M/T Thorsholm - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

M/T Thorsholm
Updated Apr. 1-2009

To Thorsholm on the "Ships starting with T" page.

Picture source: Narve Sørensen (ex Thor Dahl employee). On the back of the original picture it says:
"Received Aug. 23-1971 as a gift from former foreman of the Seamen's Mission, Bjarne Fjalberg, Swansea (Fjalberg served in Liverpool, Glasgow, Leith). The picture was found inside one of his books, which had been lent out to seamen during the war" (in other words, it almost sounds like it was used as a bookmark). The comments on the photo were written by Reidar Brusell, former editor of the Thor Dahl news magazine "Thorglimt". It looks like a drawing; if anyone has information on who the artist might be, please let me know.

Another picture is available at this external website.

Owner: Skibs-A/S Thorsholm
Manager: A/S Thor Dahl, Sandefjord
Tonnage: 9937 gt.

Built by Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg in 1937.

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

Some Convoy Voyages – 1941-1942:

Please follow the links provided for more information on the convoys mentioned here - several Norwegian ships took part. Much more convoy information will be added for Thorsholm.

As will be seen when going to Page 1 above, Thorsholm was on her way from Los Angeles to Yokohama when Norway was invaded by the Germans on Apr. 9-1940.

She was scheduled for the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 31 on May 9-1941, but instead joined the next convoy on May 19, SC 32. She later joined Convoy OB 341, which origianted in Liverpool on June 30, dispersed on July 6 (available at the external link provided below). Her destination is given as Baltimore, where she arrived July 23, having started out from Loch Ewe on July 4, according to Page 1. On Sept. 10, we find her in station 33 of Convoy HX 149 from Halifax to the U.K., along with the Norwegian Daghild (station 63), Brasil (83), Aristophanes (43), Innerøy (35), Thorshov (64), Somerville (66?), Glittre (24), Lise (44), Harpefjell (86), Norvik (Panamanian flag, Norwegian managers and therefore included on this website, in station 84, behind Brasil), Brant County (87) and Kollbjørg (73). Some of these ships, including Thorsholm, now joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 22*, which originated in Liverpool on Oct. 2 and dispersed on the 15th, Thorsholm arriving Curacao on Oct. 22 (she had joined from Clyde). She headed back to the U.K. on Nov. 3 in Convoy HX 158 from Halifax, and according to the external site already mentioned, she later joined Convoy OS 14 (station 25), together with the Norwegian Bur, Spinanger, Chr. Th. Boe, and L. A. Christensen. Estrella and Sveve were also scheduled, but did not sail. This convoy left Liverpool on Dec. 13 and arrived Freetown on Jan. 3-1942, but Thorsholm was again bound for Curacao, and arrived there on Jan. 4-1942, having started out from Clyde on Dec. 15, according to Page 2.

On Febr. 7-1942, Thorsholm appears in Convoy HX 174 back to the U.K., together with the Norwegian James Hawson, Athos, Fernwood, Vanja, Høegh Giant, Beth and Anderson, as well as the Panamanian Norvinn - all listed on this website. Thorsholm stopped at Reykjavik on Febr. 19, and from there, she later joined the westbound Convoy ON 74* on March 14. This convoy had originated in Liverpool on March 9 and arrived Halifax on March 25; no destination is given for Thorsholm, but when going back to the archive document mentioned above, we learn that she arrived Curacao on March 31. Convoy information for some of her subsequent voyages can be obtained by following the instructions provided at the external link below.

On Aug. 29-1942, she was back in Halifax, joining Convoy SC 98 (having been cancelled from the previous convoy, SC 97, in which Bronxville was sunk). She arrived Clyde on Sept. 11/12, and at the beginning of the following month, she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 135* (departure Liverpool Oct. 2, arrival New York Oct. 21 - Thorsholm joined from Clyde). Shortly after Christmas that year (Dec. 29-1942) she was scheduled for Convoy HX 221 from New York to the U.K., but did not sail. Page 2 and Page 3 list her voyages in this period; compare these with the convoy information resulting from following the instructions at the link below.

She subsequently took part in the Torch operations, which had commenced in Nov.-1942, in fact, several of the Norwegian ships sailing in Convoy SC 98 took part in these operations - see also Athos.

* All the ON convoys mentioned here are available and 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.

Related external link:
OS/KMS Convoys - As can be seen, Thorsholm is listed in Convoy OS 14. Note also that by going to this section of the same site (based on Arnold Hague's database), and clicking on "Ship Search" on the left hand side, using "Thorsholm" as keyword, several convoys that are not mentioned in my text will come up. Here is Convoy OB 341, mentioned in the above narrative.

Some Detective Work:

This is one of those occasions where it takes some time and detective work to make sense of all the bits and pieces of available information and get these pieces to fit together. What follows has been included in order to show what is very often involved in trying to reach the right, or at least, possible conclusions, when the various sources give such conflicting information. Please bear with me while I explain.

According to "Nortraships flåte" (J. R. Hegland), Thorsholm was damaged by a mine on Febr. 22-1943, laid on Febr. 1 by U-118 just outside Gibraltar. A British destroyer was also damaged at the same time. Convoy MKS 8 is mentioned in the same breath, but whether the author claims that Thorsholm was in that convoy is hard to tell from the text. He states that 3 British ships went into the minefield and sank a week after it had been laid, in other words, around Febr. 7. Just out of curiosity I checked the first week of Febr.-1943 in J. Rohwer's book (see sources at the end of this page), and he has indeed listed the 3 British ships, mentioned in my Norwegian source as going into the minefield that week, namely Baltonia, Mary Slessor and Empire Mordred, all sank on Febr. 7 from mines laid by U-118 on Febr. 1. These ships are said to have been in Convoy MKS 7 at the time. (Heranger was also in this convoy, as was President de Vogue).

Now, according to J. Rohwer, Thorsholm became a straggler from Convoy ON 166 (in which, among others, N. T. Nielsen-Alonso was sunk on Febr. 22), then struck a mine laid by U-118 (Czygan), agreeing with the date the mines were laid, and also agreeing with the date Thorsholm was damaged. He gives the location as 15. n. miles 14° Cape Espartel. He also mentions the British destroyer Wivern being damaged on these mines on the same date, as well as the Canadian corvette Weyburn (sank), and for the latter he does mention Convoy MKS 8 with a question mark behind it. All of this corresponds more or less with the info from my Norwegian source above, but here's the problem: As far as I've been able to learn, the ON convoys went from Liverpool to Halifax (or New York), so how could a straggler of one of these convoys end up just off Gibraltar? (This was also pointed out to me in an E-mail I received from a visitor to my site, but I did not have time to look further into it at that time, and thought no more about it until I started working on Thorsholm). Granted, during the period of the North African landings, some ships bound for the Freetown area were included in the ON convoys, then detached in mid-Atlantic, according to Arnold Hague, but Thorsholm was not in Convoy ON 166, as will also be seen when following the above link to my page about this convoy. (See also this message from Ted Agar in my Guestbook).

But which convoy was she in?

First of all I happend upon some information with regard to the Norwegian M/T Vanja, stating that she departed Gibraltar on Febr. 22-1943 in a large convoy consisting of 45 ships, escorted by 6 American destroyers and a large American Naval tanker. Thorsholm is also mentioned as being in ballast and damaged (by a torpedo) in this convoy. It further states that 2 of the American destroyers were torpedoed about 10 n. miles off Cape Spartel. Though the detail on the torpedoes doesn't fit (and is probably incorrect info; nationality of the escorts is also an error), I thought that Thorsholm (and Vanja) might have been in Convoy MKS 8 (please note that all this speculation took place before I had the names of the ships in the convoys mentioned here, I only had the dates for them). As will be seen when following the link, this convoy departed Bone on Febr. 17, arrived Liverpool on March 1, 1 Merchant ship damaged. Another possibility I saw was that Thorsholm and Vanja might have been in Convoy GUS 4, which departed Oran on Febr. 20-1943 (49 ships), arriving Hampton Roads on March 11. This latter suspicion was reenforced when a visitor to my website told me that according to records in British archives Thorsholm was, in fact, bound for New York from Oran when she struck the mine, and arrived New York on March 12-1943. This in turn more or less fits in with what is found in a report for Vanja, saying she arrived New York on March 13.

Jan-Olof, Sweden drew my attention to some book excerpts on the Internet, and though Thorsholm is not mentioned, they helped clear up at least some of the confusion. The excerpts can be found on this external page (Stone & Stone Second World War Books - scroll down on the page). From this we learn that 100 ships made up two convoys off Gibraltar on Febr. 22-1943, namely Convoy GUS 4, consisting of 51 ships for the U.S. and Convoy MKS 8, consisting of 49 ships for the U.K. We also learn that the British destroyer Wivern was among the escorts for GUS 4, while the Canadian Weyburn was designated to MKS 8, the Canadian escorts having arrived with the North African section of the convoy (the corvettes are named in the text - follow the link). Weyburn struck a mine just as she was about to take her position with MKS 8 after having refuelled at Cape Spartel. After the explosion Wivern immediately went to her assistance, but although some of Weyburn's crew had worked to remove all the primers from the depth charges on board, they had been unable to do so for 2 of them. These exploded after she sank, thereby killing some men in the water and also seriously damaging Wivern, which was still alongside and in the process of rescuing survivors. She was later taken in tow by Black Swan, another one of the escorts.

So according to this, Wivern did not strike a mine, and it's also possible to ascertain that Thorsholm and Vanja must have been in Convoy GUS 4, since they were both bound for the U.S. This convoy has since been made available on M. Holdoway's website, based on Arnold Hague's database, and as will be seen when following the external link below, they are both indeed listed in this convoy. Additionally, I now have Thorsholm's voyages from the Norwegian archives, and Page 3 states she left Oran on Febr. 20-1943 and arrived New York March 12. So - the mystery has been solved! (See also this thread on my Ship Forum).

Related external links:
Operations information for U-118

Convoy GUS 4

Further Convoy Voyages – 1943-1945:

According to a personal story I've found in the Norwegian magazine "Krigsseileren" (written by a crew member, Thor Lund), Thorsholm was in service between the U.K. and the U.S. in the early part of 1943. As already mentioned, she had arrived New York from Oran on March 12-1943, and may have repaired the mine damages while there? She left New York again on Apr. 6, joining Convoy HX 233, then headed back to the U.S. with the westbound Convoy ON 181 at the end of that month. The Commodore's narrative and escort's report are also available for this convoy. She was now sent to Algiers and Bizerta - again, see Page 3. In fact, she's listed as bound for Algiers in Convoy KMS 16*, which had left Gibraltar on June 16; Thorsholm arrived Algiers on June 18, but I'm not sure if she had joined from Gibraltar. The following month, we find her in Convoy KMS 17, voyage Algiers to Bizerta, departing Algiers July 2, arriving Bizerta July 5 - scroll down to the second table on the latter page. In addition to her cargo of oil she had 60 depth charges on deck, according to Thor Lund's narrative. He says that she then functioned as supply ship for the invasion of Sicily (which started on July 9-1943), replenishing the war ships at sea (these voyages are not detailed on the archive document mentioned above, so I cannot confirm), and subsequently continued in Mediterranean service for a while.

In Dec.-1943, she's listed in Convoy KMS 34*, voyaging from Algiers to Augusta; she had left Algiers on Dec. 11 and arrived Augusta Dec. 15. Later that month, she made a voyage from Augusta to Bizerta, having joined Convoy MKS 35 (again, scroll down to the 2nd table on that page); she left Augusta on Dec. 26 and arrived Bizerta on the 28th.

On one of her voyages back to the U.S. for new supplies she's said to have been torpedoed just outside Gibraltar but was able to continue at reduced speed, and there was no loss of life. I've never seen this episode mentioned for this time period before, and I'm inclinded to think that there's a mix up of dates here; perhaps the author of this article (in "Krigsseileren", mentioned above) is, in fact, referring to the mining episode of Febr.-1943? Afterall, it was written 50 years later, so a memory confusion could very easily have occured. He says she went to New York for repairs after that, which fits in with my information further up on this page.

On Jan. 28-1944, we find her in Convoy HX 277 from New York, bound for Mersey and Stanlow, subsequently joining the westbound Convoy ON 225*, which left Liverpool on Febr. 22 and arrived New York on March 8. She headed back to the U.K. on March 13 in Convoy HX 283, and the following month, she went back across the Atlantic with the large, westbound Convoy ON 231* together with 14 other Norwegian ships, namely Østhav, Ferncourt, Haakon Hauan, Spinanger, Vav, Solstad, Idefjord, President de Vogue, Heranger, Bernhard, Kong Haakon VII, Skaraas, Høyanger and Nordanger. This convoy originated in Liverpool on Apr. 7 and arrived New York on the 24th. Thorsholm was scheduled to go back to the U.K. with Convoy HX 289 a few days later, but instead joined the next convoy on May 5, HX 290, then again went back in the other direction with the westbound Convoy ON 238* (departure Liverpool May 26, arrival New York June 9). She subsequently joined Convoy HX 296 from New York (departed June 19), bound for Heysham and Mersey, returning in July with Convoy ON 244* (left Liverpool July 10, arrived New York on the 23rd - Thorsholm arrived Baltimore July 25, according to Page 4).

On Sept. 6-1944, she's listed as bound for Barry Roads in Convoy HX 307 (having been cancelled from HX 306) along with 7 other Norwegian ships, namely Buenos Aires, Fagerfjell, Frontenac, Idefjord, John Bakke, Kaia Knudsen, and Stiklestad. We now find her in Convoy ON 256*, which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 28 and arrived New York on Oct. 12, and just a couple of days later, she joined Convoy HX 314 from New York, bound for Clyde. Wasting no time, she then joined the westbound Convoy ON 264* (departure Liverpool Nov. 4, arrival New York Nov. 21) and 1944 was rounded off by sailing to the U.K. in Convoy HX 326, again in the company of several other Norwegian ships.

She returned to the U.S. early in Jan.-1945 with the westbound Convoy ON 277, station 43. This convoy arrived New York on Jan. 23-1945, and already on the 28th we find her in the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 335. She subsequently headed in the other direction with Convoy ON 285* (from Liverpool Febr. 17, to New York March 5), and according to Arnold Hague, she returned to the U.K. in Convoy HX 347, leaving New York on March 29-1945, arriving Liverpool on Apr. 14. This convoy is not yet available among the HX convoys included in my own Convoys section, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing below. The last westbound North Atlantic convoy she sailed in was ON 298*, which left Southend on Apr. 21 and arrived New York on May 7 - in other words, she must have been in the U.S. when the news came that the war in Europe was finally over.

Please note that only a selection of her convoy voyages are noted here; more convoy information will be added. Again, to find info on some of her convoy voyages made in between those already mentioned here, please follow the instructions provided at the external link below, then compare the results with the details found on the various archive documents.

From Page 4, we learn that she went home to Norway in Aug.-1945. Thre rest of her voyages (to Apr.-1946) are listed on Page 5.

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

For more details on all the other Norwegian ships mentioned on this page, please see the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Sold on Nov. 26-1952 to Monrovia Shipping Co., renamed Angy.

Related external link:
Misc. convoys - Based on Arnold Hague's database. By clicking on "Ship Search", using "Thorsholm" as keyword, several convoys that are not mentioned in my own text will come up. Here is HX 347, mentioned in the above narrative.

Back to Thorsholm on the "Ships starting with T" page.