D/S Facto
Updated June 2-2009

To Facto on the "Ships starting with F" page.


Facto, after conversion in 1952 - see Post War details below.
Picture received from George Robinson, the webmaster of Riversea International (external link).

Related item on this website:
Guestbook message from the grandson of someone who served on Facto, Johannes Strømmen, who survived the sinking of Kongshaug.

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
(unfortunately, some of the documents are worn, so that some dates are missing)
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8

Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.

Voyage Record From Oct.-1940 to Apr.-1945:

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and several voyages are missing (see archive images above).

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	Oct. 15	Sydney, C.B.	Clyde	Nov. 1	SC 8	–
	Nov. 6	Clyde	Methil	Nov. 10	WN 33	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 11	Methil	Gt Yarmouth Roads	Nov. 14	FS 334	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Nov. 30	Southend	Sunderland	Dec. 2	FN 347	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 23	Tyne	Methil	Dec. 24	FN 365	Convoy available at link above
	Dec. 26	Methil	Oban	Dec. 30	EN 47/1	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
1941	Jan. 2	Oban	–	–	OB 268	Dispersed Jan. 4. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link) See also narrative below & Page 1
	Febr. 8	Halifax	Loch Ewe	Febr. 25	SC 22	–
	Febr. 28	Loch Ewe	Methil	March 2	WN 91	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	March 5	Methil	Southend	March 7	FS 429	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	March 17	Southend	Methil	March 19	FN 433	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 25	Methil	Oban	March 27	EN 91/1	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	March 30	Loch Ewe	–	–	OB 303	Dispersed Apr. 3. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	Apr. 3	Dispersed from OB 303	St. John's, N.F.	Apr. 10	Independent	See also Page 2
	May 9	Halifax	Loch Ewe	May 28	SC 31	–
	May 31	Loch Ewe	Methil	June 2	WN 134	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	June 3	Methil	Southend	June 5	FS 506	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	June 12	Southend	Methil	June 14	EC 32	Convoy available at EC convoys (external link)
	June 16	Methil	Oban	June 19	EC 33	Convoy available at link above
	June 21	Oban	–	–	OB 337	For Sydney, C.B. Dispersed 48 17N 20 40W, June 28. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	June 28	Dispersed from OB 337	Sydney, C.B.	July 9	Independent	–
	July 13	Sydney, C.B.	Nelson, N.B.	July 14	Independent	–
	July 20	Nelson, N.B.	Sydney, C.B.	July 21	Independent	–
	July 22	Sydney, C.B.	Belfast Lough	Aug. 7	SC 38	Convoy will be added. See ships in SC convoys
	Aug. 11	Belfast	Ardrossan	Aug. 12	Independent	–
	Aug. 16	Clyde	–	–	ON 7	For Sydney, C.B. Dispersed 56 31N 42 39W, Aug. 25
	Aug. 25	Dispersed from ON 7	Sydney, C.B.	Aug. 31	Independent	–
	Aug. 31	Sydney, C.B.	New York City	Sept. 3	Independent	–
	Sept. 25	New York City	Sydney, C.B.	Sept. 29	Independent	–
	Oct. 5	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	Oct. 21	SC 48	–
	Oct. 21	Loch Ewe	Methil	Oct. 23	WN 196	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 24	Methil	Hull	Oct. 26	FS 629	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Nov. 3	Humber	Southend	Nov. 4	FS 637	Convoy available at link above
	Nov. 17	Southend	Methil	Nov. 19	FN 555	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
?*	Nov. 22	Methil	Oban	Nov. 25	EN 10	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	*I believe the above entry should be deleted.
	Nov. 26	Methil	–	–	EN 12	Detached Nov. 29. Convoy available at link above
	Nov. 29	Detached from EN 12	Liverpool	Nov. 30	Independent	–
	Dec. 10	Liverpool	Holyhead	–	Independent	–
	Dec. 15	Holyhead	Barry	Dec. 17	BB 111	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
	Dec. 19	Barry	Milford Haven	Dec. 20	Independent	–
	Dec. 22	Milford Haven	Belfast Lough	Dec. 23	MH 55	Convoy available via this page (external link)
1942	Jan. 1	Belfast Lough	Barry	Jan. 2	BB 118	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
	Jan. 5	Barry	Milford Haven	Jan. 6	Independent	See also Page 3
	Jan. 31	Oban	Methil	Febr. 4	WN 239	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 6	Methil	Southend	Febr. 8	FS 719	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Febr. 17	Southend	Methil	Febr. 19	FN 634	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 27	Methil	Londonderry	March 3	EN 52	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link) Missing voyages - Page 3
	May 29	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	June 11	SC 85	See also narrative below
	June 14	Loch Ewe	Methil	June 16	WN 296	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	June 17	Methil	Southend	June 19	FS 831	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	July 4	Southend	Methil	July 6	FN 751	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 6	Methil	Loch Ewe	July 8	EN 107	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	July 13	Loch Ewe	St. John's, N.F.	July 25	ON 112	For St John's, N.F. Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Aug. 6	St. John's, N.F.	Botwood	Aug. 7	JN 9	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Aug. 18	Botwood	St. John's, N.F.	Aug. 19	NJ 9	Convoy available via link above
	Sept. 1	Wabana	Loch Ewe	Sept. 12	SC 98	–
	Sept. 13	Loch Ewe	Methil	Sept. 15	WN 336	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 16	Methil	Ridham Dock	Sept. 18	FS 909	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 4
	Oct. 14	Southend	Methil	Oct. 16	FN 839	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 17	Methil	Holyhead	Oct. 20	EN 151	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 21	Holyhead	Port Talbot	Oct. 23	HM 46	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Nov. 8	Milford Haven	Gibraltar	Nov. 17	KX 6	Convoy available at KX convoys (external link)
	Nov. 18	Gibraltar	Algiers	Nov. 21	TE 5/1	Convoy available via this page (external link)
	Nov. 28	Algiers	Philippeville	Nov. 29	TE 6	Convoy available via link above (See also Page 4, missing voyages)
	Dec. 29	Oran	Algiers	Dec. 30	TE 11	Convoy available via link above
1943	March 6	Bone	Oran	March 9	ET 13	Convoy available via link above (missing voyages, Page 4)
	March 16	Oran	Gibraltar	March 17	ET 14	Convoy available via link above
	Apr. 19	Gibraltar	Milford Haven	Apr. 29	XK 4	Convoy available via link above
	Apr. 30	Milford Haven	Falmouth	May 1	WP 332	Convoy available at WP convoys (external link) See also Page 5 (missing voyages)
	May 13	Falmouth	Barry	May 14	PW 337	Convoy available via this page (external link) Missing voyages, Page 5
	Aug. 8	Belfast Lough	–	–	OS 53/KMS 23	For Algiers. Convoy split Aug. 17. Available at OS/KMS Convoys (external link)
	Aug. 17	OS 53/KMS 23 split	Passed Gibraltar	Aug. 18	KMS 23	Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	Aug. 18	Passed Gibraltar	Algiers	Aug. 21	KMS 23	Convoy will be added. See link above.
	Sept. 12	Algiers	Bizerta	Sept. 14	KMS 25	Algiers To Bizerta. Convoy will be added. See link above.
	Oct. 19	Malta	Naples	Oct. 21	VN 5	Convoy available at VN convoys (external link) See also Page 5 (missing voyages)
	Oct. 27	Augusta	Malta	Oct. 28	Escorted	See also Page 5 above
	Nov. 17	Augusta?*	Brindisi	Nov. 19	AH 9	Convoy available at AH convoys (external link) *See Page 5 above
	Nov. 28	Brindisi	Augusta	Nov. 30	HA 10	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link)
	Dec. 28	Augusta	Bari	Dec. 31	AH 15A	Convoy available at AH convoys (external link)
1944	Jan. 5	Bari	Augusta	Jan. 7	HA 16A	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link) See also Page 5 & Page 6 (several missing voyages)
	March 28	Oran	Bizerta	March 31	KMS 45	Oran to Bizerta. Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	Apr. 29	Algiers	Oran	Apr. 30	MKS 47	Algiers to Oran. Convoy will be added. See ships in MKS convoys
	May 7	Oran	Bizerta	May 10	KMS 49	Oran to Bizerta. Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	June 1	Bizerta	Augusta	June 3	KMS 51	Bizerta to Augusta. Convoy will be added. See link above.
	June 3	Augusta	Barletta	June 5	AH 47	Convoy available at AH convoys (external link)
	June 10	Barletta	Augusta	June 12	HA 48	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link)
	June 13	Augusta	Bizerta	June 15	MKS 52	Augusta to Bizerta. Convoy will be added. See ships in MKS convoys
	June 22	Bizerta	Augusta	June 24	UGS 44	Bizerta to Augusta. Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	June 25	Augusta	Brindisi	June 27	AH 51	Convoy available at AH convoys (external link)
	July 28	Barletta	Ancona	July 29	Escorted	–
	Aug. 3	Ancona	Brindisi	–	Escorted	–
	Aug. 6	Brindisi	Augusta	Aug. 8	HA 59	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link)
	Aug. 12	Augusta	Oran	Aug. 17	MKS 58	Augusta to Oran. Convoy will be added. See ships in MKS convoys
	Oct. 12	Oran	Augusta	Oct. 17	KMS 65	Oran to Augusta. See also Page 6 (missing voyages) Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	Oct. 18	Augusta	Barletta	Oct. 20	AH 74	Convoy available at AH convoys (external link)
	Oct. 31	Brindisi	Augusta	Nov. 2	HA 76	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link)
	Nov. 17	Naples	Toulon	Nov. 19	SM 21	Convoy available via this page (external link) Missing voyages, Page 6
1945	Jan. 11	Ancona	Bari	Jan. 12	Escorted	–
	Apr. 13	Gibraltar	Falmouth	Apr. 20	XK 22	Convoy available via link above See also Page 7 & Page 8

Some Convoy Voyages:

(Only a few of her voyages are mentioned here).

Facto was in service on the coast of the U.K., Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranian.

In the middle of Oct.-1940, she's listed in the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 8, cargo of lumber for Great Yarmouth.

At the beginning of 1941, she joined Convoy OB 268, together with Brisk, Egda, Hallanger, Nesttun and Senta. OB 268 originated in Liverpool on Jan. 1 and dispersed on the 4th. No destination is given for Facto, but according to Page 1 of the documents received from the National Archives of Norway, she arrived Sydney, C.B. on Jan. 15, having sailed from Oban on Jan. 2. In Febr.-1941 she's listed as bound for London with lumber in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 22 (departure Halifax Febr. 8), and according to A. Hague, she later made a voyage back across the Atlantic, arriving St. John's, N.F. on Apr. 10, having been dispersed from Convoy OB 303 on Apr. 3 (see also Page 2). She was scheduled to head back to the U.K. with the slow Convoy SC 30 at the end of that month, but instead joined the next convoy, SC 31, on May 9, again with a cargo of lumber for London. The following month she's listed in Convoy OB 337, which originated in Liverpool on June 20 and also included the Norwegian Buccinum, Ila, Inger Elisabeth, Sirehei and Torborg. Facto arrived Sydney, C.B. independently on July 9, the convoy having been dispersed on June 28 (she had again joined from Oban).

She returned to the U.K. with the slow Convoy SC 38, departing Sydney, C.B. on July 22-1941, arriving Liverpool on Aug. 8. Facto was bound for Ardrossan, where she arrived, via Belfast Lough, on Aug. 12. This convoy is not yet available among the SC convoys listed on my own website, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing at the end of this page, and as can be seen, Bruse Jarl, Granfoss, Ila, Ingrid, Selbo and Senta are also included (though Senta is said to have returned after having struck ice, as did several of the other ships in this convoy). Just a few days later we find Facto in station 45 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 7; her destination is given as Sydney, C.B., where she arrived independently on Aug. 31, the convoy having been dispersed on the 25th. Early in Oct.-1941, she joined Convoy SC 48 in which several Norwegian ships were sunk, one of them being Erviken. Follow the links for more details; a cruising order and Commodore's notes, as well as misc. reports are also available for this convoy.

Skipping now to May 29-1942, when I have her in Convoy SC 85 from Sydney, C.B., cargo of lumber for London. See Hague's Voyage Record above as well as Page 2 and Page 3 for information on voyages made in between those discussed here - as will be seen, she had previously arrived Halifax from Clyde on May 6, but I have no westbound convoy information for this period (this voyage is missing from Hague's Voyage Record). In July she joined the westbound Convoy ON 112*, together with Albert L. Ellsworth, Bjørkhaug, Borgholm, Bruse Jarl, Evviva, Fidelio, Gezina, Hjalmar Wessel, Ingerfem, Lisbeth, Loke, Norjerv, Ragnhild, Selvik and Titanian. Facto arrived St. John's, N.F. on July 25, having joined from Loch Ewe; see Page 4 (convoy had originated in Liverpool July 13). She was scheduled to return to the U.K. with the Newfoundland portion of Convoy SC 97 at the end of the following month (in which Bronxville was sunk), but instead joined the next convoy, SC 98, cargo of newsprint, destination Ridham Dock, where she arrived on Sept. 18, having left St. John's on Sept. 1.

She served as ammunition and supply ship for the allied forces in Norh Africa 1942/1943 (several of the Norwegian ships that had been in Convoy SC 98 took part in these operations). Facto was scheduled for Convoy MKS 9 in March-1943, but is crossed out on the form so it looks like she did not sail. This convoy left Bone on March 4; going back to Page 4 of the archive documents, we see that Facto left Bone on March 6 and arrived Oran on the 9th, later continuing to Gibraltar and the U.K.

On Aug. 15-1943 she was in a southbound convoy which was attacked by aircraft west of Cape St. Vincent. This must have been Convoy OS 53/KMS 23*, in which she's included - ref. the first external website that I've linked to below. According to that site Facto was on a voyage from Belfast to Algiers in station 52; she arrived Algiers on Aug. 21, having left Belfast Lough on Aug. 9 (see Page 5). The following month she made a voyage from Algiers to Bizerta with Convoy KMS 25*, arriving her destination on Sept. 14, having left Algiers 2 days earlier. Again, please go back to the Voyage Record for information on further 1943 and early 1944 convoy voyages.

At the end of March-1944 she's said to have made a voyage from Oran to Bizerta in Convoy KMS 45*, and at the end of Apr.-1944 she joined Convoy MKS 47*; she left Algiers Apr. 29 and arrived Oran Apr. 30, leaving Oran again on May 7 with Convoy KMS 49*, arriving Bizerta May 10. On June 1 she left Bizerta in Convoy KMS 51* and arrived Augusta June 3. 10 days later we find her in Convoy MKS 52*, voyage Augusta to Bizerta, where she arrived June 15. A couple of months later she's listed in Convoy MKS 58*, voyage Augusta to Oran, with arrival Aug. 17. In Oct.-1944 she made a voyage from Oran to Augusta in Convoy KMS 65* (arrived Augusta Oct. 17). See also Page 6, Page 7, and Page 8 for further voyages, convoy information to match some of them can be found in Hague's Voyage Record above.

POST WAR:

Modernized and converted to oil fuelling at Haugesund mek. Verksted in the spring of 1952. In lumber trade in the 1950's. Sailed for Stolt-Nielsen for 39 years altogether. Laid up in Haugesund from Nov.-1957, then sold "as is" in Aug.-1960 (possibly 1961?) to A. P. Steffansen, Denmark, and used as storage vessel Ago. Sold to Paul Bergsoe & Co and arrived at Masnedø, Denmark in Jan.-1964 for breaking up.

Related external links:
OS/KMS Convoys - As can be seen Facto is listed in Convoy OS 53/KMS 23, as are several other Norwegian ships. The OB convoys mentioned in my narrative can be found via this page, and here is Convoy SC 38.

S/S Facto - Technical data and funnel (Darren Dypevåg).

Back to Facto on the "Ships starting with F" page.

Stolt-Nielsen had another steamship by this name in WW I, built in Sunderland 1904, 2372 gt - torpedoed and sunk by UB-18 in the English Channel on Sept. 16-1917, 16 n. miles west/northwest of Lizzard on a voyage in convoy Le Havre-Cardiff in ballast. 2 died, survivors were picked up by an American destroyer. This ship had originally been delivered in July-1904 as Hekla for A/S Hekla (Mail & Holby), Christiania. Purchased by A/S D/S Facto (B. Stolt-Nielsen), Haugesund in June-1915 and renamed Facto.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Våre gamle skip" by Leif M. Bjørkelund and E. H. Kongshavn and misc. (ref. My sources).