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D/S Cetus To Cetus on the "Ships starting with C" page. Owner: D/S Neptun A/S Built by Murdoch & Murray Ltd., Port Glasgow in 1920. Previous name: Moto until 1936. Related items on this website:
Cetus, in ballast for Blyth, is listed as sailing in Convoy HN 15 from Norway to the U.K. in Febr.-1940 (she had initially started out in Convoy HN 14, but returned to port). In the middle of March we find her in the U.K.-Norway Convoy ON 19, returning to the U.K. later that month with Convoy HN 20, again in ballast for Blyth - follow links for more info, several Norwegian ships took part. In July that same year we find her in Convoy OA 184, which departed Methil on July 14-1940 and dispersed on the 18th. Her destination is given as Sydney, C.B. (Cape Breton), station 44. The Norwegian Grado is also listed - see the external links provided at the end of this text. In Aug.-1940 she was in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 65, bound for Tyne with a cargo of pit props. She also sailed in Convoy HX 84, which departed Halifax on Oct. 28 and in which Jervis Bay was sunk when attacked by Admiral Scheer (Krancke) on Nov. 5-1940. Jervis Bay ordered the convoy to disperse, and Cetus, with a cargo of pit props for Hull, made it to safety, as did the other Norwegian ships, Hjalmar Wessel, M/T Solfonn, and D/S Varøy. Follow the convoy link for cruising order, as well as a report on San Demetrio's incredible story. These events are also described in detail under the external link to "Jervis Bay" at the end of this page. Solfonn and Hjalmar Wessel had both seen an unknown motor vessel passing in front of the convoy from the south to the north earlier that day; this turned out to be the British M/S Mopan which sailed independently, and which encountered Admiral Sheer and was sunk before she could pass on a radio warning to the convoy about the imminent danger. According to "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague, the British Beaverford (cargo of 8425 tons food and general) lost 77 people when sunk, Fresno City (8129 tons Maize) lost 1, Kenbane Head (general) 23 dead, Maidan (general and MT) 91 dead and Trewellard (7800 tons steel, 12 aircraft) lost 16. Towards the end of the following month she's listed, with destination Sydney, C.B., in Convoy OB 263, leaving Liverpool on Dec. 23, dispersed on the 27th - the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page has the names of other ships in this convoy, some of which were Norwegian. Cetus is also listed among the ships in Convoy HX 135 in June/July-1941, bound for London with lumber in station 11, again in the company of several other Norwegian ships. She returned the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 5, leaving Liverpool on Aug. 6-1941. Later that year we find her in station 85 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 37, which left Liverpool on Nov. 15-1941 (Cetus joined from Aultbea). In Apr. the following year she shows up in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 78, cargo of steel and pulp for Swansea, and at the end of June-1942 she joined Convoy SC 89 from Sydney, C. B., cargo of lumber for Sharpness. In Sept.-1942 she sailed in Convoy SC 101 from Halifax. In March-1943 she's listed as bound for Halifax in the first convoy in the ONS series, Convoy ONS 1, which left Clyde on March 16-1943. This convoy, which had several Norwegian ships, will be added to my Convoys section in due course. In May that year she was scheduled for Convoy SC 129 from Halifax (in which the Norwegian Grado was sunk), but instead joined the next convoy, SC 130 on May 11. In Aug.-1943 she can be found in Convoy SC 140, cargo of pulp for Grimsby, sailing in station 64 (next to the Norwegian Norvarg), and in Nov. she's listed, with wood pulp for London, in Convoy SC 147 (having been cancelled from the previous convoy, SC 146), so it looks like she went back and forth across the Atlantic quite a bit until 1944, when she made some voyages to Lisbon and Tunis, as can be seen in the next paragraph. According to the last external website that I've linked to below, Cetus was scheduled for Convoy OS 66/KMS 40 in Jan.-1944, but did not sail. Instead she joined OS 68/KMS 42 on Febr. 12, voyaging from Aultbea to Lisbon in station 25. The same website has her in Convoy SL 152/MKS 43 in March-1944, voyage Lisbon for Mersey with sardines, cork and Wolfram, joining from Gibraltar with the MKS portion. In May-1944 she sailed in Convoy OS 76/KMS 50, voyage Altbea-Tunis with coal in station 44, sailing right in front of the Norwegian Boreas, then returned to the U.K. in June with Convoy SL 161/MKS 52, again joining from Gibraltar with the MKS portion, bound for Barry, station 112. In Aug. that same year we find her in station 14 of Convoy OS 86/KMS 60 which departed Liverpool on Aug. 10. She was on a voyage Belfast-Lisbon with a cargo of coal. Follow the link below for further dates and information. Note that all the KMS and MKS convoys mentioned in this page will also be added to my own Convoys section. Early in Nov.-1944 she shows up in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 160, bound for Sharpness with lumber, joining with the Sydney, C. B. portion together with the Norwegian Olaf Bergh. In the middle of Febr.-1945 she joined the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 167, bound for Bristol with pulp and paper. Note that Cetus is listed in several westbound North Atlantic ON and ONS convoys, in between the eastbound voyages mentioned on this page, and in addition to the ones convoys already noted. They were the following (these will be added to my Convoys section in due course):
Became the Danish Lise in the early 1950's, then German J. C. Ertel, Gyda, Gyda C. Broken up in 1979. Related external links: OA & OB convoys - In chronological order. Caithness Archives, HX 84 More on Admiral Scheer - on the Jervis Bay website. OS and OS/KMS Convoys - The site also has a section for the returning SL convoys. As can be seen, Cetus is mentioned in all the convoys listed in my text above, as are many other Norwegian ships. Back to Cetus on the "Ships starting with C" page. There was an American vessel by the name Cetus during the war (943 gt), scuttled at Aparri, Cagayan River on Dec. 10-1941; believed to be renamed Hokuhi Maru (U. S. Merchant Vessel War Casualties of World War II, Robert M. Browning Jr.). The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, E-mail from R. W. Jordan and misc. - (ref. My sources).
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