Site Map | Search Warsailors.com | Merchant Fleet Main Page | Warsailors.com Home |
|
M/T B. P. Newton To B. P. Newton on the "Ships starting with B" page.
Owner: Skibs-A/S Navalis Built by Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads A/B, Malmö, Sweden 1940. Captain: Elias R. Blindheim (at the time of breakout from Gothenburg in 1942 - here's a crew list).
B. P. Newton was one of the well known "Kvarstad" ships that attempted to break out of Sweden on March 31/April 1-1942 following a long court case there. Only 2 out of a total of 10 ships involved managed to reach their destination, B. P. Newton being one of them (Operation Performance, Sir George Binney). Please go to my page Kvarstad Ships & Men for background facts and details on the breakout and all ships involved, with a crew list for each ship as well as info on their fate. The first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page says she was scheduled for station 56 of Convoy OS 29 in May-1942 (left Liverpool May 22), but instead transferred to Convoy ON 97*, which departed Liverpool on May 22 and arrived Halifax on June 5. As can be seen from her voyage record above, her destination was New York on that occasion, where she arrived on June 7. The following month she's listed among the ships in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 199. Rick Pitz, a visitor to my website, has informed me via this message in my Gustbook that she acted as Commodore Vessel for Convoy HK 106 which left Bolivar Roads on Sept. 25-1942 and arrived Kew West, Florida on the 29th (the Norwegian Thorhild and Sommerstad also took part). She subsequently joined Convoy HX 211, leaving New York for the U.K on Oct. 8. A couple of months later (Dec. 21-1942), she was scheduled for Convoy HX 220 from New York, but instead joined the next convoy, HX 221, on Dec. 29, cargo of gasoline for Avonmouth, station 122. For her return voyage to the U.S. she joined the westbound Convoy ON 162 in Jan.-1943, along with a number of other Norwegian ships, as will be seen by following the link. According to the above voyage record she was involved in a collision with the Norwegian Skaraas on March 23-1943, when en route to New York in Convoy ON 173* - no further details are available on this. Towards the end of the following month she's listed in Convoy HX 236 from New York; destination is given as Avonmouth, station 102. For voyages in between those mentioned here, please refer to her voyage record. Gunners for a while were Gunnar Jakobsen and Arne Albrigsten who had previously escaped from Norway with Hornfjell.
B. P. Newton (on charter to British Tanker Co. Ltd.) was torpedoed by U-510 (Eick) on July 8-1943. At the time she was in Convoy TJ 1 from Trinidad for Bahia with a cargo of 14 700 tons aviation fuel as well as 500 barrels of lub. oil for East London and Beira, having departed Trinidad on July 3. B. P. Newton had station No. 42 in the convoy which consisted of 20 ships, escorted by the American destroyer USS Somers (DD 381), 4 American and a Brazilian escort vessel. Commodore was in D/S Edvard Grieg. The torpedo hit at 01:25 convoy time, on the port side aft between No. 3 and 4 tanks, sending burning petrol all over the after part and the bridge and setting her ablaze from bridge to stern. According to a statement by someone on board Edward Grieg, B. P. Newton was burning so brightly that it was possible to read normal print on the deck of the other Norwegian ship, half a n. mile away. All the engineers died in the engine room before they could stop the engine, all 4 lifeboats and rafts were burning; many people jumped overboard too early or on the wrong side and died in the flames. Those who were amidships sought refuge forward where the fire had not yet reached, while the captain and the gunnery officer Gilbert Smith stayed on the bridge for about 40 minutes to see if anything could be done, but they too eventually had to leave, having managed to extinguish the flames in the starboard midships boat, but it was heavily damaged by fire and full of water. 4 men jumped from the forecastle and swam to the lifeboat, which rowed away from the ship and also fished another 12 men from the water, all with varying degrees of burns. Mechanic Trygve Ambrosiusen had especially severe burns and they gave him first aid in the boat with the resources they had available to them. At about 04:00 (convoy time) all 18 were picked up by the American PC 495, where the mechanic was taken care of by that ship's doctor. PC 495 already had another 7 of B. P. Newton's crew on board, 3 of whom had been picked up by one of the lifeboats from the American Eldena which had also been sunk by the same U-boat. (U-510 also damaged the Latvian Everagra). PC 495 searched for the missing 22 crew members until 14:00, but none were found. The mechanic had died of his burns that same day at 13:01 and was buried at sea, bringing the total number of deaths to 23. On July 11 the 24 survivors were transferred to USS Somers where they were taken care of by the ship's doctor. They were all landed at Pernambuco in the afternoon of July 17. Gunner Willy Svarva, Cook Asbjørn Kaale and Mess Boy Henry Chapman were immediately taken to the Knox Field Hospital and were still there at the time of the maritime hearings, which were held in Pernambuco on July 22-1943 with Captain Anderson, 2nd Mate Gunnar Svendsen, (on the bridge at the time of the explosion, jumped overboard), Able Seaman Fridtjof Johansen and Able Seaman/Gunner Øistein Gåsland appearing. Able Seaman Johansen had been at the wheel at the time of the explosion, and had managed to lower himself to the storm bridge with the help of a rope, then went to the head of the ship where he found some pieces of wood that he tied together and with them he jumped overboard. He says he was in the water until 04:00 at which time he was picked up by PC 495. Able Seaman/Gunner Gåsland was in the gun box on the top of the bridge, and slid down a rope that was hanging from the bridge to the deck below and jumped into the water. B.P Newton sank in 05 50N 50 20W according to J. Rohwer; this corresponds with what is given in a report presented at the maritime hearings. Charles Hocking simply gives the position as "off the coast of French Guiana", saying she was on a voyage from Curaçao to Table Bay, adding that 22 died on board while 1 died of injuries soon after being picked up.
Crew List:
Related external links: More on the Norwegians who died - 18 are are commemorated at this memorial in Stavern, Norway, Norwegians only. To B. P. Newton on the "Ships starting with B" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I - Norwegian Maritime Museum, and misc. others for cross checking info - ref My sources. The Voyage Record was received from Tony Cooper, England - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
