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Owner: Rederi A/S Hauk Delivered in Aug.-1919 from Collingwood Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Collingwood, Toronto as Canadian Signaller for Marmne Merchant Ltd., Montreal. Later Emperor of Halifax from 1925. Purchased by Nils Røgenæs, Haugesund in Aug.-1929 and renamed Skjoldheim. Sold in Nov. that same year to E. Gerrard & H. I. Ramsland, Kristiansand S. From Febr.-1940 (sold 1939?) she had the name Polyana for Bucha Godager & Co., Oslo. Captain: Karl Jacobsen Her voyages are listed on this original document received from the National Archives of Norway.
Polyana, with a cargo of phosphates for Glasgow, was scheduled for the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 2 at the end of Aug.-1940 (Gro was sunk), but instead joined the next convoy on Sept. 2, SC 3, from which the Norwegian Lotos was sunk, among others - follow the links for more details. Polyana arrived Glasgow on Sept. 21. The following month, she's listed in Convoy OB 228, which left Liverpool on Oct. 13-1940 and dispersed on the 17th (Dokka was sunk). She's also listed as bound from Glasgow for Pugwash in ballast in station 82 of Convoy OB 232, originating in Liverpool on Oct. 21-1940 and dispersed on the 26th (see external links below for more on these convoys, which had several Norwegian ships - see also these reports for OB 228 on my own site). When going to the archive document, we learn that she left Glasgow on Oct. 13, sailed from Clyde on Oct. 22, and arrived Pugwash Nov. 8. Having made a voyage to Parrsboro, she headed back to the U.K. on Dec. 8 in the slow Convoy SC 15 from Sydney, C.B., cargo of lumber for Great Yarmouth. She was damaged during an air attack in Great Yarmouth on Jan. 25-1941. On my page Warsailor Stories (first story on that page) I've included the personal story of the brother of the mate/radio operator on Polyana at the time of this attack. He was wounded and had to go to hospital, which as it turned out, saved his life. It's the story of 5 brothers and a sister who served outside of Norway during the war; the brothers on 17 different ships altogether. Another sister was involved in "illegal" activities in Norway, as was the father (there's also a link to the original, Norwegian version of the story). Related external links:
Polyana left Sunderland with a cargo of coal on March 22-1941. Via Methil Roads and Loch Ewe, she arrived Oban on Apr. 3, leaving again on Apr. 7 for Freetown in the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 58, and was estimated to arrive Freetown on April 30. According to "Nortraships flåte", which does not mention the identity of the convoy, the soutbound section was detached on April 14 in position 44 41N 22 43W, and that's the last time Polyana was seen (as reported by the Norwegian D/S Brisk in the same convoy). OG 58 will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section in due course, in the meantime, the ships sailing in it are named on the page listing ships in all OG convoys. She was later found to have been torpedoed and sunk by U-103 (Schütze) in the very early hours of April. 25 (about half an hour after midnight, having been attacked by 2 torpedoes just before midnight on the 24th, Central European Time), position 12 45N 28 21W, with a loss of all 25 on board, incl. 2 British, 1 Danish, 1 Tunisian, 1 Spanish and 1 Maltese.
Martin Klovning had previously served on Gard (until Sept.-1940).
Related external links: Back to Polyana on the "Ships starting with P" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Våre gamle skip", Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum. and misc. (ref. My sources).
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