Site Map | Search Warsailors.com |Merchant Fleet Main Page | Warsailors.com Home 

D/S Thyra
Updated Sept. 15-2012

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

Crew List


Source: Bjørn Milde's postcard collection.

Owner: Skibs-A/S William Hansens Rederi
Manager: William Hansen, Bergen
Tonnage:
1655 gt, 2725 tdwt
Signal Letters: LDAV

Built by Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Co. Ltd., New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1920. Previous name: Canadian Miner until 1924.
According to this external page, she was delivered in May-1920 as Canadian Miner to Canadian Merchant Marine, Montreal. Owned by Skibs A/S William Hansens Rederi (William Hansen), Bergen from Aug.-1924, renamed Thyra.

Captain: Hans Lyder Jahn

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


Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.

  Voyage Record
From Jan.-1940 to May-1941:  

(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database).

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Departure From To Arrival Convoy Remarks
1940 Jan. 19 Norwegian Waters HN 8 A. Hague says:
Detached Jan. 21.
Jan. 21 Detached from HN 8 Liverpool Jan. 24 Independent
Febr. 1 Liverpool OB 83 Detached Febr. 3.
Convoy available at OB 83
(external link)
Febr. 3 Detached from OB 83 Bristol Febr. 5 Independent For Bristol
Febr. 15 Bristol Barry Febr. 15 Independent
Febr. 17 Barry New Orleans Independent
March 21* New Orleans Halifax Independent *Page 1 gives departure March 29
(arrival Apr. 9).
Apr. 14 Halifax Liverpool Apr. 29 HX 35
Apr. 30 Liverpool Preston Independent
May 3 Preston Clyde May 4 Independent (Stop at Preston not mentioned, Page 1, but see narrative below).
May 8 Clyde Bristol May 11 Independent
May 14 Bristol Swansea May 14 Independent
May 17 Swansea Clyde Independent
May 26 Clyde OB 155 For Bathurst.
Dispersed May 29.
Convoy available at OB 155
(external link)
May 29 Dispersed from OB 155 Bathurst, NB Independent
June 18 Bathurst, NB Sydney, C.B. June 20 Independent
June 22 Sydney, C.B. Digby Independent
June 29 Digby Halifax July 1 Independent
July 7 Halifax Liverpool July 22 HX 56 See also narrative below.
On to Manchester
(Page 1).
Aug. 26 Liverpool Clyde Aug. 27 OB 204 To Clyde.
Convoy available at OB 204
(external link)
Sept. 1 Clyde OB 207 For Bathurst, NB.
Dispersed Sept. 6.
Convoy available at OB 207
(external link)
Sept. 6 Dispersed from OB 207 Bathurst, NB Sept. 16 Independent
Sept. 30 Bathurst, NB Sydney, C.B. Oct. 2 Independent
Oct. 9 Sydney, C.B. Preston Oct. 27 HX 79 From Sydney, C.B.
Nov. 11 Preston Liverpool Nov. 11 Independent
Nov. 17 Liverpool OB 244 Dispersed Nov. 22
Nov. 22 Dispersed from OB 244 Sheet Harbour Dec. 7 Independent
Dec. 14 Sheet Harbour Halifax Dec. 16 Independent A. Hague says:
Notional sailing date
(Page 1 gives Dec. 16).
Dec. 23 Halifax Clyde Jan. 7-1941 SC 17
1941 Jan. 13 Clyde Methil Jan. 17 WN 69 Convoy available at WN convoys
(external link)
Jan. 18 Methil Grimsby Jan. 20* FS 391 Convoy available at FS convoys
(external link)
*Page 1 gives arrival Jan. 26
Febr. 6 Grimsby Hull Febr. 6 Independent Left Hull Febr. 18
(Page 1)
Febr. 21* Spurn Head Methil Febr. 24 FN 412A *Compare w/Page 1.
Convoy available at FN convoys
(external link)
Febr. 25 Methil Oban March 1 EN 77/1 Convoy available at EN convoys
(external link)
March 8 Oban OG 55 For Seville.
Detached March 20.
Convoy will be added.
See ships in OG convoys
March 20 Detached from OG 55 Bonanza March 21 Independent
March 29 Bonanza Seville March 30 Independent Notional sailing date
Apr. 7 Seville Gibraltar Apr. 8 Independent
Apr. 15 Gibraltar Barrow May 2 HG 59
May 17 Barrow Ardrossan May 17 Independent Left Ardrossan May 21
(Page 2).
May 22 Clyde OB 325 Collision and sank
(see "Final Fate" below).
Convoy available at OB 235
(external link)


 Some Convoy Voyages – 1940-1941: 
For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Please follow the convoy links provided for more details; they all had several Norwegian ships.

According to A. Hague, Thyra sailed in Convoy HN 8 from Norway to the U.K. in Jan.-1940. The following month, he has included her in Convoy OB 83 (link in Voyage Record above), which left Liverpool on Febr. 1 and joined up with Convoy OA 83 on Febr. 3, the combined convoy forming the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 17F*, which arrived Gibraltar on Febr. 9. Thyra, however, was only bound for Bristol, where she arrived Febr. 5, having been detached from the OB convoy on Febr. 3. Please note that since the listing on Page 1 of the archive documents does not start until March-1940, I cannot confirm that the ship in the above convoys was the Norwegian Thyra. It looks like she crossed the Atlantic shortly thereafter; because according to the archive document, she was in New Orleans on March 29, leaving that day for Halifax, where she arrived on Apr. 9, the day the Germans invaded Norway. From Halifax, she headed to the U.K. on Apr. 14, having joined Convoy HX 35, cargo of paper and timber for Preston.

For info, there's a ship by this name leaving Halifax in Convoy HX 20 on Febr. 16-1940, but this must have been the Swedish Thyra(?)

Thyra later joined Convoy OB 155, originating in Liverpool on May 26-1940 (Thyra sailed from Glasgow on May 25). This convoy joined up with Convoy OA 155 on May 29, forming the Gibraltar convoy OG 31*, which arrived there on June 3. But Thyra's destination is given as Bathurst (N.B.), and according to A. Hague she left the OB convoy on May 29 in order to proceed to that destination (so was not part of the OG convoy). Arrival date is not given on Page 1. (The Swedish Thyra is also listed in OB 155, as are the Norwegian Novasli, Nyland and Simla - again, ref. link in the table above). Having made a stop at Sydney, C.B. and Digby, N.S., she proceeded to Halifax, heading back to the U.K. again on July 7 in Convoy HX 56 from there, having been cancelled from the previous convoy, HX 55. She was bound for Manchester with pulp wood and arrived there on July 23, remaining for over 3 weeks.

The following month, she's listed (with Hada County and Storanger) in Convoy OB 204, which left Liverpool on Aug. 26, but she was only bound for Glasgow on that occasion, arriving there Aug. 28. Together with Danio, Hild, Samnanger and Snefjeld, she subsequently joined Convoy OB 207, which had originated in Liverpool on Sept. 1 and dispersed Sept. 6, Thyra arriving Bathurst, N.B. on Sept. 16 (Page 1). Having spent 2 weeks in Bathurst, she proceeded to Sydney, C.B. in order to join the Sydney portion of Convoy HX 79 on Oct. 9. Her destination is again given as Manchester, cargo of sulphite pulp, station 84 (according to the archive document, she arrived Preston on Oct. 27). Benwood, Sandanger, Egda, Triton, Høyanger and Ravnefjell are also listed in this convoy, which had started out in Halifax on Oct. 8 and arrived Liverpool on Oct 23 with the loss of 12 ships; no Norwegian ships were lost, follow the link for more details, see also the external link provided below.

Thyra subsequently joined Convoy OB 244, which left Liverpool on Nov. 17-1940 and dispersed Nov. 22, Thrya arriving Sheet Harbour on Dec. 7. On Dec. 23, she headed back to the U.K. with the slow Convoy SC 17 from Halifax, bound for Clyde and Grimsby with moist pulp in station 12. She lost touch with the convoy in the morning of Jan. 4-1941, arrived Clyde Jan. 7.

In March-1941, Thyra is listed as bound for Seville in Convoy OG 55*, which originated in Liverpool on March 7 and arrived Gibraltar March 21; she arrived Seville, via Bonanza, on March 30, having started out from Oban on March 8 (Page 1). A. Hague says she had been detached from the convoy on March 20. With a cargo of iron ore for Barrow, she returned to the U.K. the following month in Convoy HG 59 from Gibraltar, arriving her destination on May 2 (Page 2). The only other Norwegian ship in this convoy was Atle Jarl.

* The OG convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, with more information on each; in the meantime, the ships sailing in them are named on the page listing ships in all OG convoys.

More details on the other Norwegian ships mentioned here can be found via the alphabet index at the end of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.

Related external link:
HX 79, 19 Oct, 1940 - 20 Oct, 1940

 Final Fate - 1941: 

Thyra was on a voyage in convoy* from Clyde to Halifax when she collided with the escorting British destroyer HMS Leamington (G 19 ) just after midnight on May 27-1941 and sank, 52 25N 19 22W. 4 died, the 20 survivors were picked up by Leamington and continued the voyage, the British ship having received only minor damages.

* This would have been Convoy OB 325, which left Liverpool on May 21-1941, dispersed on the 29th (external link). Thyra had departed Clyde on May 22, according to Page 2.

Crew List:
*Carpenter Bertelsen's other ships are named on this external page.

Survivors
Captain
Hans Lyder Jahn
1st Mate
Olav Magne Guneriussen
2nd Mate
Gudmund Abelsen*
2nd(?) Mate
Einar Meling
Carpenter
Olaf Berthelsen*
Able Seaman
Thor Bronn
Able Seaman
Andreas Bergseth
Able Seaman
Georg Freiland
Able Seaman
Fransisco Guestas
(Spanish)
Able Seaman
Chyta Klemens
(Polish)
1st Engineer
Martin Kleppe
2nd(?) Engineer
Odd Riegels
Donkeyman
Brynjulf Lindal
Stoker
Theodor Humal
(Estonian)
Stoker
Arthur Poor
(Estonian)
Stoker
Kaarlo Vuori
(Finnish)
Trimmer
George Edward Wilson
(British)
Cook
Bjørn Hansen
Mess Boy
Tmothy Kelly
(British)
+ 1 more?
see text at link below
Casualties:

2nd Engineer
Carl Johan Barstad

3rd Engineer
Nils Nilsen?*

Stoker
Lorang Carlson
(Swedish?*)

Steward
Anton Flakke
+ a passenger?
See * below

Related external links:
Stavern Memorial commemorations - *5 are commemorated at this memorial for seamen in Stavern, namely Mate/Radio Operator Gudmund Abelsen (he had joined Iron Baron [possibly the British one? There was also a Norwegian Iron Baron], became ill and died at a Navy hospital in Barnton on May 27-1944, buried in Odda - Source: "Våre falne"), Engineer Carl Johan Barstad, Stoker Lorang Carlson (in other words, listed as Norwegian), Steward Anton H. Flakke, and Chief Engineer Sverre Sem Sandberg - the latter was a passenger, en route to Halifax to join a ship. Nils Nilsen is not mentioned (it's possible he belongs among the survivors?).

HMS Leamington - The collision with Thyra is mentioned.

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

Wilh. Wilhelmsen also had a D/S Thyra, from 1899 when she was built, (Sunderland, 3742 gt) until lost on a voyage Dundee-New York on June 11-1914.

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).

   Be   
C
   D   
E
F
G
   He   
I
J
   K   
L
M
N
O
   PQ   
R
   So   
   To   
U
V
W
   Ø   

 Site Map | Search Warsailors.com |Merchant Fleet Main Page | Warsailors.com Home