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D/S Lutz To Lutz on the "Ships starting with L" page. Manager: C. T. Gogstad & Co., Oslo Built at Elsinore 1933. Previous names: Ninna until 1935, Martinique until 1937.
Lutz made several independent voyages to St. John, N.B., Halifax, Sydney, C.B., Corner Brook, Hampton Roads, Jacksonville, Savannah, Argentia, etc. from the beginning of 1942. In June that year, she's mentioned among the ships in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 195. Note, however, that the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page (based on Arnold Hague's research) has not included her in this convoy, which left Halifax on June 21-1942. Instead, she's listed as sailing from Halifax to St. John's, N.F. on that same date with Convoy HJ 6, arriving St. John's on the 23rd. The information on my page about HX 195 is based on a diary, and it's possible that the person who saw Lutz leaving Halifax at the same time as the other ships in this convoy simply assumed she was also destined for that convoy. Follow the instructions provided at the link mentioned above for information on some of the rest of her 1942 voyages. As can be seen, among others, she made a voyage to Greenland in Aug.-1942, Convoy SG 4, returning to St. John's with Convoy GS 13 in Nov.-1942. The Norwegian Askot is also listed in the latter. She had a narrow escape when U-223 (Wächter) attacked Convoy SG 19 about 150 miles west of Cape Farewell with five torpedoes at 04:52 hours on Febr. 3-1943 (convoy had left St. John's for Greenland on Jan. 29-1943). Two of them hit the Dorchester and sank her with the loss of 673 lives. The other torpedoes missed the Norwegian Biscaya and Lutz. It looks like all 3 ships had previously started out from New York with Convoy HX 224, having left the convoy on Jan. 27 in order to proceed to St. John's. Robert Cressman, "The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II" (ref. link to "Hyperwar" below) has an entry for Febr. 3-1943 where he says Convoy SG 19, bound for Greenland, was escorted by Coast Guard cutters Tampa (WPG-48), Escanaba (WPG-77), and Comanche (WPG-76), adding that Dorchester was chartered by the War Department. Casualties are listed as 675 men, including 15 of the 24 Armed Guard sailors. He adds "four Army chaplains, representing four different faiths, bravely give up their lifebelts to soldiers who have none; all four perish with the ship". He also says that Biscaya was damaged in this attack. Convoy SG 19 arrived Greenland on Febr. 4, and Lutz and Biscaya are said have to returned to St. John's with Convoy GS 21, departing Greenland on March 18-1943, arriving St. John's on the 23rd. Lutz is also listed in another convoy to Greenland, namely SG 28 (July-1943), returning with GS 33 (Oct.-1943), again, see the external website already mentioned, which also has information on some of the rest of her war voyages, up until the summer of 1944.
Sold in Aug.-1951 to Malabar Steamship Co Ltd, Bombay, India, and renamed Jag Damba. Sold to shipbreakers at Bombay in Nov.-1963 and delivered in Dec.-1963. Related external links: List of Greenland Convoys - Here's the the main page. Hyperwar - Linked directly to Robert Cressman's information for 1943. Back to Lutz on the "Ships starting with L" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, E-mails from Roger W. Jordan - and misc.
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