M/T Thorshøvdi

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

Crew List


Source: Narve Sørensen (ex Thor Dahl employee).
(This external website about Thor Dahl's ships has another picture)

In Admiralty service from 1940 (Royal Fleet auxiliary).

Misc. War Voyages – 1941-1942:

(More will be added, including more information on her westbound North Atlantic convoy voyages, in between the eastbound voyages mentioned here).

Thorshøvdi was scheduled for Convoy HX 137 in July-1941, but instead joined the next convoy, HX 138, however, she returned to Halifax. In Sept.-1941 she can be found in station 53 of Convoy HX 151, along with the Norwegian Sama (85), San Andres (105), Meline (43), Morgenen (93), Belinda, Dagrun (54), Sophocles (left the convoy and sailed independently), Tigre (44), Hardanger (94), Leiv Eiriksson (24), and Laurits Swenson (it says Swenson, but I assume it should be Laurits Swenson). This convoy left Halifax on Sept. 22 and arrived Liverpool on Oct. 7. A week later, some of these ships, including Thorshøvdi, joined the westbound Convoy ON 26. Thorshøvdi was bound for New York and had station 74.

She's also listed in Convoy HX 163 (departed Halifax on Dec. 3-1941) together with the Norwegian Andrea Brøvig, Haakon Hauan, Ringstad, Harpefjell, Ørnefjell, Ranja, Pan Aruba, and Høegh Giant.

According to Robert Cressman the American destroyer DuPont (DD-152) was damaged in a collision with Thorshøvdi on Nov 24-1941, Convoy HX 161 (see relevant date at the link to "Hyperwar" below). Thorshøvdi returned to Halifax, and may have been repaired before joining HX 163. A report written by the captain of Daghild says that this ship took some cargo from Thorshøvdi because the latter had to go in for repairs after a collision in convoy (though the dates don't quite fit) - see my text for M/T Daghild

Thorshøvdi can also be found among the ships in Convoy HX 179 which departed Halifax on March 9-1942. A couple of months later she's listed in Convoy SL 110, which departed Freetown on May 13-1942 and arrived Liverpool on June 4. Her destination is given as Clyde, cargo of 6544 tons marine fuel oil and 5503 tons heavy fuel oil, station 54 (voyage Curacao [May 4] - Freetown - Clyde). The Norwegian Polarsol and Velma also took part - see the 2nd external link below for more convoy information. In Aug. that year she's mentioned in connection with the ships going out to form up Convoy HX 204, but she must have returned to port because she's also listed in HX 205. A few months later, in Dec.-1942, she sailed in Convoy HX 218 from New York City, bound for Clyde, station 54. She subsequently returned with the westbound Convoy ON 157 at the end of Dec.-1942, and in Febr.-1943 she was one of several Norwegian ships in Convoy HX 226, again bound for Clyde.

Sunk - 1943:

At the beginning of Aug.-1943 she was at Gibraltar, with several other ships. On Aug. 3 she had received orders to move out from the Admiralty Harbour to another anchorage until sailing time, which was set to the early morning hours of Aug. 4. She had a cargo of 10 690 tons of Admiralty fuel oil (for North Africa?). By the evening of the 3rd she had anchored on the west side of the bay, about half a mile from the Spanish shore - as per orders received by the pilot. At the same time, a few kilometers further away at Algeciras, there was an old Italian cargo ship, Olterra, left behind when Italy joined the war in 1940, still with an Italian crew on board. In all secrecy this ship had been converted to a base for frog men and manned torpedoes, a fact which was not at all visible in her rusty appearance. An equally innocent looking villa provided a full view of the activities in the harbour, and served as a lookout post (Villa Carmela). The Italians had already successfully sunk 3 ships on May 8, without the British suspecting the Olterra at all. So on Aug. 3 Ernest Notari with 3 manned torpedoes quietly slipped out the escape well at the bottom of Olterra, with Vittorio Cella and Eusebio Montalenti riding the torpedo which was meant for Thorshøvdi. They successfully attached their limpet mines to the bottom of the ship, then returned to the Olterra(?). Early in the morning, Aug. 4 the first ship exploded, the American Harrison Grey Otis, then Thorshøvdi, followed by a third explosion which sank the British Stanridge.

A report about the incident presented at the subsequent inquiry says the explosion on Thorshøvdi occurred at 04:10. Fuel oil from the tanks were thrown up into the air and the ship went down in the middle by No. 6 center tank and very loud cracks could be heard. Fearing she would break in 2 orders were given to take to the lifeboats and remain close until daylight. Those who were amidships, inluding the captain, went into the port midships boat which was found to be filled with oil and water and was floating on the tanks. A large piece of iron had pierced the bottom of the lifeboat and had made a large hole. When a British Naval patrolboat came alongside 6 men were transferred to this vessel. The rest of the crew were in the other lifeboats from the aft of the ship.

Fortunately, no lives were lost on Thorshøvdi, and later that morning her crew was taken back to the ship by a tug, whereupon she was towed away to the Gibraltar side of the bay where she was anchored in shallow water about noon. She was aground amidships, and all over the ship were pieces of iron plates, rivets and other wreckage that had been thrown up in the air by the explosion. She had had 59 depth charges on her afterdeck, some of which had disappeared, but whether they had exploded or fallen overboard was not known. No visible damages had been found to the machinery. On Aug. 5 a Lloyd's surveyor and a local representative of the Ministry of War Transport came on board to inspect the damages and to arrange for the discharge of the part of the cargo that could still be used. The crew was living on board at that time.

An inquiry was held in Gibraltar on Aug. 15-1943 with the captain, the 1st engineer and the 2nd mate attending. It appears they already knew the cause of the explosions because a British Government diver had found clamps for securing wire to the bilge keels, and pieces of metal believed to be from "enemy bomb containers" had been found on deck. According to the captain's statements, the patrolboat that picked them up headed towards another vessel where a diver had just been sent down to examine the ship for limpet mines, and just as they reached it that ship also blew up (probably Stanridge), a piece of iron falling through the roof of the deck house and severely injuring the coxswain who was taken ashore by the patrolboat. Captain Svendsen adds that there was also an Italian on board who had been fished out of the water - perhaps this was one of the "culprits" who had not been able to get away before Stanridge exploded?

Thorshøvid's foreship was towed to Bona, while the afterpart remained in Gibraltar.

Here is a series of pictures showing Thorshøvdi after this incident - all received from Narve Sørensen, Norway (this external website also has some pictures):

Crew List - No casualties:
Gunnar Foss had been 1st engineer on board for 4 months (in bed when the explosion occurred).
Finn Andersen had been 2nd mate for 4 years (also asleep in his cabin when explosion occurred).
* Runar Johansen had previously escaped from Regina - follow link for details. He later joined Sirehei and Katy

Captain Arthur Svendsen	1st Mate Arne Svendsen	2nd Mate Finn Mohr Andersen	3rd Mate Walter Nilsen	Radio Operator Thorleif Hansen	Carpenter Kristian Johansen
Boatswain Bjarne Johannessen	Able Seaman Georg Thorsen	Able Seaman Peder Juliussen	Able Seaman Hilmar Olsen	Able Seaman Runar Johansen *	Able Seaman Asbjørn Knutsen
Able Seaman Per Barth Svendsen	Able Seaman Karl Telle	Able Seaman Johan Rauan	Able Seaman Hans Hesle	Able Seaman Johan Evensen	Able Seaman/Gunner Ragnar Furuvik
Able Seaman/Gunner Olav Skipperviksnes	Able Seaman/Gunner Jens Innvær	Able Seaman/Gunner Thorvald Clausen (Danish)	Ordinary Seaman Olav Kvalvik	1st Engineer Gunnar Foss	2nd Engineer Anker Nilsen
3rd Engineer Kåre Lund	3rd(?) Engineer Rolf Pedersen	Electrician Ovid Møller	Mechanic Karl Johansen	Mechanic Alf Abrahamsen	Mechanic John Jørgensen
Mechanic Erik Stensland	Mechanic Trygve Pisani	Mechanic Ole Simonsen	Pumpman Tor Skipar	Stoker Martel Olsen	Stoker Odd G. Kristensen
Steward Håkon Andreassen	Cook Paul Svendsen	Galley Boy James Campbell (British)	Mess Boy Hakon Henriksen

POST WAR:

Both parts were sold in March-1946 to Georg Vefling, Tønsberg, Norway and subsequently towed to Newcastle for repairs, entering service in Febr. 1947 as Giert Torgersen for Skibs-A/S Oiltank (Georg Vefling), Tønsberg, having become 9990 gt. Sold in June-1954 to A/S Tønsberg Hvalfangeri, Tønsberg and renamed Teie. In Nov.-1954 she was converted to transport tanker by Kieler Howaldtswerke AG, Kiel, becoming 11 342 gt. Sold in July-1960 to A/S Albion Star/Alfredo Ryan, Buenos Aires (managed by E. S. Martinsen, Sandefjord) and renamed Tota. Sold again in Jan.-1964 to Eriksbergs mek. Verkstads A/B, Gothenburg, Sweden and laid up there as accommodation vessel. Arrived Santander for breaking up on Sept. 3-1970.

Related external links:
Gibraltar - Story of the Olterra and the Villa Carmela (w/pictures).
Slow moving torpedo - (Chariot).

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

Other ships by this name: Thor Dahl later had a whale factory (M/S) by this name, built 1948, sold to London 1966 (Drillship, Star I, Sonda I, J. W. Bates). This external site has lots of pictures of this ship, as well as more information (text is in Norwegian). The company also had a tanker by the name Thorshøvdi delivered to them in Sept.-1968, 54 477 gt. Later names: Eirama 1979 (owning company in the Bahamas - still managed by Thor Dahl), Miaoulis 1985 (Cyprus), Kountouriotis 1986, North Cape 1987 (Farsund, Norway). Had several different Norwegian owners before being broken up in 1992.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, and misc. (ref. My sources).