M/S Somerville
Updated July 16-2012

To Somerville on the "Ships starting with S" page.


Source: Historical Department, MAN B&W Diesel, Copenhagen, who also supplied this picture, as well as this one and all the pics below.

Related items on this website:
Guestbook message - From the son of Haakon Werner Hofsten, who sailed on Somerville, as well as Mosfruit, Belinda, Gausdal, Evanger and Temeraire.
Warsailor Stories - On this page I've included the personal story of someone whose brother was on board Somerville at some point in the war (there's also a link to the original, Norwegian version of the story). While there are no details on the ship, it's an interesting story about 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.

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5

Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.

Voyage Record From Apr.-1940 to June-1945:

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	Apr. 1	Shanghai	Los Angeles	Apr. 22	Independent	–
	May 1	Los Angeles	Vancouver	May 6	Independent	–
	May 14	Vancouver	Seattle	May 15	Independent	–
	May 18	Seattle	Los Angeles	May 22	Independent	–
	May 23	Los Angeles	Balboa	June 3	Independent	–
	June 5	Cristobal	Bermuda	June 12	Independent	–
	June 12	Bermuda	–	–	BHX 50	See link to HX 50
	June 17*	Bermuda portion joined main convoy	Liverpool	June 30	HX 50	*Commodore's notes say June 19 (see page about HX 50) Page 1 gives arrival June 27 (also, missing movements)
	July 31	Liverpool	–	–	OB 192	Dispersed 54 26N 20 16W, Aug. 4 Convoy available at OB 192 (external link)
	Aug. 4	Dispersed from OB 192	Cristobal	Aug. 18	Independent	–
	Aug. 19	Balboa	Nauru	Sept. 12	Independent	–
	Sept. 17	Nauru	Balboa	Oct. 11	Independent	–
	Oct. 13	Cristobal	Bermuda	Oct. 19	Independent	–
	Oct. 22	Bermuda	–	–	BHX 83	See link to HX 83
	Oct. 27	Bermuda portion joined main convoy	Milford Haven	Nov. 9	HX 83	–
	Nov. 9	Milford Haven	Avonmouth	Nov. 11	Independent	–
	Nov. 21	Avonmouth	Barry	Nov. 21	Independent	–
	Dec. 23	Barry	Milford Haven	Dec. 24	Independent	–
	Dec. 25	Milford Haven	Milford Haven	Dec. 26	OB 265	A. Hague says: Put back, collision with unknown ship. Convoy available at OB 265 (external link)
	Dec. 31	Milford Haven	Cardiff	Jan. 1-1941	Independent	A. Hague says: Further collision, with Skeldergate, Jan. 1
1941	Febr. 12	Cardiff	Barry	Febr. 12	Independent	–
	March 4	Barry	Milford Haven	March 5	Independent	–
	March 6	Milford Haven	Liverpool	March 8	Independent	–
	March 12	Liverpool	–	–	OB 297	For Middle East. Dispersed 61 28N 21 59W, March 17. Convoy available at OB 297 (external link)
	March 17	Dispersed from OB 297	Capetown	Apr. 14	Independent	–
	Apr. 15	Capetown	Aden	May 1	Independent	–
	May 2	Aden	Suez	May 7	Independent	On to Port Said, May 16 (Page 1)
	May 21	Port Said	Alexandria	May 22*	Independent	*Page 1 gives arrival May 24.
	May 29	Alexandria	Port Said	May 30	Independent	Arrived Suez June 4 (Page 1)
	June 4	Suez	Bombay	June 15	Independent	–
	June 24	Bombay	Mormagoa*	June 26	Independent	*Page 1 says Mormubao (should probably be Mormugao)
	June 28	Mormagoa	Galle	July 1	Independent	Notional sailing date
	July 6*	Galle	Capetown	July 25	Independent	*July 4? (Page 1)
	July 31	Capetown	Trinidad	Aug. 23	Independent	–
	Aug. 27	Trinidad	Halifax	Sept. 7	Independent	–
	Sept. 10	Halifax	–	–	HX 149	–
	Sept. 24	From HX 149	Avonmouth	Sept. 26	BB 80	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
	Oct. 1	Avonmouth	Cardiff	Oct. 1	Independent	–
	Oct. 13	Cardiff	Newport	Oct. 13	Independent	See also Page 2
	Oct. 22	Newport	Milford Haven	Oct. 23	Independent	–
	Oct. 24	Milford Haven	Freetown	Nov. 18	OS 10	Convoy available at OS 10 (external link)
	Nov. 22	Freetown	Capetown	Dec. 8	Independent	–
	Dec. 10	Capetown	Aden	Dec. 26	Independent	–
	Dec. 27	Aden	Suez	Jan. 2-1942	Independent	Later arr. Port Said, Jan. 14 (Page 2)
1942	Jan. 16	Port Said	Alexandria	Jan. 16	Independent	–
	Jan. 26	Alexandria	Port Said	Jan. 27	Independent	On to Suez, Febr. 2 (Page 2)
	Febr. 9	Suez	Colombo	Febr. 22	Independent	–
	Febr. 24	Columbo	Fremantle	March 9	Independent	–
	March 10	Fremantle	Adelaide	March 15	Independent	–
	March 18	Adelaide	Melbourne	March 21	Independent	–
*	Apr. 18	Melbourne	Balboa	May 13	Independent	–
	*It looks like she left Melbourne for Geelong on Apr. 8, with arrival same day, proceeding from Geelong to Balboa on Apr. 12 - see Page 2.
	May 15	Cristobal	Key West	May 20	Independent	See also narrative below
	May 21	Key West	Hampton Roads	May 26	KN 102	Convoy available at KN convoys (external link)
	May 26	Hampton Roads	New York City	May 28	Independent	–
	June 1	New York City	Cape Cod Bay	–	Independent	–
	June 2	Cape Cod Bay	Halifax	June 4	BX 22	Convoy available at BX convoys (external link)
	June 7	Halifax	Belfast Lough	June 18	HX 193	Again, see Page 2
	July 4	Belfast	Barrow	July 5	Independent	–
	July 19	Barrow	Clyde	July 20	Independent	–
	July 21	Liverpool*	–	–	OS 35	*From Clyde, July 22 (Page 2) For Suez. Detached Aug. 10. Convoy available at OS 35 (external link)
	Aug. 10	Detached from OS 35	Capetown	Aug. 24	Independent	–
	Aug. 27	Capetown	Aden	Sept. 12	Independent	–
*	Sept. 13	Aden	Suez	Sept. 19	Independent	–
	*According to Page 2, she left Aden Sept. 13, arrived Port Said Sept. 28, left Port Said for Suez Oct. 7 with arrival same day.
	Oct. 8	Suez	Fremantle	Nov. 4	Independent	–
	Nov. 4	Fremantle	Melbourne	Nov. 11	Independent	–
	Nov. 16	Melbourne	–	–	OC 45	Detached Nov. 19. Convoy available at OC convoys (external link)
	Nov. 19	Detached from OC 45	Auckland	Nov. 24	Independent	–
	Dec. 9	Auckland	Napier	Dec. 11	Independent	–
	Dec. 15	Wellington	Balboa	Jan. 9-1943	Independent	A. Hague says: Napier/Wellington passage unknown
1943	Jan. 16	Cristobal	Gitmo	Jan. 20	ZG 19	Convoy available at ZG convoys (external link)
	Jan. 22	Gitmo	New York City	Jan. 27	GN 37	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Jan. 30	New York City	Liverpool	Febr. 13	HX 225	Left Liverpool for Clyde, June 2 (see Page 3)
	June 4	Clyde	–	–	OS 49/KMS 16	Convoy split, June 13. Available at OS 49/KMS 16 (external link)
	June 13	Convoy split up	Gibraltar	June 15	KMS 16G	Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	June 16	Gibraltar	Philippeville	June 19	KMS 16	For Philipville. Convoy will be added. See link above
	June 26	Philippeville	Gibraltar	June 29	XTG 2	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	July 2	Gibraltar	Dakar	July 9	RS 6	Convoy available via link above
	July 12	Dakar	Freetown	July 14	RS 8	Convoy available via link above
	July 17	Freetown	Rio	July 30	Independent	–
	July 30	Rio	Santos	July 31	Independent	–
	Aug. 8	Santos	Rio	Aug. 9	Independent	–
	Aug. 10	Rio	Bahia	Aug. 14	JT 4	Convoy available at JT convoys (external link)
	Aug. 20	Bahia	Freetown	Aug. 29	Independent	–
	Sept. 3	Freetown	–	–	SL 136	Rendezvoused w/MKS 24, Sept. 14. Convoy available at SL 136 (external link)
	Sept. 14	SL 136 & MKS 24 joined up	Liverpool	Sept. 25	SL 136/MKS 24	Convoy available at SL 136/MKS 24 (external link)
	Oct. 27	Liverpool	–	–	OS 57/KMS 31	For Italy. Convoy split, Nov. 9. Available at OS 57/KMS 31 (external link)
	Nov. 9	Convoy split up	Passed Gibraltar	Nov. 10	KMS 31G	For Italy. Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	Nov. 10	Passed Gibraltar	Augusta	Nov. 16	KMS 31	For Augusta. See also narrative below. Convoy will be added. See link above
	Nov. 17	Augusta	Taranto	Nov. 18	AH 9	Convoy available at AH convoys (external link)
	Dec. 8	Taranto	Augusta	Dec. 10	HA 11	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link)
	Dec. 11	Augusta	New York City	Jan. 3-1944	GUS 24	Augusta to USA. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
1944	Febr. 1	New York City	Baltimore	Febr. 2	Independent	–
	Febr. 9	Baltimore	New York City	Febr. 11	Independent	–
	Febr. 13	New York City	Liverpool	Febr. 29	HX 279	–
	March 15	Liverpool	Halifax	March 31	ON 228	Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Apr. 2	Halifax	St. John, N.B.	Apr. 4	HF 111	Convoy available at HF convoys (external link)
	May 20	St. John, N.B.	New York City	May 22	Independent	–
	May 26	New York City	Gitmo	June 2	NG 437	Convoy available at NG convoys (external link)
	June 2	Gitmo	Trinidad	June 9	GAT 139	Convoy available at GAT convoys (external link)
	June 9	Trinidad	–	–	TJ 35	Detached independent to Capetown, June 30. Convoy available at TJ convoys (external link)
	June 30	Detached from TJ 35	Capetown	July 8	Independent	–
	July 11	Capetown	Port Elizabeth	July 13	Independent	–
	July 21	Port Elizabeth	Durban	July 23	Independent	–
	Aug. 3	Durban	Port Elizabeth	Aug. 5	DC 56	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Aug. 11*	Port Elizabeth	Capetown	Aug. 15	DC 57	*Page 4 gives Aug. 13. Convoy available via link above
	Aug. 18	Capetown	St Helena	Aug. 25	Independent	–
	Aug. 29	St Helena	Ascension	Sept. 1	Independent	–
	Sept. 1	Ascension	Freetown	Sept. 5	Independent	–
	Sept. 8	Freetown	–	–	SL 170	8 Passengers. Rendezvoused w/MKS 61, Sept. 18. Convoy available at SL 170 (external link)
	Sept. 18	SL 170 & MKS 61 joined up	Falmouth	Sept. 24	SL 170/MKS 61	Convoy available at SL 170/MKS 61 (see also this page, external links)
	Sept. 25	Falmouth	St. Helens Roads	Sept. 26	EBC 114	Convoy available at EBC convoys (external link) See also Page 4
	Sept. 26	St. Helens Roads	Southend	Sept. 27	FTC 20A	Convoy available at FTC convoys (external link)
	Sept. 28	Southend	Hull	Sept. 29	FN 1494	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 22	Hull	Southend	Oct. 24	FS 1613	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Oct. 24	Southend	New York City	Nov. 10	ON 262	Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Dec. 1	Hampton Roads*	Gibraltar	Dec. 17	UGS 62	*From New York, Nov. 30 (Page 4). Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	Dec. 19	Gibraltar	Augusta	Dec. 23	Independent	–
	Dec. 27	Augusta	Brindisi	Dec. 28	Independent	–
	Dec. 30	Brindisi	Bari	Dec. 31	Escorted	–
	Dec. 31	Bari	Ancona	Jan. 3-1945	Escorted	–
1945	Jan. 14	Ancona	Bari	Jan. 15	Escorted	(Voyage to Bari not included, Page 4)
	Jan. 15	Bari	Gibraltar	Jan. 21	Independent	–
	Jan. 22	Gibraltar	Casablanca	Jan. 23	GC 112	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Jan. 29	Casablanca	New York City*	Febr. 14	GUS 68	Casablanca to USA. *New York not mentioned, Page 4. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
	Febr. 14	New York City	Boston	Febr. 16	Independent	–
	Febr. 19	Boston	St. John, N.B.	Febr. 20	Independent	–
	March 3	St. John, N.B.	St. John, N.B.	March 4	Independent	Put back, weather
	March 4	St. John, N.B.	New York City	March 6	Independent	–
	March 8	New York City	–	–	UGS 79	Detached, March 23. Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	March 23	Detached from UGS 79	Alexandria	March 31	Independent	–
	Apr. 9	Alexandria	Gibraltar	Apr. 15	Independent	–
	Apr. 15	Gibraltar	Rio	May 2	Independent	–
	May 17	Rio	Rosario	May 23	Independent	–
	June 3	Rosario	Buenos Aires	June 4	Independent	Subsequent voyages: Page 4 & Page 5

Misc. Convoy Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the links provided for more convoy information; the Commodore's notes and/or escort's reports are also available for some of them and several Norwegian ships took part.

As will be seen when going to Page 1 of the archive documents, Somerville was on her way from Shanghai to Vancouver when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940. She stopped at Los Angeles on Apr. 22, proceeding to Vancouver on May 1, arriving May 6. The following month, she's listed in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 50 to the U.K., and together with Hardanger, Knoll, Stargard and Taborfjell, she later joined Convoy OB 192, departing Liverpool on July 31, dispersed Aug. 4. Ref. external link provided within the Voyage Record; no destination is given for Somerville, but from the archive document, we learn that she arrived Cristobal on Aug. 18 - final destination is given as Ocean Island; she arrived Nauru on Sept. 12. In Oct.-1940, we find her in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 83, cargo of phosphates for Avonmouth, where she arrived on Nov. 11, later proceeding to Barry, where she remained for over a month. With destination Philadelphia, she subsequently joined Convoy OB 265, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 26, but she was involved in a collision and returned to port (Milford Haven). Again, ref. link in the table above for more convoy details. Going back to the archive document, we see that she spent several weeks in Cardiff, where she had arrived from Milford Haven on Jan. 1-1941, perhaps some repairs had been undertaken there? (she also spent quite a long time in Barry the following month). According to A. Hague, she had also collided with the British Skeldergate on Jan. 1 - I have no further details on any of these collisions.

She appears again (together with Elg) in Convoy OB 297, which left Liverpool on March 12-1941 and dispersed on the 17th, Somerville arriving Table Bay on Apr. 14, proceeding to Aden the next day, then on to Suez, Port Said and Alexandria. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 1.

Skipping now to Sept. 10-1941, when she joined Convoy HX 149 from Halifax to the U.K., along with the Norwegian Daghild (station 63), Brasil (83), Thorsholm (33), Innerøy (35), Thorshov (64), Aristophanes (43), Glittre (24), Lise (44), Harpefjell (86), Brant County (87) and Kollbjørg (73), as well as the Panamanian Norvik (Norwegian managers and, therefore, listed under the N's on this website, sailing in station 84, behind Brasil). A. Hague has also included Ringstad (93), President de Vogue (46) and Abraham Lincoln (97) in this convoy. Somerville (general cargo, station 66) arrived Avonmouth on Sept. 26 - see also Page 2. A month later, she can be found in station 33 of Convoy OS 10, which left Liverpool on Oct. 25. She had 1120 tons ammunition, 450 tons naval stores, 750 tons railway wagons and 563 tons motor transports. Follow the link in the Voyage Record for more convoy info; Fana, San Andres and Rio Verde are also listed (Fana returned, having collided with Rio Verde, according to A. Hague). Somerville arrived Freetown on Nov. 18, having started out from Milford Haven on Oct. 24.

On May 17-1942, she rescued 27 survivors from the American Ruth Lykes, which had been sunk by U-103 - ref. external links at the end of this page. The survivors were taken to Key West, Florida, where she arrived on May 20, but in the meantime, 1 of the survivors had died of his injuries. From Key West, she headed to Hampton Roads and New York, then on to Halifax, joining Convoy HX 193 on June 7; Somerville stopped at Belfast for about 2 weeks, before proceeding to Barrow on July 4. Later that month, she made a voyage to Cape Town; she's listed in station 95 of Convoy OS 35, originating in Liverpool on July 21. Again, see the link in the table above for more details (Velox is also listed). Somerville arrived Table Bay on Aug. 24, having sailed from Clyde on July 22. The rest of her 1942 voyages are shown on Page 2 and Page 3, the latter document also listing her 1943 voyages. Convoy info for some of them can be found in the table above.

With a general cargo for Liverpool, she's listed in Convoy HX 225, leaving New York on Jan. 30-1943, initially in station 132, later in station 122, and it now looks like she remained in Liverpool for almost 4 months (Page 3). She's listed as bound for Philippeville in Convoy KMS 16*, having started out from the U.K. (along with Corvus, Elg, Jan and Måkefjell) on June 4 in the combined Convoy OS 49 / KMS 16, which had split up on June 13, Somerville arriving Philippeville on June 19. Having made voyages to Gibraltar, Dakar, Freetown, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, back to Rio and on to Bahia, she headed back to Freetown, and on Sept. 3 we find her in Convoy SL 136 from there. This convoy joined up with Convoy MKS 24* from Gibraltar on the 14th, the combined convoy then proceeding to the U.K. More details are available via the external link provided in the Voyage Record (Elg is again listed). Somerville's cargo is given as bauxite and general, and she subsequently remained in Liverpool for a month (Page 3).

On Nov. 11-1943, she was on a voyage from Liverpool to various ports in the Mediterranean when she was attacked by aircraft while in station 75 of Convoy KMS 31* east of Oran (36 12N 00 07W), but escaped unharmed. 4 ships were sunk, namely the British Birchbank (2 died) and Indian Prince (1 died), the Belgian Carlier (72 died) and the French Nivose (number of casualties not known). 1 ship was damaged (American Josiah Parker, possibly also the British Takliwa?). The external website that I've linked to at the end of this page identifies the aircraft as Do 217's and He 111's, as well as Ju 88's. Askeladden, Egda, Frontenac, Germa, Knoll, Lido, Norlom and Polartank are also named in KMS 31. Along with Somerville and Jenny, some of these ships had started out from the U.K. in the combined Convoy OS 57 / KMS 31, which had departed Liverpool on Oct. 27 and split up on Nov. 9 - names of ships in this convoy can be found via the external link in the table above. Somerville arrived Augusta safely on Nov. 16, and having made a voyage to Taranto and back to Augusta, she headed to the U.S. on Dec. 11, arriving New York City on Jan 3.-1944 - again, see Page 3, the Voyage Record has convoy info.

After having spent about a month in New York, she made a voyage to Baltimore, then returned to New York, joining Convoy HX 279 on Febr. 12-1944 (Febr. 13?), general cargo for Liverpool (Emma Bakke's captain served as Vice Commodore), and with Buenos Aires, Emma Bakke, Fernwood, Herbrand, Laurits Swenson (Commodore Vessel), Solfonn and Sørvard, she returned across the Atlantic with Convoy ON 228*, which departed Liverpool on March 15 and arrived New York Apr. 1. Somerville, however, was bound for Halifax, where she arrived on March 30, proceeding to St. John, N.B. on Apr. 2, remaining there for several weeks. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 3 and Page 4, while convoy information to match some of them can be found in the Voyage Record above.

In Sept.-1944, she's listed in Convoy SL 170, which left Freetown on Sept. 8 and joined up with Convoy MKS 61* from Gibraltar on Sept. 18, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Sept. 26 - according to the archive document (Page 4), Somerville arrived Falmouth on Sept. 24. Her voyage information is given as Durban (Aug. 3)/St. Helena-Loch Ewe/Liverpool, cargo of filled bombs, copper, hides, wool, fruit pulp, phormium tonax, sperm oil, asbostos, sundries and 8 bags of mail. A. Hague says she also had 8 passengers on board on this voyage. Belnor, Novasli and Sophocles also took part, Belnor having joined with the MKS portion, while the others were in the SL convoy. Somerville later arrived Hull on Sept. 29, spending about 3 weeks there, and together with Anna Knudsen, Dalfonn, Fosna, Norma, Skotaas and Spinanger, she subsequently joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 262* (departure Southend Oct. 24, arrival New York Nov. 10). From the U.S., she headed to Gibraltar on Nov. 30.

Further voyages are shown on Page 4 and Page 5 (to Apr.-1946). Again, convoy information for some of these is available in the table above.

* The ON convoys 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. The MKS and KMS convoys will also be added, but for now, see the section listing ships in all MKS convoys and the section for ships in all KMS convoys.

More details on the other Norwegian ships named on this page can be found via the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index

POST WAR:

(info from a posting to my Ship Forum by T. Eriksen):

Sold in 1950 to Hamburg-Amerika Linie AG (HAPAG), Hamburg, Germany, renamed Sachsenwald. Sold in 1953 to Schulte & Bruns Schiffahrtsges. GmbH, Hamburg and renamed Ursula Schulte. Belonged to Schulte & Bruns, Hamburg in 1956 under the name Dukegat (new engine 1960). Sold in 1966 to Dubai National Shipping Corp., Dubai, renamed Mohammed Abbas. Sold in 1973 to Tayeb & Co. (Ocean Trade W.L.L.), Kuwait, renamed Shaheen. Deleted from Lloyd's Register in 1976. Probably in use as storage vessel. (Note: Another poster says she did not become Dukegat until after 1960, and she still had that name in 1969, at which time she went to owners in Pakistan - I have no way of confirming this).

Related external links:
Hyperwar - The rescue of survivors from Ruth Lykes is mentioned under the entry for May 17-1942 (The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II by Robert J. Cressman). See also this page, mentioning Convoy KMS 31.

The attack on Ruth Lykes

The attack on KMS 31

See also
SS Takliwa

Back to Somerville on the "Ships starting with S" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague, and misc. (ref. My sources).