Please see this external page for more complete information on this convoy.

Br=British, Du=Dutch, Norw=Norwegian, Pa=Panamanian, Am=American, Bel=Belgian.

Suderøy is listed as a British tanker. I wonder if there might be a mix up here with regard to the vessel listed as a Norwegian whale oil factory (see below) whose funnel is described as having 2 red bands. This fits Knut Knutsen O. A. S., Haugesund, who had the whale oil factory Suderøy.

I'm also wondering if Ville de Tam is identical to the French Ville de Tamatave? (quite a few free French ships were under Birtish control).

List of ships according to sequence of departure:
The first ship to leave at 10:00 was the British Ville de Tam (Commodore ship), then 2 unnamed British freighters, City of Florence, Norwegian whale factory (large motor boats, 1 stack in center of ship, 2 red bands painted on it), an unnamed Dutch freighter, Norwegian Suderøy (see Note above) and a Norwegian tanker, an unnamed British tanker, Norwegian Thorshavn, an unnamed Dutch tanker, Norwegian Bralanta, an unnamed British tanker, an unnamed Norwegian freighter, British Lucerna, an unnamed Dutch freighter (with a note saying "crew swabbing out gun at stern"), an unnamed freighter (ammunition, no flag), Panamanian El Isleo, an unnamed British freighter (with a note attached saying "fish for dinner, man on deck taking fish out of box), the Norwegian Meline, an unnamed British freighter, an unnamed, camouflaged British tanker (note says "probably Empire Sapphire"), followed by the British Norman Prince and Beaconhill, the American Manus (camouflaged), the Swedish Lima, an unnamed British tanker, Norwegian Noreg, another unnamed British tanker, Norwegian O. A. Knudsen and an unnamed Norwegian freighter, British Cardium, Belgian Brabant, American Delta (2 large motor transports on deck, marked "Air Corps-U.S. Army", naval officers on deck and 1 bomber), the Norwegian Abraham Lincoln, an unnamed British freighter (airplane crates on deck), the Norwegian Sandanger, and the British Empire Rainbow as the last ship out at 12:58 (Hurricane XSY).

The alphabet index below is provided for easy access to more information on the Norwegian ships mentioned here.

Arnold Hague ("Convoy Rescue Ships 1940-1945") says the rescue ship Rathlin was with this convoy, from joining to Clyde Jan. 7 to Jan. 10-1942. She had been with ON 51 from Clyde to detachment to Iceland Dec. 28-Jan. 3 on her 4th voyage as rescue vessel (having been in her first convoy as such in Oct.-1941, ON 22).

Back to Convoy Index