D/S Freidig

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

Crew List


This picture shows the ship when named Melsomvik. Received from Leif M. Bjørkelund.

WW II:

Captain Adolph M. Ringen (from 1940). Freidig sailed in Convoy HN 23A from Norway to the U.K. at the end of March-1940. She was bound for Rouen with pulp, thereby ending up in allied service (the Germans invaded Norway shortly thereafter).

In the coal trade South Shields-Rouen and endured the heavy bombing of Rouen while discharging coal from England in the middle of May-1940. It was decided to try to take her out on the 19th and she was outward bound when she was attacked by German aircraft late on the evening of May 21, about 11 n. miles off Orfordness. No bombs hit, but she was damaged by the detonations in the sea close by, though the crew managed to take her to port. After Rouen had fallen in June (9th) Freidig entered the coal (and food) trade on the coast of England.

Situation around that time: The Germans soon won the entire continental coast from far up north to the Spanish border in the south, which enabled them to use Dutch, Belgian or French airfields as their points of origin, rather than having to use the ones in Germany. E-boats (torpedo boats) had a short distance to offensive operations against shipping on the British east coast, and the U-boats also had a shorter distance to travel to the British Atlantic inlets where ships joined together and offered good targets. From the beginning of July the German Air Force started hammering British coastal shipping and ports. When France had fallen the ports in the channel had been closed, and the transoceanic convoys were redirected north of Ireland. The ports on the west coast then became overloaded convoy terminals, while the ports on the east coast were practically empty. It was soon realized that this could not work in the long run. The overland transportation network could not handle the large amounts of supplies discharged by the convoys on the west coast, a considerable amount of which HAD to get to the densely populated areas in the east, like London, so ships HAD to be used to get the goods delivered in sufficient amounts. Therefore, traffic to the cities on the east coast was directed around Scotland, and in July it was again necessary to reestablish direct sailings between the Thames and the Bristol channel, past Dover. When the Germans intensified their air attacks on the British coastal traffic in July, Norwegian ships were in the most dangerous passage of all, the Dover passage, and several were sunk or damaged (Balder, Fjord, Kollskegg, Nina Borthen, Balzac, Stalheim, Audun to mention just a few). Improved measures for convoy defense were put to use, which reduced the losses for a while, but from Aug.-1940 German planes started swarming across the entire kingdom in their search for ships, and the number of losses again went up considerably. ("Nortraships flåte").

Freidig's final fate - 1944:

Captain Albert Arntzen. 20 men died when Freidig sank on Febr. 7-1944 after her cargo had shifted in a storm with heavy seas while on a voyage from Aberdeen to Liverpool with a cargo of 1624 tons rye, having departed Aberdeen at 00:30 on Febr. 6. She was already listing slightly on departure, and that afternoon her boiler sprang a leak. By 08:00 on Febr. 7 she was listing about 10 ° to port because her cargo had shifted, and at 10:00 all men were called on deck because a heavy sea had taken the icebox and carried it towards the airpipe forward of the after hold with such force that the pipe broke off near the deck. They desperately tried to plug up the hole using mattrasses, but it was impossible due to the seas constantly washing over the after deck. Her list increased and she sank deeper and deeper by the stern, resulting in the after hatch being forced open so that the hold started to flood at 11:15.

The captain ordered the lifeboats launched and the port boat with 7-8 men was successfully lowered and rowed away from the ship, but the starboard boat was taken by the seas and went away empty. 8 men were able to get on the raft on the boatdeck, while 6 got on the port raft on the after deck. SOS was sent out from 11:15 until 11:30, then the ship sank, the engine room having started to fill with water, about 15 n. miles north of Cape Wrath (in the vicinity of Strathie Point). Shortly after the men had gotten on the rafts the seas washed over the midships section so the men ended up in the water. 8 of them later managed to get onto the largest raft, 2 of whom subsequently went over to a smaller raft found drifting by. These were the only 2 who survived after having been drifting on the raft for 28 hours. They were observed by an aircraft, then picked up by a rescue vessel from Thurso. Another 2 survivors in a lifeboat were spotted near land, but the sea took them before they could be reached.

A visitor to my website has told me that "Shipwreck Index of the British Isles" says she foundered within sight of Cape Wrath. Thurso Lifeboat found 5 dead men on a raft and recovered them, 2 were rescued from a second raft, but there was no trace of any others. He has also told me that "The Story of the Thurso Lifeboats" by Jeff Morris describes how the 2 survivors were rescued and the 5 dead taken on board the Thurso lifeboat H.C.J. on Febr. 8. A report had been received that 2 objects were drifting at Melvich Bay, 2 miles off-shore, and in spite of the extremely rough seas, northerly gale and frequent snow the boat was launched at 3:00 that afternoon, with Coxswain John McLeod in command. At 4:30 p. m., 2 rafts were spotted, one of which was only 170 yards from the rocks. 2 exhausted men were found clinging to it. At great risk to themselves the men in the lifeboat were able to get close enough to the raft to take the survivors aboard, then headed for the second raft about a mile and a half away. Once there, lifeboat-man David Thomson and Assistant Motor Mechanic William Sinclair jumped aboard the raft, only to discover they were too late; all 5 men were already dead. The bodies had to be extricated from eachother as their arms and legs were entwined, having huddled together for protection. After 10 minutes the 5 bodies had been taken on board the H. C. J. The 2 survivors were landed at 7:10 p. m. and taken to a hospital; both later recovered from their ordeal. Coxswain John McLeod was awarded the Bronze Medal by the RNLI for his seamanship and courage during this incident, and was also awarded the British Empire Medal. David Thomson and William Sinclair received the Institution's Thank's on Vellum for their part in the rescue.

The maritime hearings were held in London on Febr. 22-1944 with the 2 survivors appearing.

Crew List:

Survivors:
2nd Mate Anders Løvås	Stoker Oddvar Clausen
Casualties:
† Captain Albert Arntzen	† 1st Mate Peder Jansen	† Able Seaman Sverre Rasmussen	† Able Seaman Alexander Reielsen	† Able Seaman Sjur Ulvenes	† Able Seaman Kåre Thoresen
† Able Seaman/Gunner Jørgen Johansen	† Able Seaman/Gunner Kristen Johansen	† Jr. Ordinary Seaman Karl Lorentzen	† 1st Engineer Petter Ellefsen	† 2nd Engineer Håkon Storsten	† Donkeyman Reidar Ravnå
† Stoker Anton Dahl	† Stoker Ragnvald Andersen	† Trimmer Harald Søberg	† Steward Kristian Kristiansen	† Cook Oskar Ehnebom	† Mess Boy Patrick Nutt * (British)
† Gunner Alfred White * (British)	† Gunner Albert Smith * (British)

* There's a Patrick Mervyn Nutt listed as having died on the date Freidig went down on this page on the Commonwealth War Graves Comm. website. No ship is mentioned, but I believe this must be the same man, or I should say "boy", he was only 17. I also found an Alfred Geoffrey White whom I believe to be Freidig's gunner. Albert Smith is listed with a ship, namely Freidig.

1 of the men who died, Kristen Møller Johansen had previously been on board M/T Storstad which was captured by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin. He had eventually been sent home to Norway, but managed to escape to England to rejoin allied service in 1943.

Related external link:
More on the Norwegians - 17 Norwegians are commemorated at this memorial for seamen in Stavern, Norway.

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

Norway also had a ship by this name during WW I - originally delivered in 1882 as Lahneck (Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Ges. Hansa, Bremen), 726 gt. Ran aground at Borkum Dec.-24-1894, refloated, condemned, repaired in Amsterdam, sailed as Dutch Ostria from 1896, then as Freidig from 1897, R. C. Apenes & H. Jacobsen, Fredrikstad. From June-1916 for J. Ringen A/S, Sept.-1916 Jens J. Salvesen, Christiania, July-1917 Gustav Pedersen & Søn, Lillesand. Sank on Oct. 24-1918 following a collision with S/S Ariadne Alexandra (of London) off the east coast of England on a voyage in convoy Middlesbrough-Rouen with raw iron. ("Våre gamle skip").

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Våre gamle skip", Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I (Norwegian Maritime Museum) and misc. others as named in above text. (ref. My Sources)