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M/T Lincoln Ellsworth To Lincoln Ellsworth on the "Ships starting with L" page. Owner: A/S Laboremus Built by Götaverken A/B, Gothenburg in 1927. Captain: Kristian Olsen. Related item on this website: This original image from the National Archives of Norway shows her voyages. 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.
It looks like Lincoln Ellsworth was at Suez when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940. She had arrived there from Abadan the day before - see the archive document. In Nov.-1940, she's listed, together with the Norwegian Norse King and Evita, in Convoy SL 54 from Freetown to the U.K.; ref. external link provided within the Voyage Record above. The convoy left Freetown on Nov. 4 and arrived Liverpool on the 26th - Lincoln Ellsworth arrived Milford Haven on the 28th, later proceeding to Swansea. With Braganza and Leka, she's also included in Convoy OB 281, which originated in Liverpool on Febr. 1-1941 and dispersed on the 5th, Linclon Ellsworth arriving Curacao on Febr. 28, having started out from Clyde on Febr. 1, according to the archive document. She headed back across the Atlantic on March 9 in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 114 and was detached to Reykjavik on March 25, arriving there the next day. She had a cargo of fuel oil, and had sailed in station 15 of the main convoy (according to A. Hague's listing). Several Norwegian ships took part, as will be seen when following the link to my page about this convoy. Hidlefjord was sunk and Kaia Knudsen damaged. Judging from Commodore Vice Admiral F. A. Sommerville's notes for HX 114, it looks like he had also served as Commodore for Convoy OB 281.
Lincoln Ellsworth left Reykjavik again alone on Apr. 5 in order to travel to Trinidad in ballast, but did not make it to her destination. On April 6, she was torpedoed forward of amidships on the port side and set on fire by U-94 (Kuppisch), position 62 37N 27 06W. All 29 survived and were rescued from their two lifeboats two days later. In the afternoon of Apr. 7 the 1st mate's lifeboat had been spotted by an aircraft, which dropped food and water down to them. The survivors in this boat were picked up near Sandar by HMS Skyrock*, while those in the captain's boat were rescued by HMS Derbyshire that same day (Apr. 8?), also near Sandar. They were all landed in Reykjavik where the maritime hearings were held on Apr. 29, with Captain Olsen, Able Seaman Jonasson (helmsman), Ordinary Seaman Tørresen (lookout) and the 3rd engineer appearing. According to the captain's report presented at the inquiry the survivors in the boats had observed a 2nd torpedo striking forward of the engine room, before she was shelled from both sides, then sank by the stern about an hour and a half after the first torpedo had hit. (J. Rohwer mentions only one torpedo).
For info, U-94 was also responsible for the attacks on Eastern Star, John P. Pedersen and Hvoslef - follow the links for dates and more details.
Related external links: U-94 | Herbert Kuppisch - Here's Uboat.net's details on the attck on Lincoln Ellsworth. The site, which does mention a 2nd torpedo hitting aft, causing her to develop a list to port, adds that when she did not sink the U-boat fired 121 rounds from the deck gun of which about 100 were hits. Back to Lincoln Ellsworth on the "Ships starting with L" page. The company later had another tanker by this name, built in 1948. The Clydebuilt Ships website has more details on this ship (external link). The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I (Norwegian Maritime Museum) and misc. others for cross checking info.
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