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M/T Thorshavet To Thorshavet on the "Ships starting with T" page.
Owner: Bryde & Dahls Hvalfangerselskap A/S Built by Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg in 1938. Captains: Atle Tange and Arne Harbo Hansen. In Admiralty service from 1940 (Royal Fleet Auxiliary). From Sept.-1939 until Sept.-1942, Ole Mauritz Thorsen from Sandefjord served on this ship (ordinary seaman, able seaman and carpenter). He paid off shortly before she was sunk, in order to go to Mate's school in England (died 1995). If anybody knew him and would like to get in touch with his wife, I can provide her address - my contact address is included at the bottom of this page. 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, Thorshavet was on her way from Port Said to Aden when Norway was invaded by the Germans on Apr. 9-1940. In Oct.-1940, she's listed in Convoy SL 51, which departed Freetown on Oct. 12 and arrived Oban on the 31st; Thorshavet arrived Swansea Nov. 5. The following month, we find her in Convoy OB 259, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 14-1940 and dispersed on the 17th. Her destination is given as Abadan / Cape; however, according to Page 1 above, she arrived Curacao on Jan. 3/4-1941, having started out from Milford Haven on Dec. 13 - see the external link to the SL and OB convoys further down on this page for the names of other ships in these convoys, some of which were Norwegian. From Curacao, she later headed to Gibraltar, then back to Curacao and on to Bermuda, and in March-1941, we find her in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 114, bound for Clyde with fuel oil (this is the convoy in which Hidlefjord was sunk, and Kaia Knudsen damaged). Thorshavet became a straggler from this convoy and is reported to have seen a submarine (see Notes on my page about HX 114), but reached her destination safely on March 29, according to Page 1. The following month, she's listed as bound for New York in Convoy OB 307, originating in Liverpool on Apr. 7, dispersed on the 13th, Thorshavet arriving New York on Apr. 25 (she had joined from Clyde). There's a little snippet related to Thorshavet in this report saying she was westbound when met by the Ocean Escort for Convoy SC 28 on Apr. 17, in 49 36N 41 31W. (To avoid any misunderstanding, please note that Thorshavet was not herself in SC 28, which was an eastbound convoy). She headed back to the U.K. on May 20 with Convoy HX 128 from Halifax, cargo of fuel oil, station 24. She lost touch with the convoy on May 25, but arrived Clyde safely on June 5. Towards the end of this voyage she's said to have rescued 11 survivors from the Belgian trawler John. Jan-Olof, Sweden has told me that "Lloyd's War Losses, Vol I British, Allied and Neutral Merchant Vessels Sunk or Destroyed by War Causes", 1989 reprint says the following about this trawler: "Attacked by aircraft on June 2, 1941. Again attacked June 3 about 300 miles S. by E. of Inglos Hofdi, 93 miles N.W. of St.Kilda. Abandoned by crew. Presumed sunk. Sighted on June 3 by Thorshavet in 58 13N 11 16W. Crew 11, no casualties". Thorshavet's captain at that time was Atle Tange. She subsequently joined Convoy OB 335, which originated in Liverpool on June 16-1941 and arrived Halifax on July 2; Thorshavet, however, was bound for Curacao, arriving there on July 9 (she had joined from Clyde). Later that month, we find her in station 43 of Convoy HX 140 from Halifax, voyage from Curacao to Clyde with fuel oil, together with the Norwegian Ferncastle (113), Madrono (112), Boreas (16), Velox (56), Velma (96), Alaska (106), Stiklestad (95), Vardefjell (84), Evita (114), Olaf Bergh (124), Skiensfjord (97), Thorshov (83), Bonneville (82), and Helgøy (77). Beth and Petter were also initially in this convoy but left due to engine problems. Thorshavet returned the following month with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 6 (departure Liverpool on Aug. 11-1941, dispersed Aug. 24). Her destination is given as Trinidad - she arrived Curacao on Sept. 1, having started out from Clyde on Aug. 12. On Sept. 16, she's listed in station 33 of the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 150, together with the Norwegian Fenris (83), Solfonn (44), Havkong (84), Garonne (62), Heina (64), Topdalsfjord (34), Varanger (66?) and Braganza (66?). Thorshavet, bound for Curacao, now joined the westbound Convoy ON 24*, which originated in Liverpool on Oct. 8 and dispersed on the 15th, Thorshavet arriving Curacao Oct. 29 (she had again joined from Clyde - see Page 2). From Curacao, she headed to Gibraltar, then back to New York and on to Halifax, where she joined Convoy HX 167 on Dec. 27-1941, bound for Hvalfjord, Iceland. She arrived Reykjavik on Jan. 9-1942. From Reykjavik, she later joined the westbound Convoy ON 59*, which started out from Liverpool on Jan. 23-1942 and dispersed on Febr. 6. Her destination is not given, but according to the archive document mentioned above, she arrived Curacao on Febr. 11, and later headed back to the U.K. on Febr. 25 in Convoy HX 177 from Halifax. In March that year, she shows up in Convoy OS 23, voyaging from Oban to Curacao in ballast in station 85 of the convoy, which left Liverpool on March 24. Thorshavet arrived Curacao on Apr. 13, having sailed from Oban on March 25. In May, she's mentioned in Convoy SL 109, which departed Freetown for the U.K. on May 4. These convoys are not included in my own convoy section, but the external website that I've linked to below has more infomation on them. Thorshavet detached from the convoy on May 6 to proceed independently - her destination is not given, but from the archive document already mentioned, we learn that she arrived Trinidad on May 16, proceeding from there to Curacao a week later (she's listed in Convoy TO 1 - external link).
There's an interesting personal account about Thorshavet in the book "Sjøfolk i krig" (seamen at war) by Leif M. Bjørkelund. The story is told by one of her crew members, Able Seaman Johan Byrkja and the incident took place at the beginning of June-1942 when she was on a voyage from Curacao to Freetown, about a week after departure Curacao on May 29*. It appears they were followed for a long time by what was believed to be a German raider, looking very much like the Norwegian M/S Venus, which was rumoured to have been converted to a raider. Thorshavet changed course, but to no avail. The enemy ship came extremely close at one point, before suddenly turning around and withdrawing at full speed. I've never seen this episode discussed anywhere else, and it would be interesting to know if anyone with access to German records could identify this vessel for me (could it have been Stier perhaps? Or Thor, or Michel?).
After the mysterious vessel had disappeared Thorshavet changed course and headed south for a while before turning towards the coast of Africa. En route they encountered a British cruiser and signalled a message about the "enemy" ship operating in the South Atlantic. The cruiser escorted them part of the way, but the next morning it took off to search for the raider. According to Page 2, Thorshavet reached Freetown on June 13-1942. From there, she travelled in convoy via Gibraltar to Loch Ewe, and arrived Scapa Flow on July 4. This must have been Convoy SL 113 - see the external site below, where she's indeed included in this convoy, which left Freetown on June 15 and arrived Liverpool on July 5. The Norwegian Thorhild, Fagerfjell and Vanja are also listed (Vanja did not sail). Thorshavet's cargo was 15 158 tons of Admiralty fuel, station 54. In Aug.-1942, she can be found in Convoy OS 38, voyaging from Oban to Gibraltar in station 44. She arrived Gibraltar on Sept. 1, having sailed from Oban Aug. 21. Again, refer to the external website below for more information (convoy departed Liverpool on Aug. 20). She headed back to the U.K. again on Sept. 12, arriving Clyde on the 21st, and from there, she joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 133*, originating in Liverpool on Sept. 25-1942, arriving New York, her destination at the time, on Oct. 11. A few days later, we find her Convoy NG 314, departing New York on Oct. 15, arriving Guantanamo on Oct. 22 (the Norwegian Anna Knudsen, Britamsea, Sandanger, Skandinavia and Thorshov are also listed). Rick Pitz, a visitor to my website, has informed me via this message in my Guestbook that Thorshavet subsequently joined Convoy GAT 16, which left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for Trinidad that same day (Oct. 22) and arrived Trinidad on Oct. 28. Bot these convoys are available via the external links provided below. Again, see also Page 2 for comparison. As will be seen in the next paragraph, her return voyage was to be her last. See also Page 3.
Related external link:
Captain Arne Harbo Hansen. As already mentioned above, Thorshavet had arrived Trinidad on Oct. 28-1942. She left Trinidad again on Nov. 2 in Convoy TAG 18 (external page) with a cargo of 15 000 tons fuel oil for the UK via New York. She's listed as cancelled from Convoy HX 216, which left New York on Nov. 19-1942, so this appears to be the convoy she was meant to join for her voyage to the U.K. However, on Nov. 3 she was torpedoed by U-160 (Lassen), 12 16N 64 06W (north of Margarita Island, Caribbean according to Charles Hocking). An excerpt from her deck journal states she was hit immediately afterwards by a 2nd torpedo, both exploding in the engine room on the starboard side, time is given as 00:14 ("Nortraships flåte" gives the time 01:00, while Rohwer gives 06:30, German time - Page 3 of the archive docs gives 15:00). 4 lifeboats were launched, and as the ship stayed afloat, some of the men reboarded at dawn in order to search for 3 missing men, 1 of whom, the 3rd engineer, was found floating in the engine room, but the other 2 were not found. The survivors were picked up by a destroyer that afternoon and landed in Curacao the following evening. On Nov. 6, a salvage vessel was sent out to the wreck, but on the 7th she was reported to have sunk. The Norwegian tanker Astrell was also torpedoed and sunk while in TAG 18 - my page about this ship also names other ships sunk. An inquiry was held in New York on Nov. 30-1942 with the captain, the 2nd mate, and the Norwegian radio operator attending (the others had not yet arrived New York). The 2nd mate stated that Thorshavet had been in the 5th column of the convoy, with 4 columns on each side of her, and was sailing right behind the commodore vessel, which means she must have been in station 52(?). The radio operator said he had sent out an SOS while the crew went to the boats, having found the radio equipment in full order. Crew List:
Related external links: Back to Thorshavet on the "Ships starting with T" page. Other ships by this name: Thor Dahl later had another ship by this name (T/T), built 1970. Also, a whale factory named Thorshavet (M/S), built 1947 sold 1969 (Astra), run into by M/S Karonga Apr. 14-1974 and sank off the coast of Portugese Guinea. This is described in detail (in Norwegian) on the Østfold Hvalfangerklubb website on this page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøfolk i krig" Leif M. Bjørkelund, "Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam", Charles Hocking, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, and misc. - (ref. My sources).
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