D/S Spica
Updated Dec. 14-2010

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

A picture is availble on this external page (click in it to enlarge).

Some 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; reports are also available for some of them and several Norwegian ships took part.

Spica, bound for Newcastle with fresh fish, is listed in the original document for Convoy HN 17 from Norway to the U.K. early in March-1940. According to A. Hague, she returned to Norway later that month with Convoy ON 21 (see also Svinta), and at the end of March we find her in Convoy HN 23A, again bound for Newcastle with fish - according to the escort's report, Regin served as Commodore Vessel. When the Germans invaded Norway on Apr. 9 Spica is said to have been on her way from Newcastle to Bergen, but was ordered to return to the U.K., and therefore ended up in allied service (she's not named in this convoy, but this fits in with the details for Convoy ON 25 to Norway). This is not noted on Page 1 of the archive documents, though it looks like the intention was to head to Tromsø in May, but she returned to Shields. There's a note further down on the document saying "Tromsø for Tyne" so it looks like she did go to Tromsø later on*. It'll also be noticed that she appears to have spent a long time at Tyne that summer. She had arrived Shields on June 13 and departure is given as Oct. 26; via Methil and Kirkwall, she arrived Reykjavik on Nov. 4. Her 1941 voyages also start on this document and continue on Page 2. As will be seen, she made several voyages to Reykjavik.

*According to "Hjemmeflåten - Mellom venn og fiende" by Lauritz Pettersen, the engineer Tallak Solheim was on board this ship in Apr.-1940. In May that year, before Norway had capitulated, Spica was sent to Tromsø with supplies, but returned to the U.K. (again, see Page 1). In 1941 Solheim joined D/S Roy, which was in service on the east coast of the U.K. and was sunk that same year by German motor torpedo boats. At the beginning of 1942 he joined D/S Aust. My page Norwegian Victims of T/S Thor has details on what he and his shipmates from Aust endured. He was among the 3 who were later transferred to Rhakotis, and was rescued by a German U-boat after Rhakotis had been sunk on Jan. 1-1943, then taken to France, later to Marlag and Milag Nord until June 9-1943, before being sent home to Norway, arriving there 8 days later. Having a family to feed he had to return to sea, but this time he was forced into German sea service, namely on D/S Ursa, trading between Germany and Norway. The following year Ursa barely missed being sunk during an air attack on the convoy (D/S Lynx belonging to the same company sank in this attack). Solheim got through the rest of the war without any further incidents.

In July-1941 she can be found in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 134, joining the convoy from Iceland. Her destination is given as Fleetwood, where she arrived July 11, having sailed from Reykjavik July 3, according to Page 2. The Commodore's report is also available for this convoy, continuing on this page, which indicates the Iceland ships joined on July 5. Going back to the archive document, we see that Spica returned to Iceland shortly thereafter, making another voyage to Reykjavik in Aug.-1941. In Oct.-1941 she's listed as bound for Iceland in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 29, departing Liverpool Oct. 22, Spica arriving Reykjavik on the 29th. This convoy will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section, but for now, please see ships in all ON convoys. Akabahra (returned), Astra, Bjørkhaug, Boreas, Marga, Spero (returned) and Trondheim are also listed, while Eglantine and Montbretia are named among the escorts (see ON convoy escorts).

It'll be noticed, when going to the various archive documents, that Spica made several more voyages to Iceland during the war. Some are included in A. Hague's Voyage Record above, but many of them are not.

From Page 11 (which shows her voyages to Apr.-1946), we learn that she finally got to go home to Norway in Nov.-1945, and again the following month; in fact, Christmas was celebrated in Bergen that year.

POST WAR:

Sold in Febr.-1951 to Alf Mortensen, Oslo, delivered Febr. 19 and renamed Inger Lise. Machinery removed at Tjøme Verft, but laid up unfinished. Sold in Oct.-1955 by Govert Grindhaug, Åkrehamn/Kopervik. Converted to motor vessel in 1956 by Br. Lothe A/S, Flytedokken, Haugesund, completed in Aug. that year. Capsized and sank on Oct. 28-1956, 30 n. miles southwest of Lista when on a voyage Trondheim-Hamburg. Crew was saved by Fred. Olsen's M/S Blenheim.

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

Other ships by this name: Bergenske D/S had another Spica before the war, 2360 gt, built in Copenhagen 1923, ran ground on Aug.27-1930 at Cerborus Rock, Canso Straits, N.S., on a voyage Halifax-Chicoutimi with general cargo, total loss. Another Spica was originally built as Baron Kilmarnock of Ardrossan in 1953, purchased by Bergenske D/S in 1957, renamed Spica. Became Panamanian Eastland Trader in 1966, San Antonio in 1967, Lavander in 1973, Southmont in 1977. Sold that year to Singapore, renamed Bloomfield. Broken up 1979.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Våre gamle skip" , Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "Bergenske, byen og selskapet", Dag Bakka Jr., "Hjemmeflåten - Mellom venn og fiende", Lauritz Pettersen, and misc. - ref. My sources.