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M/S Elin K To Elin K on the "Ships starting with E" page. Owner: A/S Inger Built in Vegesack, Germany 1937. Captain: Robert Johannessen According to the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this text, Elin K was in Convoy SL 101, which departed Freetown on Febr. 21-1942 and arrived Liverpool on March 15. Her cargo is given as raw sugar, and she was bound for Mersey, sailing in station 112 of the convoy. Several other Norwegian ships also took part (Dagrun, Drammensfjord, Tabor and Tanafjord).
Elin K was en route from Sydney N.S.W. to Liverpool via Panama when Boatswain Kristian Kristiansen fell overboard and drowned on Febr. 3-1943. He had been working on a platform with Carpenter Johansen at the time when the sea washed him overboard. 2 life buoys were immediately thrown into the water, the engine was stopped and the ship turned around to look for him. Upon reaching the spot where he was believed to have fallen in, the ship was stopped and the workboat launched, manned by the 3rd mate and 4 men, but he was nowhere to be seen. The ship circled around the area for 3 hours to no avail, then continued on her voyage. Elin K arrived New York on Febr. 24, then departed on March 8 in Convoy HX 229 (having been cancelled from Convoy HX 228 in which Brant County was sunk). Her cargo consisted of 7000 tons wheat, manganese and 339 bags of mail. On March 16-1943 she was struck on the starboard side, Hold No. 4 by a torpedo from U-603 (Bertelsmann), 50 38N 34 46W* and immediately started to sink. The entire complement of 40, incl. 6 British gunners(?) went in the lifeboats and were picked up by the British corvette Pennywort shortly afterwards. The ship had gone down in 8-10 minutes. The survivors were landed at Courock on March 22, then sent to Glasgow. In the Norwegian magazine "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 3 for 1974 2nd Mate Hans-Henrik Smith Hansen's notes on the sinking is included, submitted by his widow (he died in 1969). Before the loss of Elin K he had survived 3 other sinkings; the first one being D/S Cubano, then M/S Teneriffa and Thode Fagelund. After Thode Fagelund had been sunk on Nov. 17-1941 (date given in this story is Dec. 1, but that must be an error) he joined Elin K in Cape Town on Jan. 28-1942. He mentions an incident which he says has never (at the time) been reported or recorded, involving the sighting of a periscope when en route to New York in March-1943 (again, I believe there's some date confusion here, it's more likely that this took place in Febr. rather than March, being as they arrived New York on Febr. 24). He says this "object" was about 2 n. miles off, 45° to the port side. He must have been on duty as he ordered full power to the engine and the 12(?) British gunners to their stations. When they got close they were ordered to fire and the "object" disappeared. Once in New York he says they were run into by a Dutch ship, S/S Suidenkart (another source says the name of the ship was S/S Zaanland) in the process of maneuvering out, causing a gaping hole in Elin K's side, as well as damage to the Dutch vessel. After repairs had been undertaken they joined another convoy (HX 229), and on March 16, (in position 50 15N 34 59W* according to him) the torpedo hit. He says that due to the heavy seas many ships had lost their rafts and other rescue equipment, so all of Elin K's lifeboats were swung in and tightly secured, but they were able to get them out and manned very quickly, not even needing to lower them because the ship sank so fast that the water was already reaching them. He says that Pennywort found them within the hour, picked them up, then sailed on and rejoined the convoy around midnight. At dawn he saw 11 sinking ships all at once, with "a Norwegian floating factory like a fire spitting vulcano in the horizon" (he probably means Southern Princess, which was British, not Norwegian). He describes the scene of lifeboats, debris, people in the water and the subsequent rescues by Pennywort, with tremendous respect and admiration for the British crew in the way they conducted themselves in this situation, adding on a lighter note that while the battle was at its fiercest a 15-16 year old messboy came up to the bridge with a pot of tea and some mugs dangling in one hand, asking 'do you want a cup of tea now Sir?' as if he was at home in his mother's kitchen. Smith Hansen ends his account by saying they were landed on March 22 near an American ferry converted to a Red Cross station.
22 merchant ships went down in this 5 day battle of the two convoys HX 229 and SC 122 which has been dubbed "the biggest convoy battle of the war", one U-boat was sunk by aircraft on March 19 (U-384). Abraham Lincoln was the Commodore Vessel for HX 229. Gudvor, Askepot and Polarland had started out from New York in Convoy SC 122, but only Askepot was present when the attacks started, the other 2 having lost the convoy in a storm and returned to port.
Related external links: Names of 2 who died - According to this website the first one listed, Mechanic Øivind Halvorsen died in the above incident (conflicting with my text - I believe he must have joined another ship and lost his life later on). Boatswain Kristian Kristiansen, who died in the accident on Febr. 3-1943 is also commemorated. More on this battle - Scroll down on the page (from USMM in WW II). HX 229, 16-19 March | SC 122, 17 -19 March - the battle day by day, and ships sunk. Operations information for U-603 The Australian War Memorial has a picture of this ship. It can be found by running a search through their collection search page. Back to Elin K on the "Ships starting with E" 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 as named within above text - ref. My sources.
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