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M/T Buesten To Buesten on the "Ships starting with B" page.
See also this external site for another picture, as well as some more technical details on the ship. Owner: Tønsbergs Rederi-A/S Built by Barclay Curle & Co., Glasgow (616) in 1927. Captain: Otto Arnfred Farstad. Other items on this website related to Buesten:
It looks like Buesten sailed in Convoy HGF 22 from Gibraltar to the U.K. in March-1940 (the ship's name is given as Buestan, but I'm assuming this should be Buesten). At the end of that month she shows up in Convoy OB 119, departing Liverpool on March 29. Her destination is given as Constanza, station 52. I'm wondering, however, if she returned to port, because she also shows up in the next convoy, OB 120, which left a couple of days later. (These convoys are available at the external link below). A French visitor to my website has told me that she was seized off Algiers by French patrol boats on Apr. 10-1940 (the day after the German invasion of Norway). Ordered to Oran. Released a few days later. The following month we find her in station 44 of the Gibraltar-U.K. Convoy HG 29. This convoy left Gibraltar on May 7 and arrived Liverpool on the 17th. Buesten, however, was bound for Swansea and left the convoy for her destination on May 15. The Norwegian Katy and Finnanger are also listed. At the end of May she shows up in Convoy OB 158, departing Liverpool on May 30-1940. This convoy joined up with Convoy OA 158 on June 2, forming the Gibraltar bound convoy OG 32F*, which arrived there on June 7. Buesten's destination is given as Aruba, and she had station 56 of the convoy. The Norwegian Abraham Lincoln, Kosmos II and Thorshavn are also included.
In June/July-1940 she sailed in Convoy HX 54, which originated in Halifax on June 29, but Buesten is said to have joined the convoy with the Bermuda section later on. (The Norwegian Janna was also intended for this convoy, but could not find it and was torpedoed and sunk on July 11). Towards the end of Aug. that year Buesten is listed in Convoy HX 69, which also had a number of other Norwegian ships. Buesten joined the convoy from Bermuda again, and she was bound for Clyde with benzine. She subsequently joined Convoy OB 219, leaving Liverpool on Sept. 25-1940, dispersed on the 30th; Buesten was bound for New Orleans. She was scheduled to return to the U.K. with Convoy HX 85 the following month, but did not sail. At the end of Jan.-1941 we find her in Convoy OB 279, which left Liverpool on Jan. 28, dispersed Febr. 2. Follow the links provided for further dates and more details on all the convoys mentioned here (except the OB convoys, which are discussed at the link below). Related external links: see also
In Baytown, Texas Buesten had loaded a cargo of kerosene in the forward tanks, benzine in the aft tanks on March 1-1941, about 7200 tons in all, then joined Convoy HX 115, which departed Halifax for the U.K. on March 17 (it looks like she stopped at Belfast - follow link, then scroll down towards the end of "notes" for details). In the evening of April 9-1941 she was in a coastal convoy from Dartmouth for Southampton when the convoy was attacked by German He 111 aircraft (see also D/S Bjørnvik). Buesten defended herself with her 4 machine guns, and the aircraft attacking her with gun fire as well as bombs had no hits. She was attacked several times and when 5 naut. miles off Berry Head a bomb eventually hit in the after deck, immediately setting her on fire (51 21 07N 03 24 11W). 19 Norwegians, 1 Danish, 1 Maltese and 7 British died on the after deck which was quickly engulfed in flames. In spite of the flames starting to reach the boat deck, 7 were able to get the motor lifeboat amidships launched and away from the ship and the burning sea around it. They were picked up by the escort an hour later and taken to Dartmouth the next morning. The steward and the 2nd mate were injured, but not seriously. Captain Farstad, who survived this attack was killed just a week later during an air attack on London on Apr. 16. He's buried in London (Norwegian Cemetery). The maritime hearings were held in London on Apr. 19-1941 with the 1st mate, the 2nd mate, the 3rd mate and Ordinary Seaman R. Bjerke appearing. As mentioned, the captain had lost his life only 3 days before. A visitor to my website has sent me some information from "Shipwreck Index of the British Isles" and "Dive South Devon" saying that the Heinkel 111s attacked with bombs, but heavy anti-aircraft fire by 5 British gunners made them miss, so they used 7.92mm machine gun and 20mm cannon fire which set off the explosion. (The wreck was shelled and sunk the next day, according to "Nortraships flåte").
Related external links: Back to Buesten 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.
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