More details on these voyages will be added as time allows
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| Left Fosnavåg on May 7-1940 (together with Vestern) with 6 Norwegians, half a troup of British soldiers and a German prisoner, safely reaching Baltasund. Skipper and owner was Johan Vike. The original intention was to take Sandvikhorn back to Norway, but this was not permitted. The skipper and his crew subsequently volunteered for war service. |
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| Departed Sandøy in Romsdal on May 4-1940 and arrived Seydisfjord 3 days later. On Apr. 8-1940, the day before the German invasion of Norway she had arrived Bodø with frozen herring, then continued south to Romsdal 3 days later. When the south of Norway capitulated, the skipper and his crew considered heading for the front in the north of Norway, but instead chose to go to Iceland.
The following made the voyage: Sandøy I was later taken over by the "Shetland Gang" for service to Norway, but was bombed and sunk in the fall of 1942. Names of casualties are inscribed on the Shetland Bus Memorial at Scalloway. See also my text under Brattholm I, as well as the external link below. A message in my Norwegian Guestbook states that Jakob Pedersen Sandøy joined the Marines and served as a pilot for the MTB's in Shetland. He was later awarded St. Olavsmedaljen med ekegren. Jakob Paulsen Sandøy spent the rest of the war as a fisherman in Buckie, Scotland. Related External link: |
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| 27'. Left Rubbestadneset on July 23-1941 with 5 people, arriving Kirkwall on the 25th.
These were on board: |
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| Departed Fjørtoft on Apr. 15-1941 with 8 people and arrived Shetland on the 17th.
On board were: * These 4 men had attempted to get across with another boat, but the boat was wrecked. They were assisted by Ola Svebakk and Ole Fjørtoft from Fjørtoft; Siglaos was stolen, whereupon they all travelled to Shetland. See also some information in my text for Hop, re Siglaos. |
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| Left Ålesund on May 13-1941 with 12 people, but shortly after departure they ran aground, though managed to get refloated a few hours later. However, due to heavy weather, they had to find shelter at Runde, then continued when the weather improved, only to experience problems with the motor. They were picked up by the Shetland Gang's Vita and taken to Lerwick. (This voyage was organized by Sverre Nielsen and Marino Nilsson - see "The Nielsen Group" on my Statistics page. Also, see this text re. Marino Nilsson).
The following were on board: |
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| Departed Kvalsvik on July 13-1944 with 5 people, arriving Shetland on July 14.
On board were: |
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| Departed Ålesund on March 13-1941 with 7 people, had to go by Stadlandet for repairs of a leak, and eventually arrived Lerwick on March 16. The voyage was organized by Reidar Godø and the Torsvik Group.
These were on board: Sigurd was sent back to Norway on a special mission, then returned from Sunnmøre on Apr. 9 with 3 people, as follows: Elsa Tidemann Andersen, Arne Henry Ekornes and Torberg Håland. |
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| Left Valestrand on Oct. 13-1941 with 3 people and arrived Lerwick on the 15th. Skipper and owner was Gregorius Økland. |
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| Left Brandal on May 10-1940 with her complement of 14, arriving the Faroe Islands on the 12th.
The following were on board: I've received this document from the National Archives of Norway, showing the voyages of a ship by this name, but I'm not entirely sure it's the Silva discussed here, as the document shows the ship in question in St. John's, N.F. on May 14-1940, just 2 days after Silva is said to have arrived the Faroe Islands following her escape from Norway (nor do I know whether she would have travelled that far). |
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| Departed Austevoll on Apr. 26-1942 with 4 people, arriving Lerwick on the 28th.
On board were: Related External link: |
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| 22'. Left Tælavåg on June 19-1941 and arrived Fetlar, Shetland on June 24 after a difficult voyage, the motor having stopped so that they had to use blankets as sail.
The following 4 made this voyage: Brekkeflat and Carlsen were "sausage makers" and said later that the sausages in Norway were made out of a mixture of meat and fish for a while, but this was now forbidden, it had to be either meat or fish. They made sausages out of meat only once a week. Brekkeflat wanted to join the air force, while Carlsen preferred the army, as did Sæland. Carlsen reported that about 2 weeks before they left Norway a large U-boat had been in the floating dock at Laksevaag, and that 500 men worked double shifts on a new U-boat base at Kirkeviken. Midtvedt stated that he found the risks involved in escaping from Norway was much less that the unpleasantness of remaining in Norway - he wanted to join the marines. |
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| Left Bremanger on March 9-1941 with 12 people, arriving Lerwick on March 11.
These were on board: |
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| About 22'. Owned by taxi driver Rolf Dybvik, who, together with Magnus Feie helped 4 young men get away from Fosnavåg on Apr. 22-1941. They ended up passing Shetland and was found drifting on the ocean by a vessel from the Faroe Islands which took them to Aberdeen, arriving Apr. 27.
The following made this voyage: |
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| Left Syltøy, Fjell in June-1940 with 10 people, 7 of whom were British employees of the consulate in Bergen. The voyage was organized by Vigand Larsen, Bergen. Skipper and owner was Jakob Syltøy, engineer was Halvard Lønøy, who were permitted to return to Norway after the passengers had been landed in Lerwick. Halvard Lønøy later ended up in England again in 1941 (he's identical to the Halvard Lønøy listed for Lygrefjord), and beceme a torpedo gunner on board the MTB Linchen 2. According to "Våre falne", Vol 3, he was run over by a taxi in Newcastle on Apr. 21-1944, and died on Apr. 25, however, I've received an E-mail from a relative saying that the circumstances around his demise are unclear. The family was involved in the resistance movement; many of them settled in Scotland and Shetland to avoid being arrested. After the war, Jens Lønøy (see Lygrefjord) received the Royal Medal of Honor.
Sjøglimt made another voyage from Fjell on Oct. 30-1941, this time with 26 people. The voyage came about after the Stein organization had been discovered on Oct. 2, and after Fjell's sherrif, Leif Eikeland, had been arrested, other members of the group needed to get away very quickly. On board were: |
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| 27'. Departed Stavanger on July 10-1941 with 4 people, arriving Sandend on July 13, following a difficult voyage with motor trouble and other, continuous technical problems.
These were on board: |
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| Left Fosnavåg with 19 people on May 6-1940, among them an Air Force captain and his staff. This group later helped start the new Norwegian Air Force in London.
On board were: |
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| Left Tananger, near Stavanger on Oct. 11-1941 with 19 people, arriving Aberdeen on the 13th. 2 mines had been seen the day after departure so they had remained still through the night. The following day another 2 mines had been seen.
On board were: Bernhard Haga stated later that there were rumours in Norway that Norwegians would be mobilized to fight against the Russians, and this was the reason why so many took desperate risks to get out of the country. |
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| Left Austevoll on Sept. 21-1941 with 17 people and arrived Lerwick on Sept. 23. Several of those who made this voyage had previously attempted to get away with Sjølyst (below), but had been forced to return due to motor trouble and bad weather.
Some of those on board Sjølivet: A German aircraft came over them at one point. A little later they passed the wreck of a fishing vessel, which might have been M/B Odd of Florø (may have been sunk by the aircraft?). |
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| Departed Møkster, Austevoll on Oct. 30-1941 with 16 people and arrived Lerwick on Nov. 1.
On board were: This ship had attempted to get away on a previous occasion as well, with 20-30 people on board, but was forced to return due to engine problems and bad weather. When returning, Henrik Karlsen from Fitjar had been washed overboard and drowned. They had managed to get hold of the body and took him to the minister in Austevoll, whereupon all those who had taken part in the escape attempt scattered around the district. Some of them travelled to Stord and tried to get away with another boat fromt there, but again they were forced to return. See also text under Sjølivet above. |
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| Left Ålesund on June 13-1940 with 16 people, 4 Norwegians and 12 British who had been in hiding in Sykkylven. Owner Elias Standal was skipper on the crossing to the Faroe Islands.
Skipper Standal later returned to Ålesund in Oct. that year, then had to escape for good when it became known what he had been up to, leaving Sandshamn for the Faroe Islands again on Nov. 13-1940, carrying 2 Norwegian Naval officers (taking his family with him?). |
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| 21'.
Departed Valderøy with 2 people on May 31-1940, arriving Lerwick on June 5 or 6, having encountered heavy weather and motor trouble. On board were: |
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| Left Herdla on Oct. 5-1941 with 11 people, arriving Lerwick on Oct. 6. Skipper was Jakob Nilsen Torsvik from Herdla. |
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| Left Vegsund, Borgund on Oct. 16-1941 with 14 people, but immediately encountered heavy weather, drifting south in a storm, and reaching land near Stad. Continued when the weather improved and reached Lerwick on Oct. 19.
These were on board: * These 2 were schedulled to leave with Hugin, later with Hod, but arrived at the meeting place too late. I believe this may be the same vessel as the one mentioned in this Norwegian article (external link). |
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| See text under M/G Lur. |
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| Departed Bremnes on June 5-1940 with 16? people and arrived Bressay, Shetland in the morning of June 7. The voyage was organized by people from Rubbestadneset, who were later responsible for several such expeditions.
Some of those on board were: |
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| Left Moster on Aug. 10-1942 with 6 people, arriving Lerwick on Aug. 12. One of the passengers, Birger Larssen from Bergen, who was the leader of an important "export group" in Bergen, was wanted by the Gestapo. The boat was purchased for the purpose by one of the group's contacts in Moster, Magnus Stokka.
The following were on board: |
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| Departed Hernar on Aug. 14-1944 with 8 people, arriving Lerwick on the 17th. The organizer of the voyage, Hans Helle, had purchased the boat together with Michal Harkestad and Martinius Grindheim, in order to help people who were wanted by the Gestapo to get away. A Milorg group in Laksevåg was in danger and had been assisted to Uthella by Hans Helle, and remained under cover there for a few days until Snedig was ready to sail.
On board were: |
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| Departed Mastrevik in Nordhordland on May 19-1940 with 8 people, among them a British diplomat, arriving Lerwick the following day. The voyage was organized by the skipper's brother Olav Leirvåg, who had helped the diplomat get from Oslo to Mastrevik. (See also Gneist).
These came along: My Guestbook has a message from the daughter of Arthur Fjeldstad. See also this message from his son, and this message from the grandson of Gustav Schmidt. Here's another related message. |
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| Left Askøy on Sept. 13-1941 with 22 people and arrived Lerwick on Sept. 15.
On board were: |
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| Left Bømlo in Aug.-1941 with 9 people, arriving Kirkwall on Aug. 7, with Anbjørn Anbjørnsen as skipper. B. P. Newton had a 3rd mate by this name - could be a coincidence of course... |
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| Departed Askvoll on Sept. 4-1941 with 22 people, and arrived Shetland on the 6th. (They had attempted to leave from Sauesund on Sept. 1 but encountered a storm and engine problems, and were forced to return to the coast, managing to land at Alden, north of Værlandet).
These came along: |
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| Left Værlandet on Aug. 23-1941 with 19 people, 6 of whom were female, 2 children, and arrived Lerwick on the 25th. Owner and skipper was Ivar Brosvik, and the voyage organized by Sverre Brosvik who also came along, being in danger after having helped people in the Bergen area get away. The following were on board: *I believe Kåre Seines is identical to the Kåre Seines who lost his life when Annavore was sunk in Dec.-1941. |
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| Left Tromsø on Apr. 10-1944 with 8 people, incl 2 children and 1 female. En route they stopped by Blokken, Vesterålen to pick up some rocks for ballast, then left again the following day with a course for Iceland. However, on the 13th they were stopped by a German U-boat and after the passengers had been taken on board, the vessel was sunk. They were in prison until the end of the war. One of them, Bernhard Nilsen had jumped overboard when the U-boat stopped them, but was fished out of the water again. |
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| 27'. Left Værlandet on Aug. 2-1941 with 27 people, including 6 women, and arrived Baltasund on Aug. 4. The voyage was organized by those who came along, assisted by Sverre Brosvik, Værlandet and financed by the Årstad-Brun Group in Bergen. Soløy sank alongside the quay in Lerwick on the night leading up to Aug. 5.
These made the crossing: |
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| Owned by Alfred Igland, who allowed the escapees to use the boat. Departed Bremanger on Sept. 23-1941 with 33 people, of whom 5 were female, arriving Baltasund on Sept. 25. Having encountered thick fog near Shetland in the evening of Sept. 25, they were unable to land. A couple of men rowed to shore in the dinghy, and it turned out they had reached Wick, east of Muckle Flugga. The voyage had been organized by a group in Svelgen, headed by Hilmar Førde.
On board were: |
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| 28', 5 hp motor. Left Os on June 13-1944 with 2 men who had previously escaped to Sweden and had operated as couriers to Norway for a while. However, following their last mission to Oslo in May that year, the border areas east of the city were blocked due to sabotage actions, so they headed west to Os, where they stole this boat. They encountered a horrendous storm which lasted for 4 days, and on the 5th day they discovered that they had passed Shetland. They turned around and after having sailed east for 6 hours they arrived Fair Island where they crawled to a house and got help. Their food and water had been lost on the 1st day of the storm.
On board were: |
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| Departed Selje on Sept. 28-1941 with 8 people, arriving Out Skerries 27 hours later, having encountered heavy fog at first, then a storm.
The following made the voyage: S. Silden has written a book about is experiences - see this Guestbook message |
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| Left Leikanger, near Stad on Apr. 7-1941 with 26 people. Went passed Shetland, ran out of oil, found drifting by the trawler Leivur Øssurson from the Faroe Islands which towed them into Trangisvåg, the Faroes. Later arrived Thorshavn by their own power, Apr. 12.
On board were:
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| Left Straumen, Solund on Sept. 22-1941 with 13 people, arriving Lerwick on the 24th.
These were on board: They had gone on board Steinborg, which had 500 kg of fish in her well at the time, and told the owners they intended to take her to Shetland, then took them out to sea before sending them back to shore in the dinghy. |
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See M/B Traust. |
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| Left Brandasund on Aug. 31-1941 with 30 people, arriving Lerwick on Sept. 2. The escape was organized by the so called "Bremnes Group".
These came along: * These men were seaman, and may have joined the merchant fleet. Tollev Tjelmeland had previously been on board Polykarp when that ship was captured by Scharnhorst and was subsequently sent home to Norway. Follow the link for more information. |
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| Departed Bremnes Aug. 27-1941 with 3 people and reached Lerwick on the 29th.
On board were: |
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| Left Melvær, Bulandet on Oct. 4-1941 with 21 people, 2 of whom, Erling Marthinsson from Bergen and Carl W. Müller from Haugesund, had escaped from Ulven. Stølsgut arrived Lerwick on Oct. 5.
Some of those who were on board: (This group had attempted to escape from Melvær previously, but had to return several days later due to bad weather. Harald Nilsen had also attempted to escape in a small boat previously). |
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| Left Solund on Sept. 3-1941 with 17 people, arriving Lerwick on the 5th after a rough voyage. Owner of the boat was Knut Berentsen, who had given the group permission to "steal" the boat. They had attempted to escape earlier in a small motorboat, but had to return due to engine failure.
Some of those on board: See also a message in my Guestbook, which says the following: |
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| Left Steinsland, Sund on Sept. 23-1941 with 26 people, arriving Sandøy on the Orkneys on Sept. 25. Skipper was Normann Hummelslund. |
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| Departed Selvær, Nordland on Sept. 17-1942 with 8 people (2 women, 2 children) and arrived Scalloway on the 22nd. Voyage was organized at very short notice by Magnus Olsen (merchant) in Selvær who was wanted by the Gestapo.
On board were: |
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| Departed Alden, Askvoll on May 25-1940 with 6 people, arriving Baltasund on the 27th.
These were on board: Jens Værøyvik, together with Hermann Midtbø, had transported 2 Norwegian officers and 8 British soldiers across to Shetland on board Vega a few days before - follow link for more details. Anton Tviberg had previously (unsuccessfully) attempted to escape with a group from Askvoll and Bergen. |
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| Left Bømlo on Aug. 13-1941 with 31 people and arrived Lerwick on the 15th.
On board were: Some of the passengers from Rogaland had previously purchased a boat in Stavanger, travelled northwards with it, then gone out to sea near Bremnes. However, near Shetland they had engine problems causing them to drift back across the North Sea until they eventually stranded at Jæren. Shortly afterwards they went to Bremnes in order to try again in another small boat, but because of German activities along the coast they found it best to return. They subsequently went back to Stavanger, then joined this group organized by Harrly Lindstrøm. * Nils Nesse died in Oct.-1941 when on an operation with Siglaos, listed further up on this page. Again, my page about Hop has more details (scroll down on the page). Nils and Simon's brother Johan later got away with Nordlys in Sept.-1941. (They also had 5 other brothers and 4 sisters). For info, if you read Norwegian, there's an article about Nils Jensen Nesse, with several pictures, on the website Sogn og Fjordane Fylkeskommune (external links). |
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| Departed Fjell on Aug. 28-1941 with 11 people and arrived Buckie on Aug. 30. The voyage was organized by the Årstad-Brun group in Bergen, with Sigurd Årstad himself making the crossing with his family.
The following were on board: * Jacob Njøten was a key person in the organized escapes to British ports from the areas between Bergen and Askvoll. Christen Gran was also in the organization in Bergen. |
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| Left Tælavåg on Aug. 19-1941 with 10 people, arriving Lerwick on Aug. 21, organized by the Stein group.
On board were: |
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| Left Vigra on March 27-1941 with 15 people and arrived Stonehaven (near Aberdeen, Scotland) on Apr. 1.
On board were: |
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| Departed Hestvika (Hitra) on July 13-1944 with 6 people and arrived Shetland on the 17th.
These were on board: In Aug. that year Sylvia later returned with some "mini subs" from Kompani Linge. |
