D/S Lysaker IV - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

D/S Lysaker IV
Updated Dec. 26-2011

To Lysaker IV on the "Ships starting with L" page.

Received from Ron Beaupre. Picture was taken by James M. Kidd on June 15-1952.
Another picture is available on this external page (click in it to make it larger).

Manager: Ludvig Lorentzen, Oslo
Tonnage: 1551 gt

Built in 1924 by Furness Shipbuilding, Haverton Hill (123) as Vale of Mowbray for Vale S.S. Co., Middlesbrough (until 1935).

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

Voyage Record
From Febr.-1940 to March-1943:

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

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and the record is incomplete.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	Febr. 22	Norwegian Waters	Bergen	Febr. 26	HN 14	Put back
	Febr. 28	Norwegian Waters	Methil	March 1	HN 15	–
	March 15	Methil	Norwegian Waters	March 18	ON 20	–
	Apr. 4	Norwegian Waters	Methil	Apr. 7	HN 24	See also narrative below. Missing movements, Page 1
	June 9	Sunderland	Southend	June 11	FS 191	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	June 13	Southend	–	–	OA 167	For Rochefort. Dispersed June 16. Convoy available at OA 167 (external link) Missing voyages, Page 1.
	Sept. 2	Sydney, C.B.	Clyde	Sept. 17	SC 3	See also narrative below. Missing movements, Page 1
	Oct. 20	Milford Haven	–	–	OB 232	For Sydney, C.B. Dispersed 56 30N 26 50W, Oct. 26 (Page 1 gives arrival Sydney Nov. 3). Convoy available at OB 232 (external link) Missing voyages, Page 1.
	Nov. 22	Sydney, C.B.	Clyde	Dec. 9	SC 13	–
1941	Jan. 9	Clyde	Methil	Jan. 13	WN 67	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link) Missing voyages: Page 1 & Page 2
?*	Jan. 15	Methil	Hull	Jan. 17	FS 389	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	The above voyage has been extracted from Hague's record for Lysaker V. Please note, however, that it's only a guess on my part. Lysaker IV* arrived Shields on Jan. 16.
	July 8	Holyhead	Newport	July 10	BB 44	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link) Missing voyages, Page 2.
	Aug. 26	Belfast Lough	Cardiff	Aug. 29	BB 68	Convoy available at link above. Left Cardiff Sept. 1 (Page 2).
	Sept. 3	Milford Haven	Liverpool	Sept. 4	MH 18	Convoy available via this page (external link) Left Liverpool Sept. 7 (Page 3).
	Sept. 8	Holyhead	Cardiff	Sept. 9	BB 73	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link) Missing movements, Page 3.
	Sept. 14	Milford Haven	Liverpool	Sept. 15	MH 22	Convoy available via this page (external link) Left Liverpool Sept. 18 (Page 3).
	Sept. 21	Holyhead	Cardiff	Sept. 22	BB 78	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link) Missing movements, Page 3
*	Oct. 16	Holyhead	Cardiff	Oct. 18	BB 89	*From Liverpool, Oct. 15 (Page 3). Convoy available at link above. Missing movements, Page 3.
	Nov. 1	Holyhead	Barry	Nov. 2	BB 95	Convoy available at link above Missing movements, Page 3
	Nov. 17	Holyhead	Barry	Nov. 18	BB 101	Convoy available at link above More missing movements, Page 3
	Dec. 7	Belfast Lough	Bristol*	Dec. 8	BB 109	See also Page 4* Convoy available at link above. Missing movements, Page 4.
	Dec. 24	Holyhead	Cardiff	Dec. 26	BB 115	Convoy available at link above. Missing 1941 movements, Page 4.
1942	Jan. 9	Holyhead	Swansea	Jan. 10	BB 122	Earlier 1942 movements, Page 4. Convoy available at link above. More missing movements, Page 4.
	Febr. 15	Holyhead	Barry	Febr. 17	HM 4	Convoy available via this page (external link) Missing voyages: Page 4 & Page 5
	Febr. 27	Holyhead	Barry	March 1	BB 143	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link) Missing movements, Page 5.
	Apr. 10	Loch Ewe	Methil	Apr. 13	WN 268	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link) Missing movements, Page 5
	Apr. 27	Methil	Loch Ewe	Apr. 29	EN 77	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	May 1	Loch Ewe	Reykjavik	May 5	UR 22	Convoy available at UR convoys (external link)
	May 21	Reykjavik	Loch Ewe	May 26	RU 24	Missing movements, Page 5
	June 23	Methil	Loch Ewe	June 25	EN 101	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	June 26	Loch Ewe	Reykjavik	July 1	UR 30	Convoy available at UR convoys (external link) Missing voyages, Page 6
	July 17	Reykjavik	–	–	RU 32	A. Hague says: Detached July 20 (Page 6 gives arrival Liverpool July 22). Missing movements, Page 6.
	Sept. 22	Loch Ewe	Reykjavik	Sept. 27	UR 42	Convoy available at UR convoys (external link) See also narrative below
	Oct. 13	Reykjavik	Clyde	Oct. 18	RU 44	Convoy available at RU convoys (external link)
	Oct. 21	Holyhead	Swansea	Oct. 22	HM 46	Convoy available via this page (external link) Missing 1942 voyages: Page 6 & Page 7
1943	March 7	Methil	Liverpool	March 12	EN 202	Earlier 1943 voyages, Page 7. Convoy available at EN convoys (external link) Subsequent voyages: Page 7 through Page 17

Misc. Convoy Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the archive documents.

Lysaker IV, in ballast for Dunstan, is listed as sailing in Convoy HN 15 from Norway to the U.K. in Febr.-1940 (according to A. Hague, she had initially been in the previous convoy, HN 14, but put back). A. Hague now has her returning to Norway in the middle of March with Convoy ON 20, and at the end of that month she's mentioned in the Advance Sailing Telegram for Convoy HN 23B, however, it looks like she was among the ships returning to port, because she's also listed in Convoy HN 24 on Apr. 3. This convoy arrived Methil Roads on Apr. 7, that is, just 2 days before the German invasion of Norway, and hence this ship ended up in allied service. Follow the links for more info, several Norwegian ships took part.

Lysaker IV later made a voyage to France - see Page 1. She's named among the ships in Convoy OA 167, which left Southend on June 13-1940 and dispersed on the 16th. She had a cargo of coal and was bound for Rochefort, but her arrival there is not given on the archive document. Other Norwegian ships included in this convoy, which is available via the external link provided within the Voyage Record, are Heina, Troja and Tungsha. (Svint was also scheduled, but did not sail). It looks like she made another voyage to France and back to the U.K. later that month (see archive document), then in July that year, she made a voyage from Milford Haven to Sydney, C.B., where she arrived July 28; I have no convoy information for this voyage; perhaps she had sailed independently(?). She was scheduled to return with the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 2 on Aug. 25 (in which Gro was sunk), but instead joined the next convoy on Sept. 2, SC 3, cargo of lumber for Sunderland. The Norwegian Lotos was sunk - follow the link for details. Along with Heien, Måkefjell, Polyana, Rimfakse, Siak, Skiensfjord (Commodore Vessel) and Tyr, Lysaker IV later joined Convoy OB 232, which originated in Liverpool on Oct. 21 and dispersed on the 26th (again, ref. external link in the table above). She arrived Sydney, C.B. on Nov. 3, having started out from Milford Haven on Oct. 20. With a cargo of pit props for Hull, she headed back across the Atlantic on Nov. 22 with the slow Convoy SC 13.

She was otherwise mostly in service around the U.K. and also to Iceland; her first voyage to Reykjavik taking place in June-1941 - see Page 2.

Skipping now to May 21-1942, when I have her in Convoy RU 24 from Reykjavik, bound for Tyne with vehicles and stores. In July that year we find her in Convoy RU 32; cargo of fish meal for Liverpool, where she arrived on July 22 (according to Page 6). Lyra and Jan Mayen are also listed in this convoy.

A couple of months later she rescued the 27 survivors from the British Empire Bell, which had been torpedoed and sunk by U-442 on Sept. 25-1942 when in Convoy UR 42 from the U.K. to Iceland (external link). See the link provided at the end of this page for more on this attack.

According to Page 17 of the archive documents, she finally got to go home to Norway in Oct.-1945.

More information on 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.

POST WAR:

(According to the Riversea International website):

Renamed Chicago in 1953 (Norwegian), Italian Gennaro Ievoly in 1954, Villanova in 1958 (still Italian). Broken up at La Spezia in Febr.-1966.

Related external link:
The attack on Empire Bell

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