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D/S Senta To Senta on the "Ships starting with S" page. Owner: Skibs-A/S Senta Built by Union Iron Works, Alameda, California in 1917. Previous names: Regulus until 1938, Sirehav until 1939 (A. I. Langfeldt & Co., Kristiansand). Captain: Conrad Rustad Related item on this website: Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
As will be seen when going to Page 1 above, Senta was on her way from Buenos Aires to New York when Norway was invaded by the Germans on Apr. 9-1940. With a cargo of lumber and paper for Liverpool, she's listed in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 45 in May-1940, having been cancelled from the previous convoys, HX 43 and HX 44. In July, we find her in Convoy OB 178, which originated in Liverpool on July 3-1940 and dispersed July 7, Senta arriving Sydney, C.B. on July 16 (she had started out from Milford Haven on July 4). With pit props for Hull, she was scheduled to return with Convoy HX 66 from Halifax on Aug. 16 (Norne was sunk - see also Eli), but instead joined the slow Convoy SC 2 from Sydney, C.B. on Aug. 25, in which the Norwegian Gro was sunk. At the end of Oct.-1940 she appears in station 82 of Convoy OB 237, which originated in Liverpool on Oct. 31-1940 and dispersed on Nov. 2. Her destination on that occasion is given as Newfoundland; going back to Page 1 of the archive documents, we learn that she arrived Wabana on Nov. 11, having sailed from Oban on Oct. 29. She headed back to the U.K. on Nov. 22 with Convoy SC 13 from Sydney, C.B., cargo of iron ore for Port Talbot, where she arrived on Dec. 12. With destination Pepel, she's listed as scheduled for Convoy OB 265, which left Liverpool on Dec. 26-1940, but did not sail. She shows up again in Convoy OB 268, originating in Liverpool on Jan. 1-1941, dispersed Jan. 4. She arrived Freetown on Jan. 24, having started out in Milford Haven on Dec. 31. The external website that I've linked to below has more on the OB convoys mentioned here. In Febr.-1941, she's listed in Convoy SLS 65, departing Freetown on Febr. 9. This convoy joined up with Convoy SL 65 on Febr. 13, and arrived Liverpool on March 8; Senta arrived Barrow on March 11. The following month, she made a voyage to Gibraltar, having joined Convoy OG 58*, which originated in Liverpool on Apr. 6 and arrived Gibraltar on the 21st (Polyana was sunk). She was scheduled to return in Convoy HG 62 on May 14, but instead joined the next convoy on May 25, HG 63, bound for Port Talbot with iron ore in station 72, arriving that destination, via Belfast Lough, on June 11. According to Page 2 of the archive documents, she made a voyage from Milford Haven to Wabana in June/July 1941, but I have no convoy information for this voyage. It looks like she was scheduled for the Wabana portion of Convoy HX 139 in July-1941; the document is very blurry, but I believe it's Senta. There's a note for the ship in question saying that she was instead sent to the slow Convoy SC 38, which left Sydney, C.B. on July 22, and Senta is indeed included in this convoy (she had previously arrived Sydney from Wabana on July 17). However, she returned to port, having struck ice (as did several of the other ships in this convoy), and does not show up again in an eastbound convoy until Sept. 24-1941, when she's listed in Convoy SC 46, which arrived Liverpool on Oct. 10. (As will be seen when going back to the archive document mentioned above, she had made voyages to Quebec and Montreal in between). These 2 SC convoys are not yet available among the SC convoys included in my Convoys section, but I've linked directly to A. Hague's listing for them below. In Nov.-1941, we find her in station 33 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 33 (she had initially started out in ON 31 on Oct. 28, but returned to port; arrived Belfast Lough Oct. 30). Her destination is given as Sydney, C.B., where she arrived Nov. 25, the convoy having been dispersed on Nov. 23 (she had joined from Belfast Lough). Having made another voyage to Quebec, she returned to the U.K. the following month with Convoy SC 59, bound for Ellesmere Port, cargo of aluminium and pulp, arriving her destination on Dec. 27. In Jan.-1942, Senta joined the westbound Convoy ON 55*, which left Liverpool on Jan. 8 and dispersed on the 26th. Her destination is given as Galveston; she arrived Hampton Roads on Febr. 3, continuing to Texas City a week later. In March, she's listed among the ships in Convoy SC 75 from Halifax, cargo of sulphur for Manchester, returning across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 88*, departing Liverpool on Apr. 21. Her destination is not given, but from Page 2 we learn that she arrived Three Rivers on May 8, proceeding to Montreal the next day. According to Page 3, she headed back to Three Rivers again a few days later, then made a voyage to Quebec and Bic Island, before heading to Sydney, C.B. to join Convoy SC 85 back to the U.K. on May 29, cargo of steel and lumber. At the end of the following month we find her listed as bound for Wabana in the westbound Convoy ON 108*, which left Liverpool on June 30. She arrived Wabana on July 12, St. John's, N.F. on July 18, and was scheduled for the Newfoundland portion of Convoy SC 92 the next day, but instead joined the N.F. portion of the next convoy a week later, SC 93, cargo of iron ore for Middlesbrough, where she arrived, via Loch Ewe and Methil Roads, on Aug. 11. At the end that month, I have her in station 63 of the westbound Convoy ON 126, for which the Norwegian Rena acted as Commodore Vessel. Senta was bound for Halifax, where she arrived Sept. 16, having started out from Loch Ewe on Aug. 29. She left Halifax again on Oct. 6 in order to return across the Atlantic, but did not make it to her destination, as will be seen below.
Related external link:
As already mentioned above, Senta left Halifax again on Oct. 6-1942, and joined Convoy SC 104 (external link), which had originated in New York on Oct. 3. She was bound for Belfast Lough with a cargo of steel and pulp, sailing in station 102. On Oct. 13, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-221 (Trojer), position 53N 44W. She was struck immediately after the British S/S Ashworth had been torpedoed. The bad weather made it hard to see what was actually taking place, and when the rescue vessel came over to Senta's and Ashworth's position, both ships were gone with all hands (49 on Ashworth). Please go to my page about Potentilla for more on this battle. See also my page about D/S Fagersten and the external links at the end of this page. Acanthus, Eglantine and Montbretia are also named among the escorts for this convoy. Some of the other merchant ships sunk: The British Empire Mersey 16 died, and Southern Empress 48 died, the Greek Nellie 32 died, the Yugoslavian Nikolina Matkovic 14 died, and the American Susana 38 died. Crew List - No survivors:
Related external links: Group Wotan and the Battle for Convoy SC 104 - Article with a very detailed description of the convoy battle (a section of Rob Fisher's Home Page). Back to Senta on the "Ships starting with S" page. Ole Løkke had another ship by this name in 1939, became Siremalm (looks like the two companies swapped ships that year!). Sweden also had a steamship by the name Senta, built 1905, 1497 gt - bombed and sunk by British aircraft off Borkum on June 12-1942. (A Swedish sailing ship by this name had been sunk by a German U-boat in the Kattegat on Dec. 4-1916). The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hauge, "Våre falne - 1939 - 1945", Published by the Norwegian State 1948, lists all Norwegian casualties of the war, 4 volumes, and misc. (ref. My sources).
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