M/S Norbryn
Updated July 20-2010

To Norbryn on the "Ships starting with N" page.


Source: Roger W. Jordan collection.
I've also received this picture from a visitor to my website (original source unknown to me). According to this message in my Guestbook, the incident happened in early June-1955, as Norbryn approached a dock head-on at Quebec, Canada, with a pilot aboard. But fighting strong winds and a running tide she did not stop and crashed into the dock, became suspended in mid air when the tide turned and was towed off by 4 tugs at the next high tide, with a 6 in. hole in her bow. See also this external page, and scroll down to No. 190 - Dominion Miller (her former name).

Misc. Convoy Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the convoy links provided for further details; several Norwegian ships took part in them.

Norbryn is listed in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 130 in June-1941. (She's also mentioned in the previous convoy, HX 129, but appears to have lost touch and returned to port). She had a cargo of nitrates for Newport, and initially sailed in station 94 of the convoy, which had departed Halifax on June 1, but was unable to maintain pre-arranged speed, and was instead sent to join the slower Convoy SC 33 on June 15, according to the Commodore's notes. At the end of July, she joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 3, originating in Liverpool on July 31. According to A. Hague's record, she arrived Trinidad on Aug. 24, the convoy having been dispersed on the 14th. With a cargo of nitrates for Newport, she was later scheduled for the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 57 on Nov. 28, but instead joined SC 58 on Dec. 4 (Nidardal was lost - follow the link for details). Montbretia is named among the escorts.

Unless some movements are missing from A. Hague's record, she appears to have spent a long time in Cardiff, where she had arrived from Newport on Jan. 17-1942. Departure is given as May 11, when she proceeded to Milfod Haven, and from there she joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 95*, which originated in Liverpool on May 15. Abraham Lincoln, Daghild, Fernwood, Hardanger, Helgøy, Morgenen, N.T. Nielsen Alonso, Solstad, Stigstad and Trondheim are also listed. Norbryn's destination is given as Halifax and A. Hague gives her arrival there as May 23. The rest of her 1942 voyages and some early 1943 voyages are shown in his Voyage Record above.

Norbryn (cargo of tea and lumber) witnessed the 5 day long battle for Convoy SC 118* early in Febr.-1943, but escaped unharmed. This convoy had departed New York on Jan. 24 and arrived Liverpool on Febr. 12, and also included the Norwegian Annik, Bestik, Daghild (sunk - follow link for more info), Cetus, Glarona, Grey County, Maud, Petter II and Sommerstad. Several Norwegian sources mention that the convoy was initially spotted because one of Annik's crew members was fingering with the Snowflake equipment and accidentally released Snowflakes, thereby lighting up the convoy. "Nortraships flåte" states that Norbryn's 2nd engineer Anders Gundersen was transferred to the rescue ship Toward after having taken ill, and died when that ship was sunk on Febr. 7. However, according to "Convoy Rescue Ships 1940-1945" by Arnold Hague, the "medical case" from Norbryn, who had been transferred on Febr. 2, and a sick man transferred from another ship on Febr. 6 (Celtic Star) were among the 18 saved by the corvette HMS Mignonette (K 38) after Toward had been sunk by U-402. Note, however, that in connection with the Tower Hill Commemoration at this external site, the Norwegian engineer is said to have died on Toward on Febr. 7-1942. See also my page about Daghild and the external links about this battle at the end of this page, one of which has a report on Toward's loss, stating that 26 survivors were saved altogether and landed in Londonderry in the evening of Febr. 10. Chief Officer G. I. Campbell's report adds that 3 were injured, 43 missing. He also mentions the 2 passengers, saying that the patient from Norbryn transferred on Febr. 2 had a broken thigh, while the patient from Celtic Star had a dislocated shoulder after having fallen down the mast, but does not specify whether they were among the missing, though he does mention that he went to the sick bay and got the man from Celtic Star out and into a lifeboat.

With Fagerfjell, Nueva Granada, Trondheim and Troubadour, Norbryn later returned across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 174*, which left Liverpool on March 20-1943 and arrived New York Apr. 8; Norbryn, however, was again bound for Halifax, where she arrived on Apr. 5 (according to A. Hague). Later that month we find her in Convoy SC 128 from Halifax, together with Iron Baron, Romulus and Mathilda, and at the beginning of June she's listed, along with Annik, Athos, Braga, Bralanta, Elisabeth Bakke, Fagerfjell, Frontenac, Helgøy, Kronprinsen, Lista, Morgenen, Norefjord, O. B. Sørensen, President de Vogue, Toledo and Vanja, as well as the Panamanian Norvinn (Norwegian managers) in the westbound Convoy ON 187* (departure Liverpool June 1, arrival New York June 15 - A. Hague says Norbryn arrived Baltimore the next day).

From the U.S., she now headed to Gibraltar, and in Aug.-1943 she shows up, with destination Port Said, in Convoy KMS 21, which she appears to have joined from Gibraltar at the end of July (or did she join at sea?) - see the second table on my page for this convoy, which arrived Port Said on Aug. 9.

Skipping now to Jan.-1944, when she's listed, with Germa, Grena and Norelg, in Convoy MKS 38*, departing Port Said on Jan. 21, arriving Gibraltar Febr. 1 - this agrees with the information found on this archive document. A. Hague later has her in Convoy SL 148/MKS 39 to the U.K. SL 148 had departed Freetown on Febr. 1, joined up with the MKS convoy* from Gibraltar on the 12th (with which Norbryn joined), and arrived Liverpool on Febr. 24 - Alaska, Mathilda, Norma and San Andres are also named in this convoy. She subsequently appears to have spent a long time in Manchester, where she had arrived on March 8/9; the archive document gives departure as May 5. She's now listed in Convoy OS 77/KMS 51, voyaging from Belfast to Oran and Algiers in station 75. She was in the KMS portion*, arriving Gibraltar on May 25 (sailed from Belfast Lough May 14); she later arrived Oran on the 29th, Algiers on June 8, having sailed in Convoy KMS 52* for this last leg of the voyage (Gezina, Ingertre, Lago, Mathilda, Meline, Nordnes and Skagerak are also listed in the latter, which had started out in the U.K. on May 22 as part of the combined Convoy OS 78/KMS 52 and split up June 4).

Norbris returned to Gibraltar later that month, and according to Arnold Hague, she now made a voyage from Gibraltar to Freetown in Convoy OS 81, arriving Freetown on July 12-1944 (Bosphorus is included, but was bound for Dakar). This convoy had started out in the U.K. as the combined Convoy OS 81/KMS 55 on June 22 and split up on July 3, the OS convoy proceeding to Freetown; as already indicated, Norbryn was not present from the U.K. but joined from Gibraltar. At the end of the following month we find her in station 21 of Convoy SL 169 from Freetown, which departed on Aug. 29 and arrived Liverpool on Sept. 17, having joined up with Convoy MKS 60* from Gibraltar on Sept. 10. Norbryn, cargo of kernels, rubber and beeswax, arrived Falmouth Sept. 16, according to the archive document. Cetus and Tigre are also named in this convoy.

She now headed across the North Atlantic again, having joined the westbound Convoy ON 257*, which left Liverpool Oct. 2-1944 and arrived New York on the 18th. This convoy also had Buenos Aires, Frontenac, G. C. Brøvig, Heranger and Kaia Knudsen in its ranks. With steel, lumber and general cargo, Norbryn joined the slow Convoy SC 160 from Halifax on Nov. 2 in order to sail to Garston, arriving there Nov. 18. Tunsberg Castle is named among the escorts, as is Buttercup, which came under the Norwegian flag following the loss of Tunsberg Castle (see SC convoy escorts).

According to the last external website that I've linked to at the end of this page, she was scheduled for Convoy OS 103/KMS 77 on Jan. 7-1945, but did not sail (or did she join and return? Again, see the archive document). Instead, she joined Convoy OS 106/KMS 80, which departed Liverpool on Jan. 22 and split up on the 25th. Fernbank also took part. Norbryn (in the KMS portion*) was on a voyage from Liverpool to Naples and Oran with war stores and coal in station 21, arriving Naples on Febr. 2, Oran on the 10th. A direct link to this convoy has been provided in the table above.

In Apr.-1945 we find her (with Ramø) in Convoy MKS 95*, which left Gibraltar Apr. 15 and arrived Liverpool on the 23rd (see also this document), and in May she's listed, along with Havkong, Havprins and Pan Scandia, in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 302*, departing Liverpool May 12, dispersed May 27, but it looks like Norbryn had already been detached from the convoy by then; she arrived Father Point on May 26/27, then proceeded to Montreal.

As will be seen when going back to the archive document mentioned in the above paragraph, she got to go home to Norway in Nov.-1945, making another voyage home in March-1946.

* The ON convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, with more information on each; in the meantime, the ships sailing in them are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. Also, the entire SC series will eventually be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated), but for now, please go to ships in all SC convoys. Additionally, the KMS and MKS convoys will be added, see ships in all KMS convoys and ships in all MKS convoys.

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

POST WAR:

Sold by Lundegaard & Sønner to Norsk Skipsopphugnings and arrived Grimstad on Jan. 14-1959 to be broken up. See also this external page.

Related external links:
Stavern Memorial commemoration - This website claims that Anders Gundersen, mentioned in my narrative above, was injured after an attack on the ship in Febr.-1943, but as far as I know, Norbryn was not attacked. As mentioned, he's also commemorated at Tower Hill, Panel 109.

OS/KMS Convoys - As can be seen, Norbryn is mentioned in OS 103/KMS 77 but did not sail.

Back to Norbryn on the "Ships starting with N" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, E-mails from R. W. Jordan and misc. (ref. My sources).