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

Owner: Skibs-A/S Østheim
Manager: Halfdan Ditlev-Simonsen & Co.,Oslo
Tonnage: 6415 gt, 9835 tdwt., 11 knots.

Built by Eriksbergs Mekaniske Verkstads A/B, Gothenburg, Sweden in 1931.

Captains: Captain A. Apall-Olsen, from Nov. 8-1939.He took a break in June-1943 and P. R. Paulsen took over until around Nov. 10, when Captain Apall-Olsen returned. But he stayed for only 1 voyage, then Captain Knut Bringedal stepped in for a few months (see also O. A. Knudsen), until Apall-Olsen came back in April-1944. But again he had to leave, and this time Olav Skaar temporarily took over until Apall-Olsen was able to return in July. (See also this external page - be patient, slow to load).

The following men were awarded Krigsmedaljen in addition to Captain Apall-Olsen:
1st Mate R. Rasmussen, who had joined the ship as 2nd Mate in the spring of 1940 and stayed on board until the end of the war.
2nd Engineer Th. Pedersen 3rd Engineer E. Guttormsen, who both came on board in the fall of 1939 and stayed until the end of the war (all 3 without a break).
Karsten Ellingsen joined in the spring of 1941, and
Steward Magnus came that fall.

Other Halfdan Ditlev-Simonsen ships:
M/T Vanja
M/T Velma
M/T Vera
M/T Vilja
M/T Vivi

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 Febr.-1940 to Dec.-1944:

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

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each (it'll be noticed that some of the listings are incomplete). Where the "Convoy" column is left blank, it means that convoy is not known.

Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.

As will be seen, some of the dates in this narrative, which is based on the captain's report (source at the bottom of this page) are slightly different from those found on the archive documents - I have left the captain's dates as they appear in his report (the discrepancy might simply be a matter of different time zones used). The captain's information has been supplemented with my own convoy information. Please follow the convoy links provided for more info on them, several Norwegian ships took part. More convoy information is shown in Hague's Voyage Record.

Vav was mostly in service in the Atlantic through the war; the first three years with petrol, later with diesel and fuel oil. She was involved in collisions a few times, and had various technical problems and mishaps which resulted in long stays in port for repairs. In fact, a total of 12 months were spent on repairs. Still, she delivered 19 cargoes of oil to the U.K.

She unloaded cargo in Alexandria, Egypt on Febr. 11-1940, then headed for Constanza, Romania where she picked up petrol for the U.K. Due to the fact that several of her crew members did not want to go to England, she had to stop by Malta so that 13 men could be paid off and go home, before she continued to Liverpool in convoy. She's listed in station 22 of Convoy HGF 22 from Gibraltar to the U.K. on March 9. She departed again on March 24, again in convoy. In fact, together with Favorit, she's included in Convoy OB 116, which left Liverpool on that date and dispersed on the 27th - see link provided within the Voyage Record. According to Page 1, Vav arrived Port Arthur, Texas on Apr. 15, in other words, they were at sea on Apr. 9 when the news of the German invasion of Norway was received, though there's no mention in the captain's report of their reactions to this terrible news.

Having picked up a cargo of oil, she left Port Arthur on Apr. 17 for Belfast, where she arrived May 15. For this voyage, she had joined Convoy HX 39 from Halifax on Apr. 30. After having unloaded in Belfast, degaussing and a 7.4" gun were installed before she left Belfast on June 11, joining Convoy OB 167 (link in the table above). This convoy, which also included Bjørkhaug, Garonne, Polarsol, Ruth I and South America, originated in Liverpool on June 13 and dispersed on the 17th, Vav arriving Aruba June 30. A cargo was loaded there and discharged in Dublin on Aug. 2 (she's listed as bound for Dublin with a cargo of gasoline in the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 57 on July 10 - she arrived Dublin July 26). Via Liverpool for convoy (A. Hague suggests OB 193, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 4 and dispersed on the 7th. Berto, Corvus, Ingertre, Loke, Ringhorn, Thermopylæ and Vilja are listed - again, see link in Voyage Record), she then headed to Abadan to pick up a cargo of petrol for the U.K., via Capetown for instructions and Freetown for convoy to Methil (with G. C. Brøvig and Orwell, she's listed in Convoy SL 55 from Freetown on Nov. 12 - again, see link in the Voyage Record). Upon departure Methil in convoy (this was Convoy FS 356 - Dec. 8; again, see link above), Vav was involved in a collision (with British St. Merriel - see also Convoy EN 40 - external link, which gives the date of collision with Vav as Dec. 9), but could continue to Grangemouth to unload, arriving there on Dec. 19, and the collision damages were repaired. Compare these voyages and dates with Page 1.

Repairs were completed on Febr. 3-1941, and at the same time 4 Hotchkiss guns had been installed as well as concrete protection around the bridge. We later find her, together with Abraham Lincoln and Olaf Bergh, in Convoy OB 285, which originated in Liverpool on Febr. 11-1941 and dispersed on the 17th. Judging from the archive document, she joined from Loch Ewe, and her destination is given as Aruba. The captain says she was docked in New York, before heading to Aruba to pick up more cargo, with arrival there on March 17. (She was scheduled for Convoy HX 117 from Halifax back to the U.K. on March 27, but instead joined HX 118 on March 31, cargo of gasoline - going back to Page 1, we see that she had not arrived Halifax until March 29). This cargo was discharged in Belfast on Apr. 20 where a new degaussing cable was also installed (the old one had been ruined). While in Belfast they endured a heavy bombardment on May 5. She left Belfast on May 31 (compare date with archive document - she's listed in Convoy OB 328, along with Frontenac and Hilda Knudsen) to pick up a cargo in New York and was back in Liverpool by July 12, having arrived with Convoy HX 135 from Halifax (cargo of gasoline), then returned to New York for another cargo. For this voyage, she's listed in Convoy OB 349, departing Liverpool on July 21, dispersed Aug. 1, Vav arriving New York Aug. 7. Benwood, Gallia, Gard, Lise, Thode Fagelund and Tore Jarl are also named in this convoy. Direct links to the OB convoys mentioned here have been provided in the Voyage Record above.

On Aug. 16-1941 we find Vav in station 114 of Convoy HX 145 from Halifax, cargo of benzine (Kos IX and Kos VIII are named among the escorts; according to A. Hague, Vice Commodore was in Troubadour). When off Belfast on Aug. 31, Vav was run into and damaged by another ship, so had to unload her cargo in Belfast then go in for temporary repairs (the degaussing cable had also been rendered useless in this collision), before proceeding to New York for more permanent repairs. She's listed as sailing in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 15, which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 11 and dispersed Sept. 16, Vav arriving New York on Sept. 25.

According to the captain's report she had gone to Aruba for cargo after having been repaired in New York, the repairs having taken about a month - this agrees with the info found on Page 1. This cargo was unloaded in the U.K. around Dec. 10, which fits in with the fact that she can be found in station 45 of Convoy HX 161, which departed Halifax on Nov. 21-1941 and arrived Liverpool on Dec. 6; according to Page 2, she stopped at Loch Ewe on the 5th, proceeding to Methil Roads 2 days later, arriving Dec. 9. (It looks like Vav had originally been scheduled for the previous convoy on Nov. 15, HX 160). On the 12th (should this be 22nd?), she was damaged in the Humber when touching an underwater wreck so had to go into Tyne for repairs, with arrival there on Dec. 27. Repairs took a long time; at the same time more protection was built around the radio station (the archive document gives her departure Tyne as Jan. 31-1942).

She's now listed in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 65*, which originated in Liverpool on Febr. 8-1942 and dispersed on the 19th, Vav arriving Galveston on March 7 (she had joined from Loch Ewe). Having picked up a cargo there, she was back in Avonmouth unloading at the beginning of Apr.-1942, having arrived with Convoy HX 181, which had left Halifax on March 21 and arrived Liverpool on Apr. 2; Vav had arrived Avonmouth, via Belfast Lough, on Apr. 5. Acanthus, Eglantine and Potentilla are named among the escorts for this convoy. Vav subsequently returned to the U.S. with Convoy ON 87*, which originated in Liverpool on Apr. 16 and dispersed on the 26th, Vav arriving Galveston May 7, Baytown May 9, where a cargo was loaded - again, see also Page 2. On June 7, we find her in Convoy HX 193 from Halifax, arriving Liverpool on the 19th. The cargo was discharged there, and she remained in Liverpool for close to a month while undergoing minor repairs, then left Liverpool on July 16 for Baltimore (westbound Convoy ON 113* - 3 ships were sunk; ref. link at the end of this page) to pick up another cargo, again for Liverpool, where she arrived Sept. 4, having joined Convoy HX 204 from Halifax on Aug. 23.

She departed Liverpool on Sept. 11, joining the westbound Convoy ON 129*, bound for Caripito, Venezuela, via New York for convoy to Port of Spain, then on to Venezuela (convoy info in Voyage Record). From Page 3, we learn that she arrived Caripito on Oct. 22. The captain says she left Caripito with a cargo of diesel oil on Oct. 28 (archive doc gives departure Oct. 24) and via the same convoy ports as well as Halifax, where she was delayed due to repairs, she headed back to the U.K. on Dec. 24 in the Halifax portion of Convoy HX 220, having previously been cancelled from HX 215 from New York on Nov. 11 (according to Arnold Hague, she had instead sailed from New York to Halifax in Convoy SC 110* on Nov. 17, and had arrived Halifax on Nov. 20, leaving again on Dec. 24, as mentioned).

After having unloaded the diesel oil at Clyde she left for Curacao on Jan. 12-1943, joining Convoy ON 161, from which she was detached Jan. 28. She arrived Curacao Febr. 8, again to pick up diesel oil for the U.K., with the return voyage via the same convoy ports as last time (see also Page 3 and the Voyag Record above). According to the captain this turned out to be the worst voyage they had in the entire war. The convoy lost several ships and just before arrival U.K. Vav was run into by another ship and both were damaged but managed to get to port for their own power. This happened while in Convoy HX 228 from New York (in which Brant County and others were sunk - follow the links for details), and according to the Commodore's notes for this convoy, 3 ships were involved, namely the American Samuel F. B. Morse (station 115), the British British Statesman (station 95) and Vav (in station 94). Here's a brief collision report. (Note that Vav is listed as cancelled from the earlier, slow Convoy SC 121, which had left New York on Febr. 23, and in which the Commodore Vessel Bonneville and several others were sunk. HX 228 sailed a few days later, on Febr. 28).

Vav's cargo was unloaded in Liverpool before she again went in for repairs, this time in Manchester, where she remained for a long time - again, see Page 3. While there, on June 1, Captain Apall-Olsen was replaced by P. R. Paulsen, and on June 10 she left for Philadelphia with Convoy ON 188* (Commodore in Abraham Lincoln) to pick up another cargo, which was discharged in Ellesmere Port and Manchester. She had been scheduled for Convoy HX 246 from New York on June 30 (as can be seen, when going back to the archive document, she had gone to Philadelphia and did not get back to New York until July 2). She instead joined the next convoy on July 8, HX 247, serving as Escort Oiler, according to A. Hague. By the middle of Aug.-1943 she was back in Baltimore (having arrived in the U.S. with Convoy ON 195* [Escort Oiler], which had left Liverpool on July 31 - Commodore was again in Abraham Lincoln), at which time she had a brief stay in dock. Her voyages in this period are shown on Page 4. At the end of that month she headed to Philadelphia to pick up another cargo for Manchester, later joining Convoy HX 255 (again serving as Escort Oiler - Commodore was in Abraham Lincoln). It'll be noticed, when following the link, that Vav is listed in the Halifax section on Sept. 4, but this must be an error; according to the archive document, her voyage started in New York on Sept. 2, and she arrived Manchester, via Liverpool and Eastham, on Sept. 18.

She headed back to New York on Sept. 22 with Convoy ON 203* to pick up another cargo, which was unloaded in Ellesmere Port around Nov. 10. For this eastbound voyage she had sailed in the slow Convoy SC 145 (Escort Oiler), which left Halifax on Oct. 24-1943 and arrived Liverpool on Nov. 7; her destination is given as Stanlow, where she arrived Nov. 8 - Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts, see SC convoy escorts (according to Arnold Hague, Vav had initially started out from New York on Oct. 11 in Convoy HX 261*, but returned to port - going back to Page 4, we see that she had indeed left New York on Oct. 11, but put back to Halifax on the 15th). Captain Appall-Olsen now resumed command. She subsequently proceeded to Greenock and Manchester where she was fitted out to replenish the escorts at sea*, arrived Clyde Nov. 12, departed on the 20th in Convoy ON 212 for New York (serving as Escort Oiler); Potentilla, Rose and Eglantine are again named among the escorts for this convoy, which arrived New York on Dec. 4. Captain Knut Bringedal now briefly took over the command, whereupon Vav loaded a cargo in Philadelphia for the U.K. She's listed among the ships leaving Halifax with Convoy SC 151 on Jan. 14-1944 (Escort Oiler), with arrival Liverpool Jan. 31 - Commodore was in Para. Eglantine and Rose escorted for a while. Vav's destination is again given as Stanlow, and she arrived there on Febr. 1/2, proceeding to Manchester the next day.

*I suspect this may have taken place somewhat earlier; for one thing, Manchester is not mentioned for this period on Page 4 (though this does not necessarily mean she did not go there), for another, she had served as Escort Oiler prior to this, according to A. Hague. Perhaps she had been fitted out for this service in the spring of 1943, when she spent such a long time in Manchester? See Page 3. This would fit in with the fact that the first convoy for which she's said to have served as Escort Oiler is HX 247 in July.

On March 5-1944, she was again in Philadelphia to pick up a cargo. She had arrived U.S. with Convoy ONS 29*, which had sailed from Liverpool on Febr. 12, and for which Acanthus, Eglantine and Rose are named among the escorts (see ONS convoy escorts); the Commodore was in Geisha. This cargo was unloaded in Manchester; she's listed as bound for Barton in the slow Convoy SC 155, which left Halifax on March 14 and arrived Liverpool on the 29th (see also Page 4) - according to Page 5, she later arrived Manchester and Barton on March 31/Apr. 1. She subsequently headed back to the U.S. on Apr. 7 with Convoy ON 231*, along with 14 other Norwegian ships, namely Bernhard, Ferncourt, Haakon Hauan, Spinanger, Østhav, Solstad, Idefjord, President de Vogue, Heranger, Kong Haakon VII, Thorsholm, Skaraas, Høyanger and Nordanger. Vav's destination on that occasion was Boston, where she arrived Apr. 23, and where she was docked. Captain Apall-Olsen came back on board again on Apr. 27.

She now loaded a cargo in New York, which was discharged in Glasgow; she hadarrived with the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 291 (Escort Oiler), which also included the Norwegian Heranger, Høyanger (Vice Commodore ship), O. B. Sørensen, Para, Villanger, Stirlingville, Minerva, Velox and others (follow the convoy link). This convoy had departed New York on May 10 and arrived Liverpool on the 27th; Vav stopped at Clyde on the 26th. Again Captain Apall-Olsen had to leave and Captain Olav Skaar took over meanwhile. Vav then returned to New York (with Convoy ON 239*, June 3-1944), where she arrived June 22 and where a minor damage had to be repaired - something had gone wrong with her steering mechanism on this voyage and she had touched another ship in the convoy. She was scheduled for Convoy HX 297 on June 24, but did not sail (Commodore in Brimanger). Following repairs, another cargo was loaded in New York, before she headed back to the U.K., where Apall-Olsen came back on board. This voyage had been made with Convoy HX 298, which left New York on July 3 and arrived Liverpool on the 18th; Vav stopped at Loch Ewe on the 17th; her destination is given as Isle of Grain.

She later departed Loch Ewe in Convoy ON 248S* on Aug. 10-1944, arriving New York Aug. 28, proceeding the next day to Puerto la Cruz, where she loaded a cargo which was discharged in Philadelphia (convoy info in Voyage Record), and she now made some voyages on the U.S. coast - again, see Page 5. Around Christmas-1944 she discharged a cargo in Mobile, Al. before heading to a yard for misc. repairs etc., and she was not ready to sail again until July-1945. In Sept./Oct.-1945, while in Baltimore, the various guns and other war related equipment that had been installed in the course of the war years were removed. Page 6 shows her voyages to Apr.-1946.

* The ON convoys, which included several Norwegian ships, will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, with more information on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. ONS 29 can be found on the page listing ships in all ONS convoys. The entire SC series and HX series will also be updated and completed, but for now, please see ships in all SC convoys and ships in all HX convoys for the names of ships in SC 110 and HX 261.

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

According to this external page, she was owned from Sept.-1946 by Skibs A/S Nordheim (H. Ditlev Simonsen & Co.), Oslo, still as Vav. Sold to Germany for breaking up in 1956.

Back to M/T Vav on the "Ships starting with V" page.

Norway had lost a steamship by the name Vav to WW I, built 1916, 1255 gt - torpedoed and sunk off the Lizard by the German UB-80 on Dec. 4-1917, while on a voyage from Glasgow for Havre with a cargo of steel.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague and misc. The captain's report is from "19 Oslo-skips historie under verdenskrigen, fra April 1940 til krigens slutt i 1945" (The story of 19 Oslo ships during WW II), Harald Nicolaisen - 1945 - ref. My sources.