D/S Steinstad
Updated May 1-2009

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Crew List


From the newspaper article mentioned below (hence the bad quality).

Final Fate - 1940 (Norway still neutral):

Torpedoed on Febr. 15-1940 by U-26 (Scheringer) and sunk, 75 miles west of Aran Island, when on a voyage from Turkey to Norway with a cargo of ore.

Jan-Olof, Sweden has sent me a copy of an old newspaper clipping related to the sinking of this ship, saying that Steinstad had been pursued by the U-boat all night before she was stopped with 2 shots in front of her bow at dawn on the 15th and the crew ordered to the lifeboats. Shortly afterwards an explosion was heard, the ship sinking almost immediately. The 2nd mate and 10 others were in the motorboat, while the captain and 12 men were in another lifeboat, which was towed by the motorboat for about 15 hours, but the captain's boat had eventually drifted away after the towline had broken. The captain had been washed overboard during the night leading up to Febr. 16 and had last been seen holding on to an oar. The 11 in the 2nd mate's boat arrived Arranmore Island on Febr. 20, so exhausted they had to be aided ashore by the locals. An aircraft search was conducted for the missing boat (which had sails), but it was never found.

Additionally, from Marck McShane, I've received the following:
"The name of the other seaman who was washed over the side the same time as the Captain was trimmer Viktor Vidala. On arrival at Arranmore Island he was taken to hospital suffering from bronchitis. The remainder of the crew travelled onwards to Dublin to await returning home. While in Dublin they stayed at the Sailor Rest, North Wall, Dublin city. It was during their time in Dublin that crew member Petter Quitzau became ill. He was transferred to hospital where on the morning of 10th March 1940 he died. His death was as a result of an ulcerated stomach, no doubt aggrevated by his recent experiences. By his bedside in hospital was Mr. W J Simpson, Port Missionary. His coffin was taken back to the Sailor Rest draped in a Norwegian flag, where other seamen from Denmark, Finland and England came to pay their respects. On the 12th March Petter Quitzau was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetary in Dublin, the service was well attended by seamen from other countries and also by members of the Norwegian consul office in Dublin. A guard of honour was made by the Dublin Sea Scouts for the funeral."

For info, U-26 was also responsible for the loss of the Norwegian Nidarholm a few days earlier, and Belmoira in June that same year - follow the links for details.

Crew List:

Survivors
2nd Mate Harris Nilsen	Able Seaman Gotfred Karlsen	Able Seaman Alf A. Hardy	Jr. Ordinary Seaman Charles P. Molland	Steward Gustav Svenningsen	1st Engineer Ole A. Berg
2nd Engineer Petter Quitzau*	Donkeyman Magnus Knutsen	Stoker Johan Jørgensen	Stoker Peder Knutsen	Trimmer Viktor Vidala	*Died later See above
In the missing lifeboat were:
† Captain Ludvik Nilsen	† 1st Mate Adolf F. Engebretsen	† Boatswain Sven Olsen	† Able Seaman Johan Johansen	† Ordinary Seaman Alf H. Nilsen	† Ordinary Seaman Aage Martinsen
† Deck Boy Einar Haakonsen	† Cook Harald Nikolai Olsen	† Mess Boy Trygve Olsen	† 3rd Engineer Nils R. Hovden	† Stoker Olaf Abrahamsen	† Stoker Willi Henriksen
† Stoker Bjarne Olaf Hansen

Related external links:
Stavern Memorial commemorations - 14 are commemorated, including Petter Quitzau who had survived the sinking, but later died in hospital, as mentioned. The site says Steinstad was on a voyage from Turkey to Bjølvefoss (Norway).

U-26 | Heinz Scheringer

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