M/T Thorshavn - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 (original) (raw)

M/T Thorshavn Updated Sept. 9-2012

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

Owner: Bryde & Dahls Hvalfangerselskap A/S Manager: A/S Thor Dahl, SandefjordTonnage: 6869 gt
Built by Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd., Sunderland in 1930.	Both these pictures were received from Narve Sørensen (ex Thor Dahl Employee).

This shows her as Adventurer, Post War - From Tony Cooper's collection.

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6

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

� Voyage Record
From Jan.-1940 to Nov.-1945: �

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

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.

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 links provided for more convoy information - several Norwegian ships took part.

Thorshavn is listed among the ships in Convoy HGF 24 from Gibraltar to the U.K. in March-1940. The following month, she appears in Convoy OA 125, which originated in Liverpool on Apr. 8, joined up with Convoy OB 125 on Apr. 10, the combined convoy forming the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 25*, which arrived Gibraltar on Apr. 16 (in the meantime, war had broken out in Norway on Apr. 9). Oria and South America are also listed in the OG convoy; they had started out in the OB convoy. Thorshavn's destination is given as Curacao, but according to Page 1, she was diverted to Tripoli, Syria, where she arrived, via Port Said, on May 2. On May 12, we find her, together with Norma, in Convoy HGF 30 from Gibraltar. She arrived Swansea on May 20, and at the end of that month, she's listed in Convoy OB 158, originating in Liverpool on May 30. This convoy joined up with Convoy OA 158 on June 2, forming the Gibraltar convoy OG 32F*, which arrived there on June 7. Thorshavn's destination is given as Aruba; according to the archive document, she arrived Curacao on June 18, having sailed from Milford Haven on May 31. A. Hague says she had been detached from the OG convoy on June 5. The Norwegian Abraham Lincoln, Buesten and Kosmos II are also included (Kosmos II had started out in the OA convoy, while the other 2 were in the OB convoy). Ref. links provided within the Voyage Record for more on the OA and OB convoys mentioned here. From Curacao, she headed to Bermuda the next day, in order to join the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 53, bound for Portsmouth with Admiralty fuel, station 65.

With Heina, Idefjord, Nea, Ringstad, Sama and Thalatta, she later joined Convoy OB 203, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 24 and dispersed on the 28th (link in the table above). Her destination is not given, but from Page 1, we learn that she arrived Trinidad on Sept. 15. She subsequently headed to Freetown and back to Trinidad, then to Gibraltar and Curacao and on to Bermuda, and on Dec. 4, she joined the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 94, bound for Liverpool with fuel oil. A report on the passage is also available for this convoy. Thorshavn arrived Liverpool on Christmas Eve.

She now joined Convoy OB 273, originating in Liverpool on Jan. 12-1941, dispersed on Jan. 16. Anna Knudsen, Augvald, Finnanger (returned) and Litiopa are also named (link in table above). Again, no destination is given for Thorshavn, but according to Page 1, she arrived Bermuda on Jan. 30 (having sailed from Clyde Jan. 12), proceeding to Trinidad the next day, remaining there for quite a long time before heading to Curacao and Freetown, then back to Curacao and on to Halifax. She was scheduled for Convoy HX 124 (Apr. 30) as well as for HX 125B (May 6) from Halifax to the U.K., but did not get away until May 20, when she joined Convoy HX 128, bound for Liverpool with fuel oil, arriving there June 6. A. Hague has now included her in Convoy OB 341, which departed Liverpool on June 30 and dispersed on July 6, Thorshavn arriving Curacao on July 18 - ref. link in Voyage Record. Brisk, Evanger, Fana, Leikanger, Novasli, Nueva Granada, Nyholt, Polartank, Ringstad, Sommerstad, Thorøy, Thorsholm and Vigsnes are also named, but please note that I believe some of these belong in OB 341A (external link; escorts only are named). Thorshavn proceeded to Halifax already the next day, then headed back to the U.K. with Convoy HX 143 from there on Aug. 5. The Norwegian Belinda, Mosli, Andrea Brøvig, Katy, Ravnefjell, Carmelfjell, Salamis, Primero, Benwood and Petter were also in this convoy.

She later went in the other direction with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 17, originating in Liverpool on Sept. 17, dispersed Sept. 29, Thorshavn arriving Curacao on Oct. 19(?) - her voyages in this period are shown on Page 2 (it'll be noticed, when going back to A. Hague's Voyage Record above, that he has given arrival Curacao as Oct. 9). On Nov. 3, we find her in Convoy HX 158 from Halifax. She stopped at Hvalfjord on Nov. 15, and from Iceland, she joined the westbound Convoy ON 39*, which had started out from Liverpool on Nov. 21, dispersed on Dec. 4, Thorshavn arriving Curacao on Dec. 17. Grado, Gudvin and Ledaal (returned) are also mentioned.

Thorshavn is said to have returned to the U.K. with Convoy HX 167, which left Halifax on Dec. 27-1941, but it looks like this listing is incorrect. As will be seen, it does not agree with the details found on Page 2 (which says she was en route from Curacao to Table Bay on that date), and A. Hague has not included her in this convoy, but lists Thorshavet instead, so this is probably just a matter of a simple mis-interpretation of the name. Other Norwegian ships in this convoy were O. A. Knudsen, Suderøy, Bralanta, Meline, Noreg, O. A. Knudsen, Abraham Lincoln and Sandanger, among others - follow the link for more info.

Her subsequent voyages are listed on Page 2, Page 3 and Page 4 of the archive documents. Convoy information for some of these can be found in the Voyage Record. It'll be noticed that she occasionally had long stays in port.

Skipping now to March-1944, when she made a voyage from Port Said to Augusta, having joined Convoy MKS 45*, which departed Port Said on March 30. Thorshavn arrived Augusta on Apr. 5. (Just for info, this convoy later joined up with Convoy SL 154 off Gibraltar and proceeded to the U.K. as a combined convoy, but Thorshavn was not present at that time). In May that same year, she made a voyage from Augusta to Port Said in Convoy KMS 50*, arriving Port Said on May 25; Thorshavn had sailed from Augusta on May 20. The following month, we find her in Convoy KMS 53*, which arrived Port Said on June 24; Thorshavn had joined from Algiers (Page 4). In July, she's listed as bound for Augusta in Convoy MKS 55*; she arrived her destination on July 14, having left Port Said on July 8, then left Augusta again on July 18, joining Convoy KMS 56*, arriving Port Said July 23. Later that month, she made a voyage to Augusta with Convoy MKS 57*, which had departed Port Said on July 28; she arrived Augusta on Aug. 5. On Aug. 18, she was back in Augusta (having been to Naples in between), leaving that day for Port Said, joining Convoy KMS 59*, arriving Port Said on Aug. 23. Page 5 has the rest of her 1944 voyages, as well as some 1945 voyages (as can be seen, she spent a long time in New York at the beginning of that year).

According to Arnold Hague, she sailed in Convoy HX 346*, which left New York on March 24-1945 and arrived Liverpool Apr. 7 and also included Dageid, G. C. Brøvig, Polartank, Reinholt (Commodore Vessel) and Strinda. A few days later she's listed, with destination Corpus Christi, in Convoy ON 296*, departing Liverpool on Apr. 12. Dageid, G. C. Brøvig, Polartank and Strinda were again in company, as were Montevideo, Noreg and Tai Shan. Thorshavn was detached from the convoy on Apr. 20 and arrived Corpus Christi on May 5. Her last Trans-Atlantic convoy voyage was made in Convoy HX 357* from New York on May 19; she arrived Heysham on June 3. Abraham Lincoln (Commodore Vessel), Brimanger, Fagerfjell, Jotunfjell, Kaldfonn, Montevideo, Tungsha (returned) and Østhav are also listed. Thorshavn left Heysham again a couple of days later in order to return to the U.S., but his time no convoy was necessary. She arrived Baltimore on June 19, spending several weeks there, before returning the the U.K. - see Page 6. This document also shows that she headed to Sandefjord, Norway in Nov.-1945.

* The ON convoys 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. The OG convoys will also be added; for now, go to the page listing ships in all OG convoys. See also the section for ships in all KMS convoys and ships in all MKS convoys. Additionally, the entire HX series will be updated and completed (including the already existing convoys - some have already been updated), see ships in all HX convoys

More info on all 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.

Sold on June 13-1947 to Transoceanic Corp., Panama, renamed Transoman. Also, I've been told (by T. Cooper, England), that she was renamed Adventurer in 1951. Scrapped in 1954.

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

Other ships by this name: Thor Dahl later had 2 ships by this name, one M/T built 1950, sold Panama 1963 (Mar del Plata) - the other M/S (bulk) built 1965, sold Piræus 1973 (Athena's Temple, later Mair). This external website has more details.