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D/S Augvald Back to Augvald on the "Ships starting with A" page. Owner: Skibs-A/S Corona. Delivered in Nov.-1920 from A. Mc. Millan & Co.Ltd., Dumbarton as Torrey for A/S To (Martin Mosvold), Kristiansand. Martin Mosvold encountered economical difficulties and the ship was taken over in 1922 by A. I. Langfeldt, Kristiansand. Purchased by H. M. Wrangell & Co. A/S in June-1923 and registered as Augvald for D/S A/S Augvald. Transferred to Skibs-A/S Corona (same managers) in Nov.-1929. This ship, like many other Norwegian vessels, got caught up in the Spanish Civil War when she was stopped in the straits of Gibraltar by Franco's navy and forced to a Spanish port in Apr.-1937, but was later freed. Captain: Rolf Svensen.
Augvald, general cargo for Liverpool, can be found among the ships in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 24 in March-1940. At the beginning of Apr. she was in Convoy OG 24. This was a combination of Convoy OB 120, which left Liverpool on March 31 (and in which Augvald had started out) and OA 120, the 2 convoys having joined up on Apr. 3 to form the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 24, arriving Gibraltar on Apr. 8 - however, no destination is given for Augvald. This convoy will be added to my site; in the meantime, please see this list of ships in all OG convoys. In June that year she was in Convoy HX 49, in which Eli Knudsen and Randsfjord were sunk. Augvald joined from Bermuda, and had a general cargo for Brest. The following month we find her in Convoy OB 186, which left Liverpool on July 20 and dispersed 2 days later. In Sept. she's listed in the Sydney (C.B.) portion of Convoy HX 70, bound for Newcastle with grain (see also Norwegian Hird). In Oct. she appears, with no voyage information, in Convoy OA 231, leaving Methil on Oct. 18, dispersed on the 23rd - see the external link provided below. She returned to the U.K. in Convoy HX 87 in Nov.-1940, cargo of wheat for Oban. It looks like she joined this convoy from Sydney, C.B. again. Several Norwegian ships took part in these convoys, as can be seen by following the links. Related external links:
Augvald is listed in Convoy OB 273 (see link above), which left Liverpool on Jan. 12-1941 and dispersed on the 16th. No destination is given for Augvald, but it looks like she must have crossed the Atlantic, because she's said to have departed Baltimore on Febr. 7-1941 for Hull with 7000 tons steel and tractors, via Halifax for convoy. Left Halifax on February 13-1941 in Convoy HX 109. This convoy had trouble staying together due to the bad weather and was delayed several days (1 ship stranded on Iceland, another was lost on the open sea. Augvald lost her port lifeboat on Febr. 26). On March 1 she lost sight of the convoy and was torpedoed the following evening by U-147 (Hardegen) in 59 30N 07 30W. 29 men died, among them two young English mess boys age 14 and 16. Position for the sinking given in Norwegian records is 155 miles northwest of the Hebrides. Able seaman Rasmus Kolstø and 2nd Mate John Hemmingstad had been on the bridge when the torpedo hit in the bow and immediately ran to the port aft raft, but it got caught so Kolstø jumped overboard. He was pulled under by the suction as the ship sank and when he came to the surface he spotted the light on the raft and was able to get on to it. He heard cries for help around him but couldn't maneuver the raft alone. At dawn he saw the gig with 3 men waving to him, but being as this gig had no equipment of any kind they drifted helplessly further and further away until Kolstø lost sight of them that afternoon. The next day a destroyer passed by without spotting him, on the 7th day 2 aircraft passed him and on the 8th day a Sunderland seaplane circled over the raft several times but was unable to land so it disappeared. Finally, on the 11th day the lone survivor saw the smoke from a large convoy and on March 14 he was hoisted aboard the corvette HMS Pimpernel, unable to stand up by himself. According to Norwegian sources the rescue took place about 150 n. miles northwest of Loch Ewe (this is actually the position given by J. Rohwer for her sinking). The Commanding Officer of Pimpernel, F. H. Thornton, whose report I've received from R. Griffiths, England, gives the position of the rescue as 58 50N 9 10W, at 10:45 BST on March 13-1941, giving the sinking date as March 1. I've added this report in its entirety below. After a while they also encountered a raft with 2 Icelandic fishermen from Reykjavik by the last names of Hansen and Johnson who were also taken aboard Pimpernel. There had originally been 3 of them on the raft, but the 3rd man had died. They had been on this raft for 4 days, not sure which ship they came from. Rasmus Kolstø, who had joined Augvald in Liverpool on July 10-1940, had to have one of his toes amputated after he had been landed in Greenock and taken to Smithson Hospital. In a statement to the Royal Norwegian Vice Consulate in Greenock on March 22 he said that 1st Mate Jan Nordberg and Able Seaman Birger Vatland had paid off Augvald before departure Baltimore. The maritime hearings were held in Glasgow on June 17-1941. Kolstø was still in hospital at that time, but had been moved to Mearnskirk Hospital in Glasgow on May 8 due to the bombing of Greenock. Other ships lost from Convoy HX 109 were the British Cadillac (U-552, 37 died), Holmelea (U-47, 28 died) and Pacific (U-95, 34 died).
Received from Roger Griffith's, England - His source: Public Records Office, Kew. 13.3.41 at 10:45 BST in 58 50N 9 10W. Picked up one survivor of SS Augvald of Haugesund, Norwegian. Ship torpedoed 1.3.41 and sank before lifeboats could be launched. Possible that three others got away in bridge boat. Bound for Loch Ewe after becoming parted from Convoy. Second day on raft saw a destroyer a good way off and same night a merchant vessel close to but did not use flares or calcium light in case vessel was German. (It is of interest that the survivors of the Benjamin Franklin, Norwegian vessel, also stated that they had not used flares at night for fear of being picked up by a German vessel). Third day sighted Sunderland flying boat but was unable to attract attention. Biscuits in tank mouldy, water breaker steeved in two places and water foul. The raft was fitted with a canvas screen across one end which provided a certain amount of cover. Survivor landed at Greenock suffering gangrene in the toes of both feet.
Related external links: Operations Information for U-147 Reinhard Hardegen - The 'Drumbeater' and U-123. Back to Augvald on the "Ships starting with A" page. An earlier Augvald: Haugesund had also lost a ship by this name to WW I, originally delivered in 1898 as Alala to E. F. & W. Roberts, Liverpool, 3406 gt. Purchased by Erich Lindøe, Haugesund in 1911 and converted in Tønsberg to a whale factory, named Augvald, used near Bahia dos Tigres (Angola) in the period 1911-1914. Put into cargo service in 1915. Sunk in the North Atlantic on June 23-1918 by U-151 when on a voyage La Palace-Baltimore in ballast, with the loss of 3 men. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Våre gamle skip", L. M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I, and misc - ref My sources.
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