M/T Vinga
Updated Dec. 29-2011

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

A picture is available on this external page (click in it to enlarge).

Vinga - Page 2 has several reports on aircraft attack as well as info on the salvage

Partial Crew List at time of attack

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

Attacked by Aircraft - 1941:

Vinga had left Clyde on Sept. 13-1941, bound for Trinidad, joining Convoy OS 6 (departed Liverpool on Sept. 12 - ref. link provided in Voyage Record above; Cypria is also listed) but had lagged somewhat behind due to engine problems, and was stopped and without protection when a German bomber attacked 4 times in the morning of Sept. 15, position 58 01N 13 20W. During the first attack, when machine gun fire erupted, the 1st mate fired back with Vinga's machine gun (she had one 4 in gun and three AA guns on board, all of the latter were manned), but he was riddled by bullets and killed (he was said to have struck the plane[?]). The 3rd mate and others operated the port machine gun under the supervision of the captain, who ordered the radio operator to send out and SOS, which he managed to do before the aircraft came back. A bomb hit amidships, setting that section on fire, killing the captain and 6 others, while 4, including the steward, were severely injured. A 3rd attack, with machine gun fire, damaged the starboard lifeboat and injured Stoker Nilsen and Able Seaman Sigurd Lunde (not included in the official crew list). As all the midships officers had now been killed, no orders were forthcoming from the bridge, but the engine was stopped by the 4th engineer, and while he was down in the engine room another bomb exploded 2 meters from the ship, aft port side.

The survivors took to the boats, keeping near the ship in the hopes of finding more survivors. They spotted the saloon boy in the water and took him into the starboard boat. However, this boat was found to be leaking through 2 holes in the bottom, and being unable to keep the water out they all transferred to the port lifeboat, 28 in all. About half an hour later, a British aircraft circled above them, signalling in morse code which none of them could understand. The plane then circled around a spot 2 miles away, throwing down a life buouy, then a smoke bomb, leading those in the boat to understand there might be someone there and, reaching the area, they found the injured pumpman among the debris.

The destroyer HNMS Campbeltown (one of the escorts for OS 6) took the survivors on board, and as Vinga kept afloat a tug was called for and the following day, Sept. 16, 4 volunteers went back on board, namely Boatswain Hansen, Ordinary Seaman Bredahl, Able Seaman Lund and Galley Boy Nilsen. On the 17th Vinga was taken in tow, arriving Rothesay on the 19th, where she was handed over to Glasgow Salvage Company, Mr. Thomas.

Some additional details received from a visitor to my site:
The destroyer Campbeltown (former USS Buchanan) under Commander W. Harmsen was sent to the scene, when she was en route to base from escorting Convoy OS 6. Campbeltown first picked up the 33(? this should be 29) survivors and the 8 bodies. Commander Harmsen sent a whaleboat with volunteers and salvage equipment, and these men managed to extinguish the fires, mainly concentrated around the bridge, after many hours of hard work. Later, another fire broke out, which could be extinguished easily. On September 16, Campbeltown was relieved by the corvette HMS Heather. Later, the Dutch tug Zwarte Zee arrived on the scene. The Vinga was taken in tow, and the "convoy", escorted by Heather, passed Rathlin Island on the 19th, and around 15:00 hours, Vinga anchored in a bay of the Firth of Clyde. Zwarte Zee then returned to Campbeltown.

The maritime hearings were held in Greenock on Sept. 30-1941 with the 1st engineer, the boatswain and Ordinary Seaman Bredahl appearing. Most of the details in the 1st few paragraphs above is a summary of their statements and of an extract from the engine room diary. The witnesses disagree on the sequence of events, with the 1st engineer saying the bomb explosion took place in the 2nd attack, while the boatswain claims this happened in a 3rd attack. According to the 1st engineer, the Dutch vessel (meaning Campbeltown, which had been allocated to the Royal Netherlands Navy in Jan.-1941, but went back to the British Navy in Sept. that year) took 25 of the survivors into Londonderry where the injured Stoker Nilsen, Pumpman Moe, Saloon Boy Kotze, Steward Jamne and another unnamed crew member (possibly Able Seaman Lunde?) were admitted to a hospital. The destroyer had arrived about 2 hours after the attack, having heard the radio operator's SOS.

Vinga later arrived Glasgow in tow on Oct. 8, and did not leave again until Dec. 31 (possibly for trials following the repairs? She returned to port that same day), proceeding to Trinidad a little over a week later - see Page 1 of the archive documents. Subsequent voyages are discussed further down on this page.

Vinga - Page 2 has several reports on the attack as well as the salvage

Related external link:
Stavern commemorations - 9 are commemorated at this memorial for Norwegian seamen in Stavern, Norway. In addition to the ones listed above (some names are spelt a little differently) there's an Able Seaman Georg Marensius Andersen commemorated. According to "Våre falne", a series of 4 books naming Norwegians who died during the war, he contracted Tuberculosis while on board and was taken ashore in Reykjavik, where he died on March 28-1942. (His brother Gunnar died when Douro was sunk in May-1942).

Misc. Later 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.

As already mentioned above, Vinga proceeded to Trinidad following repairs in Glasgow. She arrived Trinidad on Febr. 3-1942, having sailed from Clyde on Jan. 9, joining the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 55*, which had been dispersed on Jan. 26. Again, see Page 1 of the archive documents. (According to the external website that I've linked to at the end of this page, she had been scheduled for station 67 of Convoy OS 16, which originated in Liverpool on Jan. 5, but she did not sail). From Trinidad, she headed to Halifax a few days later, joining the slow Convoy SC 73 from there on March 6 (she had initially been scheduled for the faster HX 178 on March 3). She had station 32, and her destination is given as Hvalfjord, Iceland - she arrived Reykjavik on March 21, remaining in Iceland for several weeks (she lost a crew member that month - see text at link above). On Apr. 30, we find her in Convoy RU 21 from Reykjavik to the U.K., together with Bollsta and G. C. Brøvig. Vinga made another voyage to Reykjavik in June, and from there she later joined the westbound Convoy ON 106*, which had originated in Liverpool on June 23 and arrived Halifax July 8. Vinga, however, was bound for New York, arriving there on July 11, having sailed from Reykjavik on June 24. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 2; convoy information for some of them can be found in the Voyage Record above.

Skipping now to Oct. 3-1942, when A. Hague has included her in Convoy SC 104* from New York, in which Fagersten and Senta were sunk, follow the links for more info. Additionally, my page about Potentilla has an eye witness account of this convoy battle - see also the external links at the end of this page. Acanthus, Eglantine and Montbretia are also named among the escorts for this convoy (ref. SC convoy escorts). Other Norwegian ships taking part were Bernhard, Bonde (returned), Boreas, Garnes, Gudvor, Inger Lise, Ingerfem, Lido, Nea and Suderøy. Vinga arrived Loch Ewe unharmed on Oct. 21. About a month later, she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 149*, which started out from Liverpool on Nov. 26 and arrived New York Dec. 12. Going back to Page 2 of the archive documents, we learn that Vinga sailed from Belfast Lough on Nov. 27. She left New York again on Dec. 27, joining Convoy SC 115*, and arrived Londonderry on Jan. 15-1943.

The following month, A. Hague has her, together with Kaia Knudsen and Tijuca, in the fast Convoy UC 1*, which originated in Liverpool on Febr. 15-1943 and arrived Curacao on March 6. She later returned to the U.K. in Convoy SC 126 from Halifax (Apr. 8), and in May we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 183* (Commodore in Laurits Swenson), originating in Liverpool on May 10, arriving New York on the 25th, but Vinga arrived St. John's, N.F. on May 21, having been detached from the convoy on the 19th, according to A. Hague (she had started out from Loch Ewe on May 11 and served as Escort Oiler for the convoy). Her voyages in this period are listed on Page 3 (as can be seen, she spent over 3 weeks in New York that summer). In July that year she can be found in Convoy SC 136 from Halifax, serving as Escort Oiler (Commodore in Titanian), and the following month, she appears in Convoy ON 198* (Escort Oiler). This convoy sailed from Liverpool on Aug. 21 and arrived New York Sept. 4; Vinga started out from Londonderry on Aug. 22 and arrived Halifax Sept. 2, heading back across the Atlantic already the next day in Convoy SC 141 (Escort Oiler) and arrived Londonderry on Sept. 16/17.

She left Londonderry again on Sept. 23, joining the westbound Convoy ON 203* (Escort Oiler), which had originated in Liverpool on Sept. 22 and arrived New York Oct. 10, but Vinga again stopped at Halifax, with arrival there Oct. 7. Just a few days later, on Oct. 11-1943, she's listed among the ships leaving Halifax with Convoy SC 144 (Escort Oiler). She was again bound for Londonderry, arriving Oct. 26, departing on Nov. 7 in order to go back to Halifax, where she arrived Nov. 20, having sailed in Convoy ON 210* (Escort Oiler - convoy left Liverpool Nov. 6, arrived New York Nov. 23 - Commodore in California Express). On Dec. 2, she joined Convoy SC 148 from Halifax (Escort Oiler), and arrived Londonderry Dec. 15 (Norhauk, which acted as the Vice Commodore Ship, was sunk - follow the link for more info). Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts - see SC convoy escorts.

It'll be noticed, when going back to Page 3, that she later spent a long time at Tyne. She had arrived there on Dec. 28-1943 and did not leave until May 17-1944. The reason for this long stay is not known. At the beginning of June, she embarked on another Trans-Atlantic voyage, joining Convoy ON 239*, arriving New York June 22, and just 2 days later we find her in Convoy HX 297 from New York (Escort Oiler), bound for Londonderry, with arrival July 10 - see also Page 4. The Norwegian Brimanger had the Commodore on board. The following month, Vinga is listed in the westbound Convoy ON 247* (Escort Oiler), and arrived New York on Aug. 16, according to the archive document (which says she had sailed from Belfast Lough on Aug. 2). From the U.S., she subsequently proceeded to Casablanca and later back to the U.S. (convoy information in Voyage Record), then headed to Londonderry again, having joined Convoy SC 159 from Halifax on Oct. 18, arriving her destination on Nov. 1, having served as Escort Oiler, also carrying 60 depth charges on board. A couple of weeks later, she joined the westbound Convoy ONS 36* (Escort Oiler), and arrived Philadelphia on Dec. 5 (convoy originated in Liverpool Nov. 13 and arrived Halifax Dec. 3 - Commodore in Geisha). On Dec. 17, she can be found in Convoy SC 163 back to the U.K. and arrived her destination Milford Haven on Dec. 31 (Escort Oiler, 60 depth charges).

In Jan.-1945, she joined another westbound convoy, namely ONS 40* (Escort Oiler), which started out in Liverpool on Jan. 12 and arrived Halifax on the 30th; Vinga, however, arrived Philadelphia Febr. 3, having sailed from Belfast Lough on Jan. 12. She now remained in Philadelphia for several weeks (Page 4), before proceeding to New York and Boston, then on to Halifax, and according to A. Hague, she returned to the U.K. in Convoy SC 171* (Escort Oiler, 60 depth charges), departing Halifax on March 27. Vinga stopped at Loch Ewe on Apr. 10, continuing to Scapa Flow a few days later, and from there to Belfast Lough, departing again on Apr. 21, joining the westbound Convoy ONS 48* (Escort Oiler - convoy originated in Liverpool Apr. 21, arrived Halifax May 4 - Commodore in Toledo). Vinga arrived Boston on May 6. A. Hague now has her returning to the U.K. with Convoy SC 176* from Halifax on May 16 (Escort Oiler, 60 depth charges). She arrived Glasgow on May 30, and when she headed back across the Atlantic the following day, no convoy was necessary.

Page 4 and Page 5 have information on her subsequent voyages (to Jan.-1946).

POST WAR:

Sold in 1951 to A/S Polarfront, Tromsø, Norway/Hvalfangerselskapet Blaahval, Oslo/R. S. Platou A/S, Oslo (A/S Polarfront), Tromsø, renamed Rein. Sold to the U.K. in 1954 for breaking up.

Related external links:
OS and OS/KMS Convoys - As can be seen, Vinga is mentioned in OS 16, but did not sail.

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

There was also a Swedish ship by the name Vinga, a steamer. Also, A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen had another Vinga later on, also a tanker, delivered to them in May-1975, built in Yokohama, 77 351 gt. Renamed Mega Eagle in 1987, Liberian flag, managed by A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen, but from 1988 she was managed by A/S Mosvolds Rederi, Farsund. Had various owners until 1993, when she was renamed Nan Hai Sheng Li for new owners in Monrovia, then sold to a Chinese company in 2005 (Liberian flag?). The name Vinga was used again for a tanker delivered in July-1993, built in Japan, 52 348 gt, managed by A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen. Had various owners until 1998, when she was renamed Navion Scotia for owners in Stavanger. Has since had misc. owners and managers.

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