M/S Oslofjord - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

These pictures were received from Andy Mason, who was a crew member of the Hull dredger the Redcliffe Sands in 1989. Andy says:

"I was one of the crane drivers working for a salvage company in the late 80's. The owner came up with the bright idea of salvaging the steel from the rusting wrecks around the coast. At that time we were able to get £70.00 a tonne for the scrap metal! We were able to recover the largets relic of all which was one of the propellors

We had three cranes on our dredger which were fitted with spider grabs. The kind you would see in a scrap yard. We literally ripped the wreck apart with the permission of the admiralty. The propellor we salvaged was a spare which i believe was positioned just in front of the bridge on the deck. It was a very difficult task to raise with limited equipment and knowledge. We tried to lift it with the cranes at first by running a chain through the boss. Unfortunately the suction of the sand was enormous. Eventually we waited for low tide and placed the stern of our vessel over the propellor. We joined the two together and waited for the tide to rise. When it did the bouyancy of our ship lifted the prop free from the sand. We then took it to shallow water and used the cranes to lift it. It was made from phospher bronze and weighed 15 tonnes with a span of about 17 feet. It was a very proud moment.

I believe the owner contaced some official in Norway to see if they would like to buy it but they weren't interested. Sadly we had to cut it up and sell it for it's scrap value only. A crying shame as it was such a beautiful piece of workmanship. I have been searching for a picture of the Oslofjord for the past few years on and off to take pride of place next to my picture which was taken by the local newspaper. I would really appreciate it if you could send me a quality printable image of her." (I'm afraid the pictures I have of this ship are not of very good quality, so if anyone can help Andy, please contact me at the address provided at the end of this page).