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M/T Elisabeth Bakke To Elisabeth Bakke on the "Ships starting with E" page.
Manager: Knut Knutsen O. A. S., Haugesund Delivered in March-1937 from A/B Götaverken, Gothenburg as Elisabeth Bakke to D/S A/S Jeanette Skinner, Haugesund (Knut Knutsen O.A.S.). Captain: Captain Fjærtoft / Andrew Henry. Related page on this website:
Elisabeth Bakke was in Sweden at the outbreak of the war in Norway but was able to get to Gr. Britian along with 4 other Norwegian ships on Jan. 23-1941, and was in Nortraship's service until the end of the war. (The others were M/S John Bakke by the same company, M/S Tai Shan, M/S Taurus and M/T Ranja - the text under each vessel has more information on the breakout of that particular ship). This operation, codenamed "Rubble", was lead by George Binney, who was also leader of the disastrous "Operation Performance" in April of the following year (ref. Kvarstad Ships & Men). Operation Rubble could also have ended with less success than it actually did, as the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (commanded by Admiral Lütjens) left Kiel on Jan. 23-1941 with orders to attack allied convoys between Halifax and Gr. Britain, and passed very close by the Norwegian ships, without either of the parties knowing about the other. The Norwegian ships arrived safely in Kirkwall, though not entirely without incident. Ranja was attacked by aircraft the day after departure from Gothenburg, position 58 45N 04 10E, and her Swedish 1st mate was shot and later died. The captain on Elisabeth Bakke at the time of breakout was the British Andrew Henry, former 1st mate of D/S Romanby, which had been sunk in Narvik on Apr. 22/23-1940. After the 2nd battle of Narvik, the crews of Romanby and 3 other steamers, D/S Blythmoor, sunk Narvik Apr. 10, D/S Mersington Court, sunk Narvik Apr. 15, and D/S Riverton, sunk Narvik Apr. 24, as well as survivors from the destroyers Hunter and Hardy had been taken through deep snow across to Sweden, where they were subsequently placed at the camp Hälsingmo north of Stockholm. George Binney used several of these men for Operation Rubble, because many of the Norwegians on board the chosen vessels were reluctant to take the risks involved, feeling the attempt was bound to fail (note that quite a few of the crew men from Romanby were also used for the Operation Performance ships - they are named on this page). The chief engineer was the Swedish Birger Lundquist, and the rest of the engine room crew were also Swedish, while most of the others were British.
Naiad and Aurora under E. L. S. King departed Scapa Flow at 22:00 on Jan. 23 to meet the ships and provide escort, while the cruisers Edinburgh and Birmingham and destroyers Escapade, Echo and Electra under the command of L. E. Holland departed 3 hours later. Aircraft escort was to be provided by 6 aircraft from each of 3 squadrons of the coastal command, operating from Scotland and the Shetlands, with Blenheims from the 254th Squadron to escort Admiral King's 2 cruisers, while Hudson aircraft from 269th Squadron, which departed Wick at 09:30 on Jan. 24 were to escort Admiral Holland's force, and Hudsons from the 224th Squadron were to patrol to Lista to cover the Norwegian vessels when they were out of Skagerrak. The first ship to be spotted was Elisabeth Bakke, by Naiad at 09:50 on Jan. 24. She was allowed to continue to Kirkwall alone, because of her speed at the time (19 knots), and because of the fact that she had gotten so far. Taurus was spotted by Naiad at 11:45, then 25 minutes later Tai Shan observed Naiad, Aurora and Taurus, but at the same time a Blohm & Voss 138 seaplane was seen. At 13:45 it approached Tai Shan as if to attack and Naiad, which had left Taurus to the protection of Aurora, opened fire, and the seaplane withdrew, but could still be seen, until at 14:15, when the 2nd group of 2 Blenheims from 254th Squadron, which had departed their base at 12:30, appeared and chased it away. John Bakke and Ranja had still not been seen by the cruisers, but one of the Hudson aircraft under H. G. Holmes spotted them at 14:07, meaning they had sailed in full daylight and clear weather for almost 7 hours. Holmes flew back to Naiad to report it, but was not sure whether this had been understood, because at that time Naiad had spotted 2 Messerschmitt 110 bombers and a Heinkel III and was busy directing 2 Blenheims towards them. 1 of the British aircraft got a hit on 1 of the Messerschmitts, and the Blenheim was also damaged in the process, but not seriously and subsequently turned its attention to the Heinkel, but due to lack of fuel and ammunition both Blenheims eventually returned to base, while the German aircraft continued to circle above the ships. Holmes did not get his findings reported to Naiad until 14:41, and as the 5 other warships appeared just before 15:00 King asked Holland to take over the escorting of Taurus and Tai Shan, while Naiad and Aurora headed east in search of John Bakke and Ranja. Half an hour later Naiad asked one of the Hudson aircraft to give an exact position for the 2 Norwegian ships, but after having searched for them the aircraft could not find them. In the meantime, Holmes was about to run out of fuel, but before returning to base he attacked a seaplane, only to be hit himself in the port engine, resulting in him arriving Scotland with 1 engine. Naiad did not find John Bakke until around 16:00, then 15 minutes later Ranja was seen, both with German aircraft nearby, having been shadowed by them most of the afternoon, but they were not attacked, and strangely, it almost seemed as if they were being escorted by the German aircraft. Aurora was set to protect John Bakke, while Naiad headed towards Ranja at full speed. At this time large forces of Blohm & Voss, Heinkels, Ju 88's and Dornier 17 aircraft came to. Naiad, being still too far away from Ranja was unable to protect her, though a series of bombs that were dropped did no serious damage. However, when one of the seaplanes attacked with machine guns, the Swedish 1st mate Nils Rydberg, who was in the process of seeking shelter behind the concrete protection on the bridge, was hit by 5 bullets. He had been hit in the stomach, and though he was admitted to Balfour Hospital upon arrival Kirkwall he died 4 days later. He was post humously awarded Order of the British Empire. Before the aircraft could prepare for another attack Naiad had reached Ranja. Aurora had also reached John Bakke. The vessels were individually escorted to the Orkneys, arriving Kirkwall the following day. 147 men and 1 woman (wife of Chief Enginner Hans G. Hansen of John Bakke) had taken part in the breakout, 58 were British, 57 Norwegian, 31 Swedish and 1 Latvian.
Elisabeth Bakke is listed in station 53 of Convoy WS 9B in June/July-1941. Her destination is not given. She also appears in Convoy WS 9BX in Aug. that year, and together with the Norwegian Temeraire, she's listed among the ships in the Clyde-Halifax Convoy CT 6, which left Clyde on Nov. 15-1941 and arrived Halifax on the 24th; follow the links provided at the end of this page. In Jan.-1942 she appears in Convoy WS 15, carrying troops and stores. She's also listed (as the only Norwegian ship) in Convoy MW 11 from Alexandria to Malta in June-1942. According to Arnold Hague, this convoy returned to Alexandria on June 16, having started out on the 11th (again, see external links below). She was used as military transport in the Torch operations (the invasion of North Africa, which commenced on Nov. 8-1942 - Athos has a list of other Norwegian ships involved in these operations). Note that she's included in Convoy KMF 4 at the external site that I've linked to at the end of this page. Her destination is given as Gibraltar (the convoy left Clyde on Nov. 27-1942 and arrived Bone on Dec. 7). The site also has her, with destination Oran, in Convoy KMF 5A the following month (departure Gibraltar Dec. 20, arrival Algiers 2 days later). In Jan.-1943 we find her, with no voyage information, in Convoy GUF 4, which left Oran on Jan. 31 and arrived Hampton Roads on Febr. 13, though there appears to be some uncertainty as to whether she sailed in this convoy or the earlier Convoy GUS 3 - again, see external links further down on this page. In Febr.-1943 she sailed in the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 226, but was only bound for Halifax. At the end of that month she made another voyage from New York to Halifax with Convoy HX 228 (in which Brant County was later sunk). In Apr.-1943 an independent voyage was made to Glasgow - further details not available. If this piece of information is correct(?), it must have taken place very early in the month, because already on May 7 she shows up in Convoy HX 238 from New York, again bound for Glasgow. She returned across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 187*, which left Liverpool on June 1 and arrived New York June 15. The Norwegian Annik, Athos, Braga, Bralanta, Fagerfjell, Frontenac, Helgøy, Kronprinsen, Lista, Morgenen, Norbryn, Norefjord, O. B. Sørensen, President de Vogue, Toledo and Vanja are also listed, as is the Panamanian Norvinn, which had Norwegian managers and is included under the N's on this website. Elisabeth Bakke later joined the eastbound Convoy HX 246, bound for Manchester with general cargo, station 41 (she also had passengers on board). She must have returned to the U.S. at some point, because towards the end of Aug. she's listed in Convoy HX 253 from New York, general cargo for Glasgow, station 21 - follow the links for more info. On her next westbound voyage across the Atlantic the following month, Elisabeth Bakke witnessed the battle for Convoy ON 202 (ONS 18), in which Oregon Express and Skjelbred were sunk. By this time the Germans had developed their so-called Zaunkönig torpedoes, or "Gnat" torpedoes in English.With the help of built in hydrophones these had the ability to find their targets by the propellers' movements of the ships, and were now put to use on these convoys. Further development in the North Atlantic showed that the Zaunkönig techniques and the new offensive were unsuccessful. The subsequent convoys got across unharmed, with the U-boats carrying the losses. According to the external website that I've linked to at the end of this page, she subsequently returned to the U.K. in Convoy HX 261, which departed New York on Oct. 11-1943 and arrived Liverpool on the 26th. The Norwegian Bajamar, Duala, Norsol, Pan Scandia, Tai Shan and Vav are also included, though the latter is said to have returned. Together with Bañaderos, Herbrand, Norholm, Østhav, Trondheim and Vanja, Elisabeth Bakke then joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 211*, departing Liverpool on Nov. 13, arriving New York on the 29th, and the following month she acted as Commodore Vessel for Convoy HX 270, departing New York on Dec. 10, arriving Liverpool on the 26th (also available via external site that I've linked to below). Again, several other Norwegian ships were in company, namely Heranger, Herbrand, Høyanger, Martin Bakke, Norholm, and Washington Express. Elisabeth Bakke headed in the other direction again at the beginning of the new year with the westbound Convoy ON 219*, together with Garonne, Heranger, Høyanger, Ivaran, Laurits Swenson and Norholm (departure Liverpool Jan. 8-1944, arrival New York Jan. 27), and the following month she shows up in the fast New York-U.K. Convoy CU 14, with the Norwegian Washington Express. She subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 227*, which departed Liverpool on March 8 and arrived New York on the 22nd, and in which the Norwegian Brimanger and Ivaran also took part. In the middle of Apr. she's listed in Convoy CU 21, with destination Manchester, returning with Convoy UC 23*, which left Liverpool on May 18 and arrived New York on the 28th, again with Washington Express in company. The following month she again served as the Commodore's ship, this time for Convoy HX 295, bound for Manchester with general cargo, and in July we find her in the westbound Convoy UC 30*, which left Liverpool on July 16 and arrived New York on the 27th - Hegra and Washington Express are also listed. In Aug.-1944 she's listed, with a general cargo for Newport, in Convoy CU 35, together with California Express. At the end of the following month she was back in New York, having previously arrived with Convoy UC 36* (departure Liverpool Sept. 4, arrival New York Sept. 15), and joined Convoy CU 41 on Sept. 29, this time with the Norwegian Karsten Wang. Towards the end of Oct.-1944 she shows up in the westbound Convoy UC 42B*, which departed Liverpool on Oct. 25 and arrived New York Nov. 5, and later that month she joined Convoy CU 47, general cargo for Liverpool. She subsequently joined the westbound Convoy UC 48B*; from Liverpool Dec. 12, to New York Dec. 24, Towards the end of Jan.-1945 she's listed in Convoy CU 56, together with the Norwegian Nordahl Grieg. Elisabeth Bakke's destination is given as Manchester, general cargo, and she's said to have returned, together with Karsten Wang, in Convoy UC 57A*, departing Liverpool on Febr. 20-1945, arriving New York on March 5. She now joined the eastbound Convoy CU 63, with Kirkenes and Washington Express, then headed in the other direction again in Convoy UC 64B*, which left Liverpool on Apr. 19 and arrived New York on the 30th. The last CU convoy she sailed in was CU 71, which left New York on May 20 and arrived Liverpool on May 30. Other Norwegian ships listed in this convoy are Kaptein Worsøe, Mosdale and Trondanger.
Sold in Aug.-1970 to Mesa Industri & Shipping A/S, Sandefjord and renamed Elisabeth. Laid up in Sandefjord June 30-1971. Went to Lorentzens Rederi Co., Oslo, 1971 then to A/S Bigra (Birger Gran) Oslo in Jan. 1973 as Bigra. Sold in 1974 without further trading to Spanish breakers. Left Sandefjord in tow on March 3 and arrived Bilbao March 11. Related external links: Convoy Vigorous - (MW 11) As will be seen, Elisabeth Bakke is included. (It's a section of the Encyclopedia of WW 2 Naval Battles). Click on this link then go to Roy Watvedt's story (relation to Elisabeth Bakke will be evident in the text - see also the text under Tirranna on my page Victims of Atlantis). To Elisabeth Bakke on the "Ships starting with E" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland and misc. others, incl. "Våre motorskip", Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "The Blockade Busters", Ralph Barker (1976). This book has detailed information on this breakout, as well as Operation Performance. (It has also been translated to Norwegian under the title "Blokkadebryterne"). It should be possible to get it through one of the Internet bookstores. For instance, abebooks.com has several copies of it.
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