M/S Velox
Updated Jan. 8-2012

To Velox on the "Ships starting with V" page.

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Misc. Convoy Voyages:

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. Follow the convoy links provided for more details on them; several Norwegian ships took part.

Judging from the listing on Page 1 of the archive documents, Velox was in Sydney, Australia when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940, having arrived there from Los Angeles on March 28, remaining until Apr. 26.

In Sept.-1940 she's listed in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 73, cargo of lumber for Liverpool and London, station 45. It'll be noticed, when going back to the archive document, that she later spent a month in Garston. She subsequently joined Convoy OB 239, which left Liverpool on Nov. 4, but the convoy returned to port on Nov. 8 (Oban). It looks like the ships in it later got away from Oban on Nov. 10 in a convoy that has been given the designation OB 239/1 by Arnold Hague (see link provided in the Voyage Record). The convoy was dispersed on Nov. 14, and Velox arrived Cristobal on Dec. 5, proceeding to Vancouver the next day, with arrival Dec. 23, spending over 3 weeks there.

She headed back to the U.K. again on March 9-1941 in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 114, bound for Liverpool with lumber, general and airplanes (Hidlefjord was sunk on this voyage, and Kaia Knudsen damaged - follow the links for more details). Velox appears to have been too slow for this convoy, because on March 24 she was sent to join up with the slower Convoy SC 25, as was the Norwegian Inger Lise. Velox arrived Liverpool on Apr. 2, and later that month we find her, together with Ferncastle, Grado, Vanja and Ørnefjell, in Convoy OB 314, which departed Liverpool on Apr. 23 and dispersed on the 30th, Velox arriving Cristobal May 18 (Page 1). In July that year she shows up in station 56 of Convoy HX 140 from Halifax, along with the Norwegian Madrono (112), Boreas (16), Thorshov (83), Velma (96), Alaska (106), Stiklestad (95), Vardefjell (84), Evita (114), Olaf Bergh (124), Skiensfjord (97), Ferncastle (113), Thorshavet (43), Bonneville (82) and Helgøy (77). Beth and Petter were also initially in this convoy but left due to engine problems; others joined from Iceland.

The following month, Velox joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 10, leaving Liverpool on Aug. 27. Her destination is given as Cuba on that occasion, station 33; from Page 2, we learn that she arrived Macoris on Sept. 20, the convoy having been dispersed on Sept. 11. She later proceeded to Barahona, with arrival there on Sept. 25. With a cargo of sugar for Liverpool, she headed back to the U.K. on Oct. 23 in the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 51. She left Liverpool again on Nov. 25, joining the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 40*, according to A. Hague. She arrived Glasgow on Nov. 27, so it looks like she put back to port. From Clyde, she joined Convoy OS 13 (link within the table above), which originated in Liverpool on Nov. 30 and included the Norwegian Finnanger, Siljestad and K. G. Meldahl. Velox was in station 72, on a voyage from Clyde to Freetown and Takoradi, arriving Freetown on Dec. 21, Takoradi on Jan. 3-1942. The archive document shows her subsequent voyages.

In March-1942, she's listed as going in the other direction in Convoy SL 102, which left Freetown on March 4 and arrived Liverpool on the 26th. Belnor, Brønnøy and Cypria are also named (again, ref link provided in Voyage Record). Velox had a cargo of oil seed, station 94. Having remained in Liverpool for about a month (Page 2), she joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 90*, departing Liverpool on Apr. 28, arriving Halifax May 15; Velox, however, was bound for Philadelphia, where she arrived on May 20, having stopped by New York on the 17th. With a cargo of cotton and steel for Newport, she headed back across the Atlantic on June 12 with the slow Convoy SC 87 from Sydney, C.B., arriving her destination, via Belfast Lough, on June 27.

In July that year, we find her in station 75 of Convoy OS 35, voyaging from Milford to Aden and Alexandria with coal and general - again, see the external link in the table above. Somerville is also named in this convoy, which started out in Liverpool on July 21 and arrived Feetown Aug. 10; Velox sailed from Milford Haven on July 20 and arrived Durban Sept. 1, having detached from the convoy on Aug. 10. According to the Memorial for Seamen in Stavern, Norway (ref. link at the end of this page), Captain Søren Marius Jensen died in an accident at sea on Aug. 8-1942, in other words, when she was on this voyage. "Våre falne", a series of 4 books naming Norwegians who died during the war, says he fell overboard and drowned in the Atlantic. From Durban, Velox continued to Aden and Alexandria a few days later (Page 2).

The rest of her 1942 voyages are shown on Page 3, which also has her 1943 voyages. The Stavern Memorial also states that 2nd Mate Gabriel Thuestad died following an accident on board, on May 5-1943; from the archive document, we learn that Velox was at Colombo at that time, having been there since Febr. 9 (the reason for this long stay is not known). "Våre falne" adds that the 2nd mate was buried in Colombo. Note that he's included in the crew list for Tosca, when that ship was torpedoed on Apr. 10-1940. His brother Harald died when Brant County was sunk (he had previously escaped from Norway with Anna in Jan.-1942).

Skipping now to Aug. 3-1943, when she made a voyage from Alexandria to Gibraltar with Convoy MKS 21 (scroll down to the second table on the page). From Gibraltar, she proceeded to Casablanca, later joining Convoy SL 135 in order to sail to the U.K. (this convoy, which is available via the link provided in the table above, had originated in Freetown and arrived Liverpool on Sept. 6, after having joined up with Convoy MKS 22 from Gibraltar), but she returned to Casablanca, then went back to Gibraltar, subsequently joining another convoy to the U.K. from there on Sept. 5, and arrived Loch Ewe on Sept. 21 - convoy information can be found in the Voyage Record.

It'll be noticed, when going back to Page 3, that she later spent a long time at Tyne, where she had arrived from Immingham on Oct. 13-1943. Departure is given as Jan. 13-1944, and later that month, she's listed in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ONS 28*, which originated in Liverpool on Jan. 28 and arrived Halifax Febr. 15. Velox, however, sailed from Oban on the 29th and was bound for New York, where she arrived on Febr. 18, remaining there until March 12, when she proceeded to Trinidad. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 4, while convoy information for some of them is available in the table above.

In May-1944 she was in Convoy HX 291 from New York, which also included Heranger, Høyanger (Vice Commodore's ship), O. B. Sørensen, Para, Villanger, Stirlingville, Minerva, Vav and others. This convoy departed New York on May 10 and arrived Liverpool on the 27th; Velox was bound for Garston with a cargo of bauxite, arriving there that same day. She now remained in the U.K. for a long time, then in July she's listed as bound for Port Alfred in Convoy ON 246*, which originated in Liverpool on July 25 and arrived New York Aug. 9 (Commodore in Brimanger) - Velox, which had started out from Clyde on July 26, arrived Port Alfred on Aug. 6, having been detached from the convoy on Aug. 1 (according to A. Hague). She did not leave Port Alfred until Aug. 30; via Red Islet and Father Point, she proceeded to Sydney, C.B., in order to join the Sydney portion of Convoy HX 306 on Sept. 3, bound for Rochester with wood pulp, arriving Sept. 18. This convoy had originated in New York on Aug. 31. As will be seen, when going back to Page 4, she later had a long stay in Cardiff, where she had arrived on Oct. 9; departure is given as Nov. 11, when she proceeded to Belfast Lough, and from there, she joined the westbound Convoy ONS 36*, which sailed from Liverpool on Nov. 13 and arrived Halifax Dec. 3 (Commodore in Geisha), but Velox was bound for St. John, N.B., where she arrived Dec. 4.

On Jan. 1-1945, she can be found in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 164, again bound for Rochester with wood pulp, arriving her destination on Jan. 24, remaining there for about a month, also spending a lot of time in Cardiff later on (Page 4). Her last Trans-Atlantic convoy voyage was made in Convoy ONS 49*, which departed Liverpool on May 2 and arrived Halifax on the 18th; Velox sailed from Belfast Lough on May 3 and arrived Boston on the 19th, continuing to New York a few days later - see Page 5. When she returned to the U.K. in June, no convoy was necessary.

* The ON and ONS convoys, which also included other Norwegian ships, 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 and on the page for ships in all ONS convoys.

More information on the Norwegian ships named on this page can be found via the alphabet index below, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Sold in Jan.-1947 to Rederi AB Atlanten (OY Suomen Etela-Amerikan Linja – Finska Syd-Amerikalinjen AB) Helsinki, Finland, renamed Angra. Owned from July-1951 by OY Suomen Etela-Amerikan Linja – Finska Syd-Amerikalinjen AB, Helsinki, Finland. Sold in Jan.-1956 to OY Hacklin Holdings Co. AB (Werner Hacklin), Pori, Finland, renamed Otto H. Transferred to Werner Hacklins Stiftelse, Pori, Finland in 1957. Broken up at Helsingin Romuliike, Finland in 1959.

Related external link:
Stavern Memorial commemorations - Captain Søren Marius Jensen is listed as having died in an accident at sea on Aug. 8-1942. "Våre falne", a series of 4 books naming Norwegians who died during the war, says he fell overboard and drowned in the Atlantic. According to Page 2 of the archive documents, Velox was on her way to Durban on that date. 2nd Mate Gabriel Thuestad is also said to have died following an accident on board, on May 5-1943. "Våre falne" says the ship was in Colombo at the time, which is confirmed by Page 3. "Våre falne" adds that he was buried in Colombo. Note that he's included in the crew list for Tosca, when that ship was torpedoed on Apr. 10-1940. His brother Harald died when Brant County was sunk (he had previously escaped from Norway with Anna in Jan.-1942).

Back to Velox on the "Ships starting with V" page.

Other ships by this name:
Haugesund had a steamship by the name Velox in WW I, originally delivered to V. T. Engvall, Gefle in 1884 as Velox, 312 gt. Owned by Ångf.-A/B Östersjøen, Gefle from 1889. Purchased by Jens Gjerdsø, Haugesund in 1894, then owned by Gjerdsø & Bakkevik 1905. Sold in 1916 to Jacob Ringen, Haugesund. Some sources say she was sunk by UB-11 on Aug. 24-1916 (explosives) 11 n. miles northwest of Maas lightship when on a voyage Rotterdam-London with general cargo. However, this posting to my Ship Forum states that the culprit could not have been U-11, as that boat was only used as a training vessel and did not serve operationally. This posting gives UB 16, and voyage as Newport to Genoa. The crew was picked up by fishing vessels and taken to Hoek van Holland.
Another D/S Velox was the former Victoire of Rotterdam, then Strabo of Amsterdam, built 1918, 699 gt. Purchased by D/S A/S Velox (Erling Lothe), Haugesund in 1930, renamed Velox - sold in 1931 to Herman Jacobsens Rederi, Oslo. Capsized and sank on Febr. 4-1934 near Kya light, Folla on a voyage from Bodø with cargo of herring. At that time she had the name Fro for Aug. Kjerland, Bergen.
The American Cable Splice, 3913 gt, delivered in 1945 for the U.S. War Shipping Adm., later sailed as Velox for Erik Smedsvik, Haugesund from 1964 (having sailed as Bandeirante for Fred. Olsen & Co., Oslo from 1947, Høegh Abeille for Leif Høegh & Co. from 1954). This ship later became German Narwa in 1966, then Panamanian Eleftherotria in 1968, broken up in 1970.
In July-1952 a D/S Aun was delivered to A/S Finn Johnsens Rederi, Bergen, 1901 gt. Sailed as Leknes from 1963 for the Jebsen Group in Bergen, then sold in Febr.-1965 to A/S Liv (Arne Østensjø d.y.), Haugesund, incl. 2 years time charter. Returned in Febr.-1967 and renamed Velox (Haugesund). Sold in Apr.-1970 to Cia. Maritima S.A. and became Weston of Panama (Ohlsonship Ltd., Hull). From 1976 as Nicolaos G of Cyprus, later Syrian Syria Star, then Nicolaus G again. Delivered for breaking up near Perama, Piræus in Nov.-1980. ("Våre gamle skip", Leif M. Bjørkelund and E. H. Kongshavn, and Leif Høegh & Co. fleetlist).

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, and misc. (ref. My sources). Pre war history and post war info was received from T. Eriksen, Norway - his source: Article by Toralf Nilsen about C. H. Sørensen in "Skipet" 1.90.