Site Map | Search Warsailors.com | Merchant Fleet Main Page | Warsailors.com Home |
|
M/S Teneriffa To Teneriffa on the "Ships starting with T" page. Manager: Wilh. Wilhelmsen, Tønsberg Launched by Burmeister & Wain's Maskin- og Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenahgen (Yard No. 320) on Dec. 15-1921, completed May 3-1922. Captain: Aksel L. Andersen
Teneriffa is listed among the ships in Convoy HG 22 from Gibraltar to the U.K. in March-1940, bound for Newport, station 53. The Norwegian Belinda is also listed. In Oct.-1940 she can be found in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 80 together with several other Norwegian ships. Her destination was Glasgow, and she was in station 32 of the convoy with a cargo of steel, general and "special". (According to the Advance Sailing Telegram for this convoy, she had originally been intended for the previous convoy, HX 79, but did not sail). The following month she shows up in Convoy OB 245, which left Liverpool on Nov 18-1940 and dispersed a few days later. Her destination is given as St. John's, N.B. Bra-Kar and Snar are also included (see the external links provided at the end of this page). She returned to the U.K. with Convoy HX 99 at the end of Dec., bound for Avonmouth and Newport with a general cargo in station 73 - follow the links for more details.
Sank on Febr. 26-1941 in the Bristol Channel, position 51 06N 04 49W* after having been machine gunned and bombed by German aircraft. She had left Newport Mon. for Milford Haven with a cargo of 2400 tons china clay and about 100 tons general that same morning in order to join a westbound Atlantic convoy for St. John, N. B. At 14:05, 2 enemy aircraft machine gunned the ship's decks, coming in for attack 4 times and Teneriffa got 3 direct bomb hits on the starboard side, where deck plates and several plates in her side were blown out. The first hit was in No. 2 hatch, the second in the engine room and the third in No. 3 hatch. After the 4th attack, as soon as the machine gunning stopped, the crew was able to get 3 lifeboats out (the 4th having been blown away), and at 14:25 they saw the ship sink in about 27 fathoms. Just 5 minutes later they were picked up by the British M/S Perdita (Permita?) and landed at Cardiff the next day, Febr. 27. The inquiry was held there on March 10-1941 with the captain, the 2nd mate, Able Seaman Herfjord and Able Seaman Olsen appearing. The 2 able seamen had been working on deck, and having seen British aircraft earlier in the day they did not realize they were in danger upon seeing the 2 planes until the machine gunning started.
One of the survivors, Engineer Ingvald Meyer Stamnes had been alone in the engine room when the bombs hit, and by the time he managed to leave the ship the lifeboats with the other survivors were gone. According to an article in the Norwegian magazine "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 4 for 1984, he spent 2 1/2 hours in the water before he was picked up by a British coastal vessel and taken to Cardiff where he was able to join his shipmates. He had previously been one of the survivors of Beaulieu after that ship had been attacked by the German Widder. Norwegian Victims of Widder has more details on that incident. He died at the beginning of 2006 Crew List - No casualties:
Related external links: See also this Back to Teneriffa on the "Ships starting with T" page. Wilh. Wilhelmsen later had another ship by this name, 1952-1970, 5150 gt. Later named Sol Laila for Johannes Solstad, Skudesneshavn, sold to Hong Kong (Liberian flag) in Febr.-1975 and renamed Sunshine Island. Broken up 1979. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Wilh. Wilhelmsen fleet list, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 4 for 1984 and misc. (ref. My sources).
|
