M/S Norma
Updated Jan. 30-2009

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


Source: Scanned from a book about Akers mek. Verksted, 1931.

From Bjørn Milde's postcard collection.

Some Convoy Voyages:

More will be added.

As will be seen when going to Page 1 above, Norma was en route from Buenos Aires for Oslo, Norway when Norway was invaded by the Germans on Apr. 9-1940. She went to Dakar on Apr. 15 and on May 12 she proceeded to the U.K. in Convoy HGF 30 from Gibraltar, bound for Falmouth with general cargo. The Norwegian Thorshavn is also included.

According to a story found in "Krigsseileren" No. 1 for 1974, Norma also sailed in the convoy in which M/S Tudor was sunk in June-1940, namely Convoy HGF 34, along with Nina Borthen, John P. Pedersen and Kollskegg. However, as will be seen when following the link, Norma is not included in the convoy document; the only other Norwegian ship listed, in addition to those already mentioned, is Svein Jarl).

Norma transported some of Norway's gold to the U.S.A. (my page about M/S Bomma has a detailed account). She's listed in Convoy OB 175, departing Liverpool on June 27-1940, dispersed June 30 - ref. external link provided at the end of this page. Her destination is given as Montreal, but going back to Page 1, we see that she arrived Halifax on July 10 (having started out from Clyde June 27), later continuing to New York and Baltimore. This may have been the voyage on which she transported the gold - note that Bra-Kar, which was also involved in the gold transport, is also included in OB 175.

The external website that I've linked to below has Norma (and the Norwegian Velma) in Convoy SL 72, which departed Freetown on Apr. 17-1941 and arrived Liverpool on May 13. However, I believe this is an error, as it does not agree with the information found on the archive document mentioned above, which says she sailed from Suez on Apr. 14 and arrived Busreh on the 27th, continuing from there to Table Bay on May 15. (It may be a mix-up with Norman Star, which Arnold Hague has listed in this convoy; see link to his listing at the end of this page).

In Jan.-1942, A. Hague has included her, with a cargo of tea, iron and jute, in Convoy SL 99, departing Freetown Jan. 27, arriving Liverpool Febr. 16; Norma arrived Oban on the 17th - see Page 2. She can also be found in Convoy OS 24 in Apr.-1942, voyaging from Oban to Capetown in station 84. This convoy departed Liverpool on Apr. 2 and arrived Freetown on the 22nd; Norma sailed from Oban Apr. 3 and arrived Table Bay May 3.

She's also listed in Convoy SL 133/MKS 18, the SL section of which left Freetown on July 13-1943, joined up with the MKS section (from Gibraltar, available on my own site at MKS 18) on the 26th, and arrived Liverpool on Aug. 5. Her voyage information is given as Calcutta/Madras/Capetown for Loch Ewe, general cargo and 6 passengers, station 33 - see also Page 3. The Norwegian Cypria and Star are also listed in this convoy (Star joining with MKS 18 from Gibraltar). Norma subsequently joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 199*, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 26 and arrived New York Sept. 9.

In Febr.-1944 we find her in Convoy SL 148/MKS 39, cargo of chrome ore, copper and general, bound for Loch Ewe, where she arrived Febr. 23. SL 148 had departed Freetown on Febr. 1, joined up with the MKS convoy from Gibraltar on the 12th, and arrived Liverpool on Febr. 24. Follow the external link below for more details on the SL/MKS convoys mentioned here.

Norma was commodore ship in a convoy that had reached the Thames Estuary on March 9-1944 when a mine detonated close to her (this would have been while in Convoy FN 1291, in which she's listed - external link). She started taking in water, and was taken in tow to Gravesend the next day (she had initially left Gravesend for New York on March 8). In May that same year she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 237*, originating in Liverpool May 19 (Norma joined from Loch Ewe), arriving New York June 3. She headed back to the U.K. on July 17 in the largest convoy ever to cross the Atlantic, namely Convoy HX 300 from New York. She was bound for Liverpool with a cargo of sugar, subsequently joining the westbound Convoy ON 249* (departure Liverpool Aug. 18, arrival New York Sept. 2). On Sept. 28, she joined Convoy HX 311, again bound for Liverpool with sugar, returning with Convoy ON 262*, which departed Southend on Oct. 24-1944 and arrived New York Nov. 10. See also Page 4.

Arnold Hague has also included her in Convoy HX 351, departing New York on Apr. 18-1945, arriving Liverpool May 3. This convoy is not available among the HX convoys on my own site, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing at the end of this page. As will be seen when going back to Page 4 of the archive documents, she got to go home to Norway already in June-1945, making another voyage home that fall, and again in Dec.-1945, as well as in Febr.-1946 (see Page 5).

Only a few of her convoy voyages are mentioned here. By following the instructions provided at the external link below, several more are available. Compare these to the voyages listed on the various archive documents.

* All the ON convoys mentioned here are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. As will be seen, several Norwegian ships sailed in all of them. The MKS convoys will also be added; for now, see the section listing ships in MKS convoys.

POST WAR:

Renamed Norma County in 1959. Sold in 1960 to Kieler Howaldtswerke A/G, Kiel, converted to barge and used for storage and as accomodation vessel. Sold for breaking up in 1969 to Eckhardt & Co. GmbH, Hamburg, sold again to Spanish breakers. Arrived Santander in tow on Apr. 16 that same year.

Related external link:
OS/KMS Convoys - There's also a section on the SL convoys, going in the other direction. As can be seen, Norma is listed among the ships in Convoy SL 72 (but this may not have been Norma, as mentioned above), OS 24, SL 133/MKS 18 and SL 148/MKS 39. Note also that by going to this section of the site (based on Arnold Hague's database) and clicking on "Ship Search" on the left hand side, using "Norma" as keyword, several convoys that are not mentioned in the above narrative will come up; please be aware, however, that other ships with the letters NORMA in their names will also appear in the search results. Here are OB 175, SL 72 (as can be seen, Norman Star, not Norma, is listed in this section), SL 99, and HX 351, all mentioned in my text.

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

Other ships by this name: Mowinkels later had another ship by this name, 5854 gt, launched at Helsingör on Febr. 28-1963, delivered as Norma on June 28 that same year. Purchased by Wilh. Wilhelmsen in March-1980 and renamed Tijuca (III). Sold to Uruguay in Dec.-1980, renamed Lucero del Mar. Broken up in 1987. Johan Chr. Gjertsen, Bergen, had also had a ship named Norma back in the 1880's, built in 1872 (originally Swedish), 285 gt, purchased by Johan Chr. Gjertsen, Bergen in Aug.-1879. Ran aground off Montrose, Scotland on March 9-1881. Another Norma was originally delivered as Swedish Bohus in 1874, purchased by Johan Chr. Gjertsen, Bergen in Dec.-1881 and renamed Norma. This ship disappeared at the end of 1882.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The World's Merchant Fleets", R. W. Jordan, "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 1 for 1974, and misc. (ref. My sources).