D/S Biscaya - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

D/S Biscaya

To Biscaya on the "Ships starting with B" page.

Picture received from Sverre Johansen, Norway.

Manager: Fearnley & Eger, Oslo
Tonnage: 1323 gt

Built in Tønsberg 1939

Captain: Olaf Brennvik.

Misc. War Details:

The Swedish steamship Gustaf Adolf had been torpedoed and sunk by U-34 (Rollman) on Oct. 20-1939; the following was received from Jan-Olof, Sweden: "D/S Biscaya was stopped (two shots from the deck gun) by the German submarine which had sunk the Swedish steamer Gustaf Adolf and was ordered to take aboard the crew from the Swedish vessel. The sub had taken the lifeboats in tow initially. The crew were landed at Moss, Norway by the Biscaya".

On March 6-1940, Biscaya received damages to 2 plates following a collision with a warship when leaving Gibraltar for Nice - no further info is available.

In July-1942 she can be found in Convoy HX 198 from Halifax to the U.K., together with the Norwegian Belinda, Havmøy and Sevilla. In Sept. that year she's listed in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 131*, having joined from Halifax, and in Nov.-1942 we find her in Convoy HX 215; final destination is given as Greenland. She may not have made it to Greenland on that occasion, because she shows up again in the next convoy, HX 216, destination St. John's. There's also a Biscaya joining the westbound Convoy ON 155 in St. John's for New York on Dec. 31-1942, and there's a ship by this name mentioned in connection with Convoy HX 223, and in Convoy HX 224, the latter departing New York on Jan. 22-1943, her destination is again given as Greenland - left the convoy for St. John's on Jan. 27. She later had a narrow escape when U-223 (Wächter) attacked convoy SG 19** about 150 miles west of Cape Farewell, Greenland (59 22N 48 42W) with five single shots at 04:52 hours on Feb 3-1943. Two of them hit the Dorchester and sank her with the loss of 673 lives. The other torpedoes missed Biscaya and the Norwegian D/S Lutz (Lutz and Dorchester had also been in HX 224 from New York, and left the convoy for St. John's on Jan. 27 together with Biscaya and Alcedo).

* Convoy ON 131 will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section; in the meantime, see this list of ships sailing in all ON convoys.

** This was a St. John's-Greenland convoy - see the external website that I've linked to at the end of this text - note that this site also has a Biscaya listed for an earlier convoy to Greenland, namely Convoy SG 6, Sept.-1942.

Robert Cressman, "The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II" (see link to "Hyperwar" below) has an entry for Febr. 3-1943 where he says Convoy SG 19, bound for Greenland, was escorted by Coast Guard cutters Tampa (WPG-48), Escanaba (WPG-77), and Comanche (WPG-76), adding that Dorchester was chartered by the War Department. Casualties are listed as 675 men, including 15 of the 24 Armed Guard sailors. He adds "four Army chaplains, representing four different faiths, bravely give up their lifebelts to soldiers who have none; all four perish with the ship". He also says that Biscaya was damaged in this attack.

Biscaya made a trip from New York to Reykjavik with Convoy HX 250 at the end of July-1943, then went back to New York in Sept. (Convoy ON 200 - again, follow the link provided above to ships sailing in all ON convoys), where she took on board a general cargo for Havana, Cuba.

The following year she very nearly collided with a convoy, a voyage which could easily have been her last, considering her cargo of bombs in all her holds as well as 400 tons mustard gas in 20 liters containers. She was on charter to the American Army and in service between the various bases in the Caribbean and New Orleans at this time, and had departed San Juan on May 18-1944 for New Orleans, travelling alone (her cargo being far too dangerous for her to be in a convoy). Radio Operator/Mate Ola Johansen (formerly of M/S Heimvard and D/S Hardanger) was on night duty, and upon seeing the frantic light signals in morse code ahead in the dark "Convoy ahead, get out of the way" he managed to order the necessary maneuvers to steer clear of the convoy before it was too late.

POST WAR:

Sold in 1955 to Finska-Nordamerika Line, Helsinki, and renamed Tammerfors. Sold in 1958 to Finska Fiskeri A/B (manager A/B R Nordstrom & Co O/Y, Lovisa, Finland) and renamed Maria. Sold in 1964 to Maria Compania Naviera de Vapores SA, Panama (Greek flag). Sold in 1968 to Brodospas, and on May 17 sailed from Piraeus in tow for Split, Yugoslavia, to be broken up.

Related external links:
List of Greenland Convoys - Here's the the main page. SG 19 is included. As can be seen, there's also a Biscaya listed for Convoy SG 6 to Greenland in Sept.-1942.

Hyperwar - Linked directly to Robert Cressman's book, entries for 1943.

Astrup Fearnley - the Fearnley company today.

Back to Biscaya on the "Ships starting with B" page.

Another D/S Biscaya - lost in 1896. There was also a German ship named Biscaya, owned by John T. Essberger. Captured in the North Atlantic in Oct.-1939 by Northern Patrol vessels and sailed for the Ministry of War Transport from 1940 as Empire Unity ("The World's Merchant Fleets").

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Krigsseileren" No. 3 and No. 4 for 1985, E-mail from Tony Cooper, England and misc. - ref My sources.