D/T Meline
Updated June 14-2010

To Meline on the "Ships starting with M" page.

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My Norwegian "Warsailor Stories" section has the story of someone who served as stoker on this ship from March 30-1940 till Dec. 6-1940, Peder Kristoffer Langeland (Norwegian text only). After he had joined Meline in New York, he says they went to Aruba to load crude oil and while there, they learnt that Norway had been invaded (according to Page 1 of the archive documents, Meline arrived Curacao from New York on Apr. 10, the day after the German invasion of Norway, proceeding to Kingston, Jamaica a week later). He adds that Meline was on charter to Texaco Oil and made voyages in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as several trips to Freetown to provide bunkers for Sir James Clark Ross (the archive document mentions only one voyage to Freetown in the period he was on board - this took place in Nov.-1940). In the summer of 1940 they ended up staying several weeks outside Norfolk, while waiting for Nortraship to get properly established (going back to the archive document, we see that she had arrived Hampton Roads on July 12, departing for Curacao on Aug. 1), then made several(?) voyages from Venezuela to the bauxite mines run by Canadian Aluminium (CanAl) in Trininad - the captain at the time had the last name Nilsen, and was the former 1st mate. Page 1 also lists a couple of her 1941 voyages, which continue on Page 2.

In Sept.-1941 she was in Convoy HX 151 from Halifax (station 43) along with the Norwegian Sama, San Andres, Dagrun, Morgenen, Belinda, Thorshøvdi, Sophocles, Tigre, Hardanger, Leiv Eiriksson and Laurits Swenson. The convoy left Halifax on Sept. 22 and arrived Liverpool on Oct. 7; Meline arrived Clyde on Oct. 5, then proceeded to Bowling, with arrival there on Oct. 8. Some of these ships, including Meline, subsequently joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 26. Meline had station 73 and was bound for New York, where she arrived on Nov. 2, the convoy having been dispersed on Oct. 29. According to the Commodore, she had been a bad station keeper. From New York, she later proceeded to Houston (Page 2), then headed to Halifax in order to join Convoy HX 167 back to the U.K. on Dec. 27, together with Bralanta, O. A. Knudsen, Thorshavet, Suderøy, Noreg, O. A. Knudsen, Abraham Lincoln, Sandanger and others (follow the link). A. Hague says Meline was involved in a collision with the British Darina in this convoy on Jan. 10-1942. I have no further details on this, but she arrived Liverpool the following day, so damages were probably not very serious. She did, however, spend quite a long time in Manchester, where she had arrived on Jan. 16; Page 3 gives departure as March 19 - perhaps some repairs had been undertaken there? Her destination is given as Aruba, but she arrived New York on Apr. 7, having joined Convoy ON 79* from Liverpool on March 23. This convoy also included the Norwegian Brant County, Grey County, Hallanger, James Hawson, Norefjord, Noreg, Stigstad and Trondheim.

Meline left New York again for Halifax on Apr. 11-1942, and on Apr. 14 we find her in Convoy HX 185 from there, arriving Liverpool on Apr. 27, continuing to Stanlow, then on to Manchester. Together with Arosa, Fernbank, G. C. Brøvig, Hallanger, Havsten, James Hawson and Tanafjord, she joined Convoy OS 29 the following month, voyaging from Liverpool to Curacao via Trinidad in ballast. Ref. external link provided within the Voyage Record for more on this convoy, which left Liverpool on May 22 and had Freetown as its final destination. Meline, however, arrived Trinidad on June 13, Curacao on June 22, continuing to Las Piedras the next day, then back to Curacao and on to Key West, Hampton Roads, New York and Halifax, arriving the latter on Aug. 2; again, see Page 3 - convoy information for some of these voyages can be found in the table above. She was scheduled for the slow Convoy SC 95, which left Halifax 2 days later, but did not sail, and was also cancelled from Convoy SC 96 (Aug. 11). She finally got away in Convoy HX 203 on Aug. 16, cargo of fuel oil for Belfast, station 73. She arrived Belfast Lough on Aug. 28, joining Convoy BB 14 that same day and arrived Milford Haven on Aug. 29, proceeding to Dartmouth and Southampton on the 30th. It'll be noticed in A. Hague's record above, that he has given the convoy designation as BB 214 - in his listings of the BB convoys (external link), BB 14 had sailed in Apr.-1941.

The following month, Meline can be found, together with Atlantic, Brant County, Kollbjørg, N. T. Nielsen Alonso, San Andres, Vardefjell (returned), Vav and Velma (in collision - returned), in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 129*, which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 11 and arrived New York Sept. 25 (Page 3). From New York, she headed to Curacao 2 days later (via Guantanamo Bay), also making another voyage to Las Piedras, before returning to Curacao and New York - see Page 4. With destination Shellhaven, she was scheduled for Convoy HX 214 from New York on Nov. 3, but according to A. Hague, she instead joined the slow Convoy SC 110*, departing New York on Nov. 17. He has also included Fana, Ferncliff, Gezina, Hallfried, John Bakke (damaged in collision, follow link for details), Norbris (Panamanian flag, Norwegian managers and included under the N's of this website), Norefjord, Tanafjord and Vav in this convoy. Meline later appears to have spent quite a long time in Middlesbrough (Page 4), where she had arrived on Dec. 21-1942. Departure is given as Febr. 9-1943.

With Brajara, Brimanger, Egda, Gallia, Heranger, Lynghaug, Maud (returned), Morgenen, Reinholt, Slemmestad and Tigre, she subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 168*, departing Liverpool on Febr. 21-1943. (The corvette Buttercup, which came under the Norwegian flag at the end of the following year, is named among the escorts - see ON convoy escorts). Meline's destination is given as New York, but she put in at Halifax on March 10, continuing to New York 3 days later, and from there to Curacao, then back to New York, with arrival Apr. 12 (Page 4). On Apr. 18, she can be found in Convoy HX 235, again bound for Shellhaven, where she arrived (via various other ports) May 9/10. She was back in New York on June 7, having arrived with Convoy ON 186*, which had started out in Liverpool on May 24: Meline had sailed from Loch Ewe that day. B. P. Newton, Herbrand, Norholm, Spinanger and Trondheim had also been in company. Meline headed back across the Atlantic on June 15 in Convoy HX 244, for which Samuel Bakke served as the Vice Commodore's ship. Meline was bound for Purfleet with fuel oil, station 36 - her voyages in this period are listed on Page 5.

In July that year, we find her, along with Bralanta, Chr. Th. Boe, Fagerfjell, Fernwood, Geisha, Harpefjell, Herbrand, Hiram, Idefjord, Maud, Norlom, O. B. Sørensen, Para, Samuel Bakke, Sandviken, Santos, Skaraas, Skjelbred, Stiklestad, Thorhild, Thorshov, Tungsha and the Panamanian Norlys (Norwegian managers), in Convoy ON 193*, originating in Liverpool on July 16, arriving New York on the 31st. Meline now remained in New York for a long time; she was scheduled for Convoy HX 251 back to the U.K. on Aug. 7, but did not sail. As will be seen when going back to the archive document mentioned above, she instead headed to North Africa a couple of months later, arriving Oran on Oct. 23 - convoy info in Voyage Record.

In March-1944 she made a voyage from Bizerta to Port Said in Convoy KMS 44*, arriving her destination on March 27, having left Bizerta on March 21. She's also listed, with the same voyage information, in Convoy KMS 52*, arriving Port Said on June 16. According to Page 5, she left Port Said that same day for Haifa, then returned to Port Said, with arrival June 19. She's now listed in Convoy GUS 44, which left Port Said on June 24 (A. Hague has not included her in his listing for GUS 44 - external link). This convoy had Hampton Roads as its final destination (arrival July 18), but several ships parted company along the way; in fact, Meline is said to have left the convoy for Augusta on June 29. I also have a little snippet of information stating that she later arrived Augusta from Taranto on July 9, and left again that same day. This fits in with the fact that she's listed as bound from Augusta to Port Said in Convoy KMS 55*, which in turn matches the information found on Page 6 of the archive documents, stating she left Augusta on July 9 and arrived Port Said on the 14th. She subsequently joined Convoy MKS 56*, which left Port Said on July 18 and arrived Gibraltar on the 29th; Meline, however, was returning to Augusta, with arrival there July 24. She now headed to Naples 2 days later, then went back to Augusta, and at the beginning of the following month she joined Convoy MKS 57*, voyage from Augusta to Gibraltar, where she arrived on Aug. 8, having sailed from Augusta on the 2nd.

Subsequent 1944 and some 1945 voyages are shown on Page 6 - convoy information for some of them, as well as for those made in between voyages mentioned here, can be found in the table above.

Skipping now to May-1945, when Arnold Hague has included her in Convoy SC 175*, which left Halifax on May 7 and arrived Liverpool on the 21st - in other words, VE Day was celebrated at sea. Meline had a cargo of sun fuel, and it looks like she was the only Norwegian ship in this convoy. About a week later, she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 305*, departing Liverpool on May 27. This time, several Norwegian ships were in company, namely Hilda Knudsen, Laurits Swenson, Noreg, Salamis and Samuel Bakke (Commodore Vessel). According to Page 7, Meline arrived New York on June 1 (this document shows her voyages to Oct.-1945).

* The ON convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section; in the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. Note also that the entire SC series and the HX series will eventually be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated); but for now, see ships in all SC convoys and ships in all HX convoys. The MKS convoys and KMS convoys will also be added - see ships in all MKS convoys and ships in all KMS convoys. Several Norwegian ships are named.

More details on the other Norwegian ships mentioned on this page can be found with the help of the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index.

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