool July 16, arrival New York July 31), again bound for Halifax. She's said to have had a fire on board on Aug. 5 and was repaired at Halifax. She must have gone back to the U.K.* again because she's also listed in the westbound Convoy ON 207*, leaving Liverpool on Oct. 18, arriving New York on Nov. 4 - Idefjord, however, had St. John, N.B. as her destination. Again she must have returned to the U.K.*, because she shows up again in another westbound convoy, namely ON 215*, which left Liverpool on Dec. 9 and arrived New York on the 28th - no destination is given for her on that occasion.
In Jan.-1944 we find her in Convoy HX 274, again joining from Halifax, and again bound for Glasgow with general cargo, and the following month she joined the westbound Convoy ON 223* in order to sail to St. John, N.B. (convoy departed Liverpool on Febr. 7, arrived New York on Febr. 24). In March that year she's listed in the Halifax portion of Convoy HX 282, bound for Tyne with grain, general and meat. She returned to St. John the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 231* along with 14 other Norwegian ships, namely Bernhard, Ferncourt, Haakon Hauan, Spinanger, Østhav, Solstad, Vav, President de Vogue, Heranger, Kong Haakon VII, Thorsholm, Skaraas, Høyanger and Nordanger, all listed on this website. This convoy departed Liverpool on Apr. 7, and arrived New York on the 24th. Idefjord subsequently went back to the U.K. in May with Convoy HX 290, joining from Halifax and bound for Glasgow with a general cargo and grain. In June she's listed as bound for Montreal in Convoy ON 239*, leaving Liverpool on June 3, and in July-1944 she sailed in Convoy HX 298, joining from Sydney, C.B., bound for Tyne with a cargo of flour. She then joined the westbound Convoy ON 248(F)* at the beginning of Aug. (left Liverpool Aug. 6, arrived New York Aug. 20), returning to the U.K. the following month in Convoy HX 307 along with Buenos Aires, Fagerfjell, Frontenac, John Bakke, Kaia Knudsen, Thorsholm and Stiklestad. Idefjord was in station 11 and had a cargo of lumber, bound for Loch Ewe, joining with the Halifax portion. Early in Oct. she's listed as bound for Rimouski in the westbound Convoy ON 258* (departed Southend on Oct. 6, arrived New York on the 24th), and was scheduled to go back to the U.K. in Convoy HX 318 the following month, but instead joined the next convoy, HX 319. (Sydney, C.B. portion).
Related external links: See also this chronological
I've included this account because of the "human" aspect, and because of the close proximity to occupied Norway. Especially in the north of the country people suffered greatly, and relied more than any others on the kindness and dedication of the seamen and others. Idefjord carried the first, much needed supplies to the Norwegian civilians in Finnmark after the Norwegian forces had already landed there the month before (ref. my account under M/T Herbrand and the links at the end of this text for related history). As mentioned, Idefjord had arrived the U.K. in Convoy HX 319 in Nov.-1944. She left Loch Ewe on Dec. 30-1944 in Convoy JW 63 consisting of 38 ships and a strong escort, which included the Norwegian destroyer Stord, arriving the Kola Inlet safely on Jan. 8-1945 (1 ship, the American Adolph S. Ochs had returned to Loch Ewe). The Norwegian D/T Norfjell was also in this convoy. Idefjord took on board a cargo of around 200 tons gifts from British and American aid organizations for the people of Finnmark, and also 32 passengers (medical personnel for Kirkenes). On Jan. 20 Idefjord and the Russian ship Vjatka left for Liinahamari, escorted by 4 Norwegian and 2 Russian war ships. One of the Russian ships was torpedoed and damaged, but the convoy arrived at its destination otherwise unharmed. When Idefjord arrived Norway, there was not much left of Finnmark, the German forces having burnt everything in their wake before retreating, and only a few houses were left standing. The population had been forced to evacuate beforehand, though some had stayed behind and hid in caves in the mountains. Idefjord left for Kirkenes on the morning of Jan 22, again under a strong Norwegian/Russian escort, arriving that same afternoon. Stockholm Radio was apparently quite excited about this event and announced to all the world that a large Norwegian transport had arrived Kirkenes with supplies. U-995 (Hess) must have had his radio on, because on Febr. 9 that U-boat carefully navigated up the fjord and sent a torpedo at Idefjord while she was anchored at the pier, but missed twice and withdrew. The next day Idefjord had finished unloading her cargo and departed with a Norwegian escort for Liinahamari where the escort was reinforced with Russian vessels and aircraft, before leaving Kola Inlet on Febr. 17 with Convoy RA 64, consisting of 33 ships with the Norwegian Commander Ullring as Commodore in the British Samaritan. Before leaving, 500 civilian evacuees from Sørøy were embarked. (My Norwegian Guestbook has a message from someone whose parents were among those evacuated from Sørøy. Aboard the American Lebaron Russel Briggs a passenger gave birth to a son 2 days after departure; he was named Lebaron and later became a captain). Soon after departure the British sloop Lark was torpedoed by U-968 (total loss); this sloop had earlier sunk U-425 with the help of the corvette Alnwick Castle. The American Thomas Scott with 41 evacuees on board was torpedoed and sunk, also by U-968. The American crew made sure all the evacuees got safely in the lifeboats, and a British destroyer rescued them all before the ship sank. The corvette Bluebell was torpedoed and sunk by U-711 with the loss of all on board except 1. The convoy later encountered bad weather and was split up, but by the 20th the Commodore had most of them together again. That same morning they were attacked by more than 25 enemy aircraft, which withdrew when they couldn't penetrate the escort. The hurricane force winds caused the convoy to scatter again, and again they had been reassembled when a force of torpedo bombers attacked, but missed, on Febr. 23. However, the straggler Henry Bacon, with 19 Norwegian evacuees on board, was hit by a torpedo after having defended herself for 65 minutes. Several of the American crew volunteered their places in the lifeboats to the evacuees, mostly women and children, thereby losing their own lives when their ship sank (22 died, including Captain Alfred Carini and 7 gunners out of a complement of 41 and 26 gunners). The 64 survivors were rescued by escort vessels and taken to Scotland. The convoy arrived Clyde on March 1. NOTE: According to Bob Ruegg/Arnold Hague ("Convoys to Russia"), all 65 persons who had abandoned Henry Bacon were still alive when the destroyers found the lifeboats, including the 19 Norwegian civilians, but 26 of the ship's crew and Armed Guard died in the sinking.
Upon the Russian advance into the north of Norway the Germans were driven westwards from East Finnmark placing Sørøya west of Hammerfest in a critical situation. The 500 civilians had been brought to Murmansk by the destroyers Sioux, Zambesi, Zealous and Zest (Captain Roger Hicks) detached from Convoy JW 64 by the Flag Officer of that convoy. My text under D/S Skiensfjord has more on JW 64 and also a summary of an article about the Sørøy evacuees. Captain Hicks had previously been on board the destroyer Antelope which took part in the evacuation of Svalbard in Sept.-1941 (he died in 1997). For his part in the evacuation from Sørøy and his actions in Convoy RA 64 (rescuing survivors from Henry Bacon) he was awarded "Ridder av 1. klasse av Den Kongelige Norske St. Olavs Orden" (Knight of 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian St. Olav's Order). Here's a picture of the medal sent to me by Harald Hallberg, Norway. He says that No. 2 from the right in the picture was made by Spink during the war; only 53 were awarded, mostly to Non-Norwegians. It's in gilded silver and somewhat smaller than the other "knight crosses" from 1882, 1906,1942 and 1937-2002 respectively.
Related external link:
Idefjord departed Clyde in Convoy JW 65 with a new cargo for Kirkenes on March 11-1945; again the Norwegian Stord was one of the escorts. German U-boats were waiting in the Kola Inlet and torpedoed two American cargo ships on March 20 (Horace Bushnell, U-995 - total loss and Thomas Donaldson, sunk by U-968. The escorting sloop Lapwing was also sunk that day, either by U-968 or U-716). Idefjord continued to Kirkenes, unloaded her cargo until the 20th of April, when she continued to Liinahamari with the Russian merchant ship Onega. After they had again left Liinahamari on April 22 in Convoy PK 9, escorted by 4 Norwegian Naval vessels and several Russian ones, they were immediately spotted by U-997 (Lehmann), and both ships were torpedoed, 69 11N 37 07E. Onega sank in a few minutes, but Idefjord, which had received a torpedo on the port side, stayed afloat (a British gunner died). The crew went in the lifeboats, but after the escorts Tromøy and Karmøy (Ex British trawler Inchkeith) had investigated the damages further, most of them went on board again. I've seen an account that says it was a mad rush to get Norwegians back on board, because if the Russians had boarded first, the ship would have been theirs, since it had been abandoned in Russian waters. Idefjord was taken in tow, arriving Murmansk on April 23 for temporary repairs.
On August 5-1945 Idefjord left Murmansk, arriving Gothenburg on Sept. 7 for permanent repairs. En route she had been forced to spend some time at the yard in Stavanger, as the temporary repairs made at Murmansk proved insufficient to take her all the way to Sweden. She was sold to Ila Jernstøperi A/S (Egil Alnæs, manager), Trondheim in 1959, and renamed Ilafjord. Sold to Japanese shipbreakers in 1960 and arrived Osaka on April 21 for breaking up. Demolition commenced at Sakai on April 25-1960. More related external links: Russian Convoy Series | Russian Convoys 1941-1945 | Murmansk Run Article The Soviet Advance into Norway The Northern Sea Routes - based on Admiral Kuznetsov's memoirs (Russian Navy Minister). U-995 | Hans Georg Hess | U-997 Norway Heritage Project has a section on Norwegian America Line with pictures and more details on dimensions etc. on several of the company's ships, including Idefjord. To Idefjord on the "Ships starting with I" page. Den Norske Amerikalinje had 3 ships by this name at various times, this was the 2nd one. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, Norwegian America Line fleet list, "Convoys to Russia" Bob Ruegg / Arnold Hague - (My sources).
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