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D/S Viva To Viva on the "Ships starting with V" page. Owner: Skibs-A/S Viva Delivered on Apr. 19-1938 from Fredrikstad Mek. Verksted, Fredrikstad (287) as cargo vessel Viva to C. H. Sørensen & Sønner, Arendal, steel hull, 365.2’ x 57.3’ x 20.2’, 3798 gt, 7260 tdwt, 4cyl Compound steam engine (FMV) 353bhp, 11 knots. Transferred to Skibs-AS Viva (C. H. Sørensen & Sønner, Arendal) on Apr. 21-1938. Captain: Oscar Andersen
According to the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page, Viva sailed in Convoy SL 135 / MKS 22, bound for London with Government stores. SL 135 had departed Freetown on Aug. 14-1943, joined up with MKS 22 from Gibraltar on the 26th and arrived Liverpool on Sept. 6. Viva is listed in the MKS portion, which is also available on my own site at MKS 22. See also the second table on that page, which shows us that Viva had been with the convoy from Alexandria. Other Norwegian ships taking part in the combined convoy were Borgholm, Bosphorus, Nyhorn, Spurt and Thalatta, all listed on this website - ref. alphabet index at the bottom of this page.
Left Cochin on Febr. 5-1944 with 6000 tons general cargo for the U. K. via Aden. Torpedoed twice and sunk on Febr. 9-1944 by U-188 (Lüdden), 12 30(40?)N 57 50E. The 1st torpedo hit in the deeptank on the starboard side, completely destroying the starboard motor lifeboat, but after the engine had been stopped the remaining 3 boats were lowered and quickly rowed away. Viva had a heavy list to starboard, and about 25 minutes later the 2nd torpedo hit in the aft port side resulting in an enormous explosion (it's possible the boilers exploded at the same time), and about 7 minutes later the ship was gone. All 37 survived and were picked up in 13 00N 55 20E by the British S/S Marwarri (Captain Armstrong) in the morning of Febr. 11 and landed at Aden on Febr. 14.
The captain was in his cabin when the attack occurred at 21:50 and was thrown bodily into the saloon by the force of the explosion, the ship listing 20-25° to starboard. There was an inrush of water, accompanied by fumes from the exploding torpedo. He got to his feet and went to the navigating bridge where he found the port midships lifeboat in the process of being lowered in charge of the 1st mate. After having assisted in launching the boat, the captain returned to the saloon with the intention of getting the ship's papers, but this was impossible due to the heavy fumes, so he proceeded aft where he joined the crew in No. 4 lifeboat which had been launched in the meantime. All 3 boats had rowed about 1/2 a mile away from the ship before they at 22:15 observed the second torpedo hit, which appeared to break the ship in 2, the stern part going down first, followed by the forward part which rose out of the water and sank. At midnight, they stopped and divided the crew in equal numbers between the 3 boats. The 1st engineer, who was in the engine room, stated that a severe shock was felt when the torpedo struck, and water poured down the engine room skylight and ventilators. After having stopped the engines on orders from the bridge, he joined those in the port midships lifeboat. The 1st mate was in his cabin and was thrown to the floor by the impact of the torpedo. In spite of the rush of water through the passageway, he suceeded in gaining the chartroom where he was requested by the radio operator to help start the main transmitter, but this could not be done. The 3rd mate, who was on watch on the bridge, stated that he felt a heavy shock, accompanied by a spout of water which rose to a considerable height and he was thrown off his feet. After having rung down to the engine room to stop engines, and sounding the alarm bell, he proceeded aft to the port boat. Able Seaman Monsen, who had been on lookout duty on the starboard side of the bridge, later proceeded aft to No. 2 lifeboat (starboard).
On my "Find Old Shipmates" Forum there's a message from the daughter of the stoker on board Viva; she's interested in getting in touch with someone who knew her father, Arne Kristian Kristiansen Nordaas (might be identical to the Arne Kristiansen who's listed as carpenter below?). Crew List - No casualties:
Related external links: The Australian War Memorial has a picture of this ship. It can be found by running a search through their collection search page. Back to Viva on the "Ships starting with V" page. 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). Pre war history is from T. Eriksen, Norway - his source: Article by Toralf Nilsen about C. H. Sørensen in "Skipet" 1.90
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