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M/S Rio Branco To Rio Branco on the "Ships starting with R" page. Owner: A/S Sobral Built by Fried Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel, Germany in 1925. Previous names: Marie Horn until 1935, Boca Raton until 1936. In the Norwegian magazine "Krigsseileren", No. 1/1985 I found the names of 16 Norwegians who are buried at Pine Ridge Cemetery, Saranac, NY. One of them was Otto Wilhelm Eriksen from Rio Branco, who died in Oct.-1942. Please go to Norwegian War Graves on my Memorials page for more information about this memorial in Saranac and the names of Norwegians buried there. Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Rio Branco is listed among the ships in Convoy HX 14 in Dec.-1939. Her destination is given as Liverpool, cargo of wallboard, and she had station 42 of the convoy. A French visitor to my website has told me that Rio Branco was seized in Antigua Isl. after Apr. 9-1940 (the German invasion of Norway). Taken over by the French submarine Vénus and arrived Fort de France (French West Indies) on Apr. 21, released on Apr. 23, provided complying with orders from London-based operating office. Note that according to Page 1 of the archive documents, she arrived Fort de France on Apr. 18, leaving again for Casablanca on the 20th, with arrival Casablanca May 7. She was scheduled for the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 57 at the end of Nov.-1941, but instead joined the next convoy on Dec. 4, SC 58, general cargo for Liverpool (Nidardal was lost). According to the external website that I've linked to below, Rio Branco, on a voyage from Liverpool to Lagos, was in station 52 of Convoy OS 16, departing Liverpool on Jan. 5-1942, arriving Freetown on the 23rd. Several Norwegian ships took part. She became a straggler from this convoy on Jan. 16, and did not arrive Freetown until Jan. 25, proceeding to Lagos almost a month later, with arrival Febr. 25. The same site has her in station 72 of Convoy SL 106/SLF 106, which left Freetown on Apr. 9-1942 and arrived Liverpool on May 2 (the fast section, SLF, detached on Apr. 22 and arrived Apr. 29, but Rio Branco sailed in the slow portion). Her destination is given as Belfast, cargo of lumber and palm kernels. The Norwegian Tijuca is also included. See also Page 2. In June that same year, we find her in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 100*, which departed Liverpool on June 2 (she had sailed from Milford Haven on June 1), but she returned to port, arriving Belfast Lough, later joining Convoy ON 102* from there. This convoy originated in Liverpool on June 9 and arrived Halifax on the 25th; Rio Branco, however, was bound for Hampton Roads, where she arrived, via New York, on July 1. She headed back to the U.K. on July 24 in the slow Convoy SC 93 from Sydney, C.B., general cargo for Liverpool, and the following month we find her in station 44 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 122, in the company of several other Norwegian ships, including 4 Norwegian corvettes as escorts. Trolla was sunk - see also the Commodore's report. Rio Branco arrived Halifax on Sept. 1, proceeding to Sydney, C.B. that same day, then on to Montreal - see Page 3. According to Arnold Hague, she returned to the U.K. with Convoy SC 103, which started out from New York on Sept. 26-1942 and arrived Liverpool Oct. 14 - Rio Branco joined from Sydney, C.B. and stopped at Belfast Lough on Oct. 13/14, then proceeded to Bristol, where she arrived on Oct. 16. This convoy is not available among the SC convoys included in my own Convoys section, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing at the end of this page. She had a cargo of lumber and steel, sailing in station 13. She later joined the westbound Convoy ON 150*, originating in Liverpool on Dec. 1-1942, arriving New York on the 25th. Rio Branco, however, was bound for St. John, N.B., where she arrived, via Halifax, on Dec. 27, having started out from Milford Haven on Nov. 30. In Febr.-1943, she started making voyages to Guantanamo, Trinidad and Pernambuco etc.; convoy information for some of these voyages can be found by following the instructions provided at the external link below - compare the results with the information found on Page 3 of the archive documents, as well as Page 4 and Page 5.
Related external link: Back to Rio Branco on the "Ships starting with R" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Roger W. Jordan - and misc.
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