D/S Lysefjord

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Final Fate - 1943:

Departed Tampa, Florida on March 31-1943 for Puerto Barrios via Tela, Honduras with 900 tons lumber, asphalt and machinery. Torpedoed, port side near No. 3 hatch by U-155 (Piening) on Apr. 1, position 23 09N 83 24W. At the time of attack she was making 9 knots, sailing on a course 225° true, and was not zig-zagging. The weather was partly cloudy with a choppy sea, wind easterly force 4. Visibility was good, no moonlight, and no other ships were in sight. There were 3 lookouts; 1 on the forecastle head, 1 on the bridge and 1 gunner was on duty aft. According to a survivors' report* she was struck at 21:48 CWT, the torpedo blowing a hole 6' in diameter, immediately followed by an explosion, shaking lose the wooden rails on the bridge. She sank very quickly by the stern and was gone within a minute, the boilers exploding as she did so. No SOS had been sent.

* This report gives the position of attack as 23 12N 82 59W, with a note in parenthesis saying "also 23 13N 83 25W".

The starboard lifeboat capsized as the ship sank so that all those who were already in it ended up in the water and were pulled under by the suction (the ship had initially been abandoned without direct orders from the captain). 8 of them, including the captain and 1st engineer, managed to get onto 2 rafts which they tied together. 2 of the crew were able to board another lifeboat and after having picked up 9 from the water it was ordered to head for Cuba to summon help. This boat, which had the 1st mate on board, reached Bahia Honda Light, Cuba after about 14 hours, Apr. 2. In the meantime, the rest of the survivors had rightened and bailed the capsized boat and transferred to it. They were rescued in the morning of Apr. 3 by the American S/S Howard in 23 12N 83 05W and landed in Tampa, Florida the following afternoon. The captain was instructed by Nortraship to travel to New York where he arrived on Apr. 7, while the other 7 went to New Orleans.

The inquiry was held in New York on Apr. 8-1943 with the captain appearing.

Crew List:

Survivors
Captain Arne Olsen	1st Mate Ingemar Nilsen	2nd Mate Johan Kluver	Able Seaman Jakob Jensen	Able Seaman Hans Hageli	Able Seaman Peder Gundersen
Able Seaman/Gunner Theodor Økland	Able Seaman/Gunner Magnus Fyllingen	1st Engineer Halfdan Solbakken	Donkeyman Ole Østbye Johansen	Stoker Kristoffer Økland	Stoker Johan Dahl
Stoker Axel Pettersen	Stoker Manuel Forseca (Cuban)	Stoker José Farinas (Cuban)	Stoker Harald Frågåt	Steward Håkon Johansen	Cook Kolbjørn Gabrielsen
Mess Boy Absinio D. Suarez (Cuban)
Casualties
† Able Seaman Edvard Tobiassen	† 2nd Engineer Ole Andersen	† 3rd Engineer Oskar Genthner	† Stoker Eugenio Suarez (Cuban)

Related external links:
3 who died - The Norwegians only are commemorated at this memorial for seamen in Stavern, Norway.

U-155 | Adolf Cornelius Piening

NOTE: There's a Lysefjord 1 listed in the "Homefleet" section.

Back to Lysefjord on the "Ships starting with L" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume II, and misc. - (ref. My sources). A few details have been added from a summary of survivors' statements, received from Tony Cooper, England (from British archives).