M/T Garonne
Updated June 22-2009

To Garonne on the "Ships starting with G" page.

Manager: Fearnley & Eger, Oslo Tonnage: 7113 gt Built in Copenhagen in 1931.	Source: Roger W. Jordan collection.
The next 2 pictures were kindly provided by Historical Department, MAN B&W Diesel, Copenhagen. Their representative says that their museum (external link) has models of some ships.

Garonne's voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6

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

Voyage Record From Oct.-1939 to Febr.-1946:

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1939	Oct. 23	Curacao	Kirkwall	Nov. 14	Independent	For contraband control
	Nov. 20	Kirkwall	Norwegian port	–	Independent	–
	Dec. 23	Sandefjord	Constanza	Jan. 18-1940	Independent	–
1940	Jan. 24	Constanza	Gibraltar	Febr. 2	Independent	–
	Febr. 6	Gibraltar	Liverpool	Febr. 15	HG 18F	–
	Febr. 24	Liverpool	–	–	OB 98	With OA 98, formed OG 20F, Febr. 27.
	Febr. 27	Formed at sea	Passed Gibraltar	March 4	OG 20F	For Constanza. Convoy will be added. See ships in OG convoys
	March 4	Passed Gibraltar	Constanza	March 12	Independent	–
	March 18	Constanza	Gibraltar	March 27	Independent	See also Page 1
	March 28	Gibraltar	Liverpool	Apr. 7	HG 24	Missing voyages, Page 1 above
	Apr. 20	Liverpool	–	–	OB 133	With OA 133, formed OG 27F, Apr. 22. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	Apr. 22	Formed at sea	Gibraltar	Apr. 28	OG 27F	Convoy will be added. See ships in OG convoys
	May 4	Gibraltar	Port Said	May 10	Independent	–
	May 11	Port Said	Haifa	May 12	Independent	–
	May 14	Haifa	Gibraltar	May 23	Independent	–
	May 23	Gibraltar	Milford Haven	May 31	HG 31	–
	June 1	Milford Haven	Swansea	June 2	Independent	–
	June 12	Swansea	Milford Haven	June 13	Independent	–
	June 14	Milford Haven	–	–	OB 167	For Aruba. Dispersed June 17. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	June 17	Dispersed from OB 167	Aruba	June 30	Independent	–
	July 1	Aruba	Bermuda	July 6	Independent	–
	July 9	Bermuda	Halifax	July 13	Independent	See also narrative below
	Aug. 4	Halifax	Clyde	Aug. 19	HX 63	–
	Aug. 24	Clyde	Ardrossan	Aug. 25	Independent	See also Page 1
	Aug. 28	Ardrossan	Clyde	Aug. 28	Independent	–
	Nov. 9	Clyde	Swansea	Nov. 14	Independent	–
	Dec. 20	Swansea	Milford Haven	Dec. 20	Independent	–
	Dec. 21	Milford Haven	–	–	OB 263	Via Clyde, for Aruba. Dispersed Dec. 27. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	Dec. 27	Dispersed from OB 263	Aruba	Jan. 14-1941	Independent	–
1941	Jan. 15	Aruba	Bermuda	Jan. 23	Independent	–
	Jan. 28	Bermuda	–	–	BHX 106	See link to HX 106
	Febr. 2	Bermuda portion joined main convoy	Loch Ewe	Febr. 17	HX 106	See also narrative below
	Febr. 17	Loch Ewe	Methil	Febr. 19	WN 86	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 22	Methil	Southend	Febr. 24	FS 418	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link) See also Page 1 & Page 2
	March 7	Southend	Southend	March 7	FN 426	Put back. Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	March 9	Southend	Methil	March 12	FN 428	Convoy available at link above
	March 17	Methil	Loch Ewe	March 19	EN 86A	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	March 21	Loch Ewe	–	–	OB 299	For Curacao. Dispersed March 25. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	March 25	Dispersed from OB 299	Curacao	Apr. 10	Independent	–
	Apr. 25	Curacao	Halifax	May 4	Independent	–
	May 6	Halifax	Liverpool	May 23	HX 125A	Missing voyages, Page 2
	May 31	Liverpool	–	–	OB 329	For NYC. Dispersed 51 48N 20 48W, June 5. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	June 5	Dispersed from OB 329	New York City	June 17	Independent	–
	July 5	New York City	Halifax	July 8	Independent	–
	July 11	Halifax	Belfast Lough	July 27	HX 138	See also narrative below
	July 28	Belfast Lough	Milford Haven	July 30	BB 54	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
	July 30	Milford Haven	Southampton	Aug. 3	WP 12	Via Falmouth & Dartmouth (see Page 2). Convoy available at WP convoys (external link)
	Aug. 9	Yarmouth Roads	Milford Haven	Aug. 12	PW 17	Convoy available at PW 17 (external link) Also, missing voyages, Page 2 above
	Aug. 12	Milford Haven	–	–	OS 3	Detached 48 12n 22 05W, Aug. 18. Convoy available at OS convoys (external link)
	Aug. 18	Detached from OS 3	Curacao	Aug. 31	Independent	–
	Sept. 3	Curacao	Halifax	Sept. 12	Independent	–
	Sept. 16	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Sept. 29	HX 150	–
	Sept. 30	Belfast Lough	Liverpool	Oct. 1	Independent	Missing voyages, Page 2
	Oct. 14	Liverpool	–	–	ON 26	For Halifax. Dispersed Oct. 29.
	Oct. 29	Dispersed from ON 26	Halifax	Oct. 31	Independent	–
	Nov. 3	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Nov. 18	HX 158	Will be updated
	Nov. 19	Belfast Lough	Milford Haven	Nov. 20	BB 102	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
	Nov. 21	Milford Haven	Solent	Nov. 23	WP 69	Convoy available at WP convoys (external link) See also Page 3
	Dec. 1	Solent	Milford Haven	Dec. 3	PW 74	Convoy available at PW 74 (external link)
	Dec. 6	Milford Haven	–	–	ON 44	For Galveston. Dispersed Dec. 15 Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Dec. 15	Dispersed from ON 44	Galveston	Jan. 3-1942	Independent	–
1942	Jan. 15	Galveston	Houston	Jan. 15	Independent	–
	Jan. 17	Houston	Halifax	Jan. 27	Independent	–
*	Jan. 24	Barry	Milford Haven	Jan. 24	Independent	–
	*This voyage is in the wrong place (incorrect dates); it belongs further down and has been inserted there. See also Page 3
	Febr. 1	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Febr. 13	HX 173	–
	Febr. 14	Belfast Lough	Barry	Febr. 15	BB 137	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
*	Febr. 24	Barry	Milford Haven	Febr. 24	Independent	–
	*Voyage has been inserted from above and dates corrected
	Febr. 25	Milford Haven	–	–	ON 71	For Baytown. Dispersed March 8. Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	March 8	Dispersed from ON 71	Galveston	March 22	Independent	–
	March 24	Galveston	Houston	March 24	Independent	–
	March 27	Houston	Galveston	March 27	Independent	–
	March 29	Galveston	Halifax	Apr. 7	Independent	–
*	Apr. 11	Methil	Oban	Apr. 14	EN 70	–
	This voyage should probably be deleted (if she was in Halifax on Apr. 7, she could not have been in Convoy EN 70 on the 11th).
	Apr. 14	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Apr. 27	HX 185	Collision Manchester Division Apr. 19.
	May 2	Belfast Lough	Swansea	May 3	BB 169	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link)
	June 23	Swansea	Milford Haven	June 24	Independent	–
	June 25	Milford Haven	–	–	ON 107	For NYC. Dispersed July 6 (July 9?). Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	July 6 (9?)	Dispersed from ON 107	New York City	July 10	Independent	–
	July 13	New York City	Hampton Roads	–	Independent	–
	July 17	Hampton Roads	Key West	July 22	KS 521	Convoy available at KS convoys (external link)
	July 25	Key West	Curacao	Aug. 2	WAT 9	Key West to Curacao. Convoy available at WAT convoys (external link)
	Aug. 9	Curacao	Key West	Aug. 16	TAW 12C	Joined from Curacao. Convoy available at TAW convoys (external link)
	Aug. 17	Key West	New York City	Aug. 23	KN 131	Convoy available at KN convoys (external link)
	Aug. 25	New York City	Cape Cod Bay	–	Independent	–
	Aug. 30	Cape Cod Bay	Halifax	Sept. 1	BX 35C	Convoy available at BX convoys (external link)
	Sept. 6	Halifax	Clyde	Sept. 17	HX 206	See also Page 4
	Sept. 25	Clyde	New York City	Oct. 11	ON 133	Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Dec. 2	New York City	Gitmo	Dec. 9	NG 326	For Curacao. Convoy available at NG convoys (external link)
*	Dec. 6	Loch Ewe	Methil	Dec. 8	WN 369	–
	*Another voyage that should probably be deleted - if she was in New York on Dec. 2 and Guantanamo on Dec. 9, she could not have joined Convoy WN 369 on the 6th.
	Dec. 9	Gitmo	Curacao	Dec. 12	GAT 28	Gitmo to Curacao. Convoy available at GAT convoys (external link)
	Dec. 18	Curacao	Gitmo	Dec. 20	TAG 29	Curacao to Gitmo. Convoy available at TAG convoys (external link)
	Dec. 20	Gitmo	New York City	Dec. 26	GN 29	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Dec. 29	New York City	Loch Ewe	Jan. 13-1943	HX 221	For Scapa Flow
1943	Jan. 14	Loch Ewe	Scapa Flow	Jan. 14	–	–
	Jan. 21	Lyness	Loch Ewe	Jan. 22	EN 187	Arrived with engine defects. Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	Febr. 1	Loch Ewe	New York City	Febr. 19	ON 164	See also narrative below
	March 4	New York City	Oran	March 22	UGS 6	Torpedoed by aircraft at Oran March 26(?). Date disagreement - see narrative below. Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	July 30	Oran	Gibraltar	July 31	MKS 19Y	Oran to Gibraltar.
	Aug. 8	Gibraltar	New York City	Aug. 25	GUS 11	Gibraltar to USA to repair torpedo damage. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
	Dec. 15	New York City	Milford Haven	Dec. 29	HX 271	Escort Oiler. Convoy will be added. See ships in HX convoys
	Dec. 30	Milford Haven	Portsmouth	Jan. 2-1944	WP SP 15	Convoy available at WP convoys (external link)
1944	Jan. 6	Solent	Milford Haven	Jan. 7	PW 457	Convoy available at PW 457 (external link - incomplete)
	Jan. 7	Milford Haven	New York City	Jan. 27	ON 219	Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Febr. 10	New York City	Hampton Roads	Febr. 11	Independent	–
	Febr. 13	Hampton Roads	Fayal	Febr. 26	UGS 33	For Fayal. Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	March 7	Fayal	St. Michaels	March 8	Independent	–
	March 11	St. Michaels	Angra	March 11	Independent	–
	March 12	Angra	New York City	March 23	GUS 32	Azores to USA. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
	March 28	New York City	Clyde	Apr. 11	HX 285	Escort Oiler Missing voyages, Page 4
	Apr. 27	Clyde	New York City	May 11	ON 234	Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	May 13	New York City	Hampton Roads	May 14	Independent	–
	May 23	Hampton Roads	Oran	June 10	UGS 43	For Oran. Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	June 24	Oran	Port Said	July 3	KMS 54	Oran to Port Said. Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	July 5	Suez	Aden	July 10	Independent	–
	July 10	Aden	Shatt-el-Arab Anchorage	July 18	Independent	–
	July 21	Abadan	Aden	Aug. 1	Independent	–
	Aug. 2	Aden	Suez	Aug. 8	Independent	See also Page 4
	Aug. 13	Port Said	Malta	Aug. 20	GUS 49	Port Said to Malta. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
	Aug. 23	Malta	Augusta	Aug. 24	Escorted	–
	Aug. 25	Augusta	Bari?*	Aug. 27?	AH 63	*Probably Taranto - see also Page 4. Convoy available at AH convoys (external link)
	Aug. 31	Taranto	Augusta	Sept. 2	HA 64	Convoy available at HA convoys (external link)
	Sept. 2	Augusta	Malta	Sept. 3	–	–
	Sept. 9	Malta	Port Said	Sept. 14	KMS 61	Malta to Port Said. Convoy will be added. See ships in KMS convoys
	Sept. 14	Port Said	Haifa	Sept. 15	Independent	–
	Sept. 20	Haifa	Port Said	Sept. 21	Independent	–
	Sept. 22	Port Said	Alexandria	Sept. 23	Independent	–
	Sept. 25	Alexandria	Port Said	Sept. 26	Independent	–
	Sept. 28	Port Said	Haifa	Sept. 29	Independent	–
	Oct. 1	Haifa	Port Said	Oct. 2	Independent	–
	Oct. 2	Port Said	Alexandria	Oct. 3	Independent	–
	Oct. 7	Alexandria	Gibraltar	Oct. 18	MKS 64	Convoy will be added. See ships in MKS convoys
	Oct. 22	Gibraltar	–	–	GUS 55	Gibraltar, joined GUS 55B, Oct. 24. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
	Oct. 24	Joined from GUS 55	Boston	Nov. 7	GUS 55B	Joining date estimated. Convoy available at link above
	Dec. 24	Boston	New York City	Dec. 25	Independent	–
	Dec. 28	New York City	Oran	Jan. 16-1945	UGS 65	Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
1945	Jan. 19	Oran	Haifa	Jan. 26	Independent	–
	Jan. 28	Haifa	Alexandria	Jan. 29	Independent	–
	Febr. 3	Alexandria	Port Said	Febr. 4	Independent	See also Page 5
	Febr. 5	Suez	Aden	–	Independent	–
	Febr. 10	Aden	Abadan	Febr. 18	Independent	Again, see Page 5 above
	Febr. 25	Abadan	Bombay	March 4	Independent	–
	March 8	Bombay	Abadan	–	Independent	Missing voyages, Page 5
	March 17	Abadan	Aden	–	Independent	–
	March 26	Aden	Suez	–	Independent	–
	Apr. 3	Port Said	Augusta	Apr. 7	Independent	–
	Apr. 8	Augusta	Marseilles	Apr. 11	Independent	–
	Apr. 14	Port de Bouc	Oran	Apr. 17	Independent	–
	Apr. 17	Oran	Hampton Roads	May 5	GUS 84	Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link)
	May 9	Hampton Roads	New York City	May 10	Independent	–
	May 11	New York City	Boston	May 11	Independent	–
	May 12	Boston	Halifax	May 14	BX 162	Convoy available at BX convoys (external link)
	May 16	Halifax	Clyde	May 29	SC 176	Convoy will be added. See ships in SC convoys
	June 1	Clyde	Baltimore	June 16	Independent	–
	July 15	Baltimore	Bermuda	July 18	Independent	–
	July 20	Bermuda	Naples	Aug. 6	Independent	–
	Aug. 10	Naples	Port Said	Aug. 15	Independent	–
	Aug. 16	Suez	Abadan	Aug. 29	Independent	–
	Aug. 31	Abadan	Bombay	Sept. 7	Independent	–
	Sept. 11	Bombay	Abadan	Sept. 17	Independent	–
	Sept. 20	Abadan	Cochin	Sept. 28	Independent	–
	Sept. 30	Cochin	Abadan	Oct. 13	Independent	Notional sailing date (compare w/Page 6)
	Oct. 15	Abadan	Mombasa	Oct. 27	Independent	–
	Oct. 30	Mombasa	Abadan	Nov. 10	Independent	–
	Nov. 11	Abadan	Auckland	Dec. 17	Independent	–
	Dec. 22	Auckland	Madras Roads	Febr. 9-1946	Independent	Probably via Abadan. Further voyages, Page 6 above

Misc. Convoy Voyages – 1940-1943:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway as well as Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the convoy links provided for more information on them; several Norwegian ships took part.

In Febr.-1940, Garonne is listed, together with Temeraire and Bruse Jarl, in the Gibraltar-U.K. Convoy HG 18F - note that she's also mentioned several times in the Commodore's narrative on that page. Later that month, she can be found going in the other direction with Convoy OB 98. Her destination is given as Constanza and she had station 73 of the convoy, which joined up with an OA convoy of the same number to form the Gibraltar Convoy OG 20F (arrived Gibraltar on March 4 - see the page listing ships in all OG convoys). Garonne arrived Constanza on March 12, and on March 28, we find her in station 74 of Convoy HG 24 from Gibraltar; her destination is given as Manchester on that occasion, and it looks like she was the only Norwegian ship in this convoy. According to Page 1 of the archive documents, she arrived Stanlow on Apr. 7; Manchester is not mentioned. She subsequently joined Convoy OB 133, which left Liverpool on Apr. 20 and joined up with the OA convoy of the same number on Apr. 22 to form the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 27F, arriving Gibraltar Apr. 28. She returned to the U.K. in Convoy HG 31, leaving Gibraltar on May 23. She was bound for Swansea, cargo of benzine, station 32, arriving her destination on June 2. The Norwegian Ørnefjell is also listed. Later that month we find Garonne, with destination Aruba, in Convoy OB 167, which originated in Liverpool on June 13 and dispersed on the 17th, Garonne arriving Aruba June 30. The external site that I've linked to below and within the above table has more on the OB convoys mentioned on this page.

She's mentioned in the Advance Sailing Telegram (Bermuda portion) for Convoy HX 57 in July, with a note saying "To be sent to Halifax to await orders". As can be seen in the Voyage Record above, A. Hague says she made this voyage from Bermuda to Halifax independently. From Halifax, she headed back to the U.K. again on Aug. 4 in Convoy HX 63, bound for Clyde with a cargo of gasoline. Judging from her Voyage Record, she spent quite a long time in Clyde later on, from arriving there from Ardrossan on Aug. 28 to departing again for Swansea on Nov. 9, where she also stayed for over a month. She's listed, with destination Aruba, in Convoy OB 263, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 23 and dispersed on the 27th, Garonne arriving Aruba Jan. 14-1941.

She was scheduled for Convoy BHX 104 from Bermuda on Jan. 21-1941, but instead joined the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 106 on Jan. 28. She ran aground at the inlet to the Thames on Febr. 23. The destroyer Woolston stayed nearby, but due to the danger of German air attack she was also given aircraft protection the next morning while a tug was working to get her refloated, and she continued up the Thames on Febr. 25 (see also Page 1 and Page 2). The following month she's listed, with destination Curacao, in Convoy OB 299, which originated in Liverpool on March 19 and dispersed on the 25th, Garonne arriving Curacao Apr. 10. With a cargo of gasoline, she joined Convoy HX 125A from Halifax on May 6, taking station 63. A cruising order/Commodore's notes are also available for this convoy. According to Page 2 of the archive documents, she arrived Eastham on May 24, Stanlow that same day. She subsequently joined convoy OB 329, leaving Liverpool on May 31, dispersed on June 5. Her destination on that occasion is given as New York, and she arrived there on June 17.

She was scheduled to return to the U.K. in Convoy HX 137 from Halifax on July 6, but instead joined the next convoy on July 11, HX 138, bound for Milford Haven, then Southampton. She later made another voyage to Curacao, having joined Convoy OS 3, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 13 and arrived Freetown Sept. 1; Garonne, however, had detached from the convoy on Aug. 18, and arrived Curacao on the 31st. On Sept. 16, we find her in station 62 of Convoy HX 150 from Halifax, along with the Norwegian Fenris (83), Solfonn (44), Havkong (84), Heina (64), Thorshavet (33), Topdalsfjord (34), Varanger (66?) and Braganza (66?). The following month, she went in the other direction with the westbound Convoy ON 26, departing Liverpool on Oct. 14. Garonne's destination is given as Halifax, where she arrived Oct. 31, the convoy having been dispersed Oct. 29. According to A. Hague, she returned to the U.K. on Nov. 3 in Convoy HX 158. It'll be noticed, when going to my page for this convoy, that she's not named there, but my information is incomplete; will be updated*. Her last Trans-Atlantic convoy voyage that year was made in the westbound Convoy ON 44*, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 7 and dispersed Dec. 15, Garonne arriving Galveston on Jan. 3-1942 - see Page 3. Montbretia and Rose are named among the escorts for this convoy.

Garonne headed back across the Atlantic in Febr.-1942 in Convoy HX 173, returning later that month with the westbound Convoy ON 71*, which had started out in Liverpool on Febr. 26 and dispersed March 8. Her destination is given as Baytown; according to the archive document mentioned above, she arrived Galveston on March 22, proceeding to Houston 2 days later. While in Convoy HX 185, she collided with (or was run into by) the British Manchester Divison on Apr. 19. Garonne had a cargo of aviation fuel and the other ship is said to have been loaded with TNT, so the results could have been disasterous, but the point of impact was in the bow on both ships. The British ship had to proceed to New Foundland while Garonne continued to Swansea where she underwent repairs for 7 weeks. While there, she also received armament as well as 6 gunners and a gunnery officer to man it, and cabins were built for them on the boatdeck.

Towards the end of June that same year, she's listed as bound for New York in the westbound Convoy ON 107*, which originated in Liverpool on June 26 and dispersed July 9, Garonne arriving her destination the next day. She did not go back to the U.K. again until Sept. 6, when we find her in station 94 of HX 206 from Halifax, returning to New York later that month with Convoy ON 133* (originated in Liverpool Sept. 25, arrived New York Oct. 11). New Years Eve was spent while in Convoy HX 221, which left New York on Dec. 29 and arrived Liverpool on Jan. 14-1943; the Commodore's narrative is also available; he was in the Norwegian Abraham Lincoln. Garonne, cargo of diesel oil, station 92, stopped at Loch Ewe on Jan. 13, continuing to Scapa Flow the next day. She returned to New York at the beginning of the following month with Convoy ON 164, arriving New York Febr. 19, and was scheduled to go back to the U.K. on Febr. 28 with Convoy HX 228 (in which Brant County was sunk), but did not sail. Instead, she headed to Oran from New York on March 4 - see her Voyage Record above, as well as Page 4 of the archive docs.

* All the ON convoys mentioned here are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. The HX series will also be completed, but for now, please see the section for ships in all HX convoys. The escorts for them are named on this page.

Torpedoed - 1943:

She was hit by a torpedo from aircraft and damaged while in Convoy KMF 11* (according to "Nortraships flåte") shortly after midnight on March 23-1943, just outside Oran while waiting for orders to go in; the British troop transport Windsor Castle was sunk in this attack. (Note that according to Page 4 of the archive docs, Garonne arrived Oran on March 22). At the time, Garonne had P 38 aircraft on her decks in addition to a cargo of diesel and fuel oil from New York - as mentioned above, she had left New York on March 4. According to an article in issue No. 1 for 1996 of the Norwegian Magazine "Krigsseileren", written by Chief Engineer Eldrup Gustavsen (who had joined Garonne from Fernwood at the end of 1941), the attack took place at 01:00, and she was hit in the middle of the after side tank, causing her to list to starboard. 2nd Mate at the time was Axel Øhre, who together with the chief engineer initiated "gravity trimming" of cargo into empty tanks, and she slowly started to straighten up again. The crew, who had been ordered to the lifeboats, now went back on board. 1st Mate at that time was Per Thronsen, the steward's name was Jensen.

They were later told by shore authorities that the torpedo had come from an Italian aircraft ("Nortraships flåte" says it was German, which is probably more correct?). The result was a 45 ft long opening in her side, with her deck torn open and 2 of her aircraft destroyed, while another 2 received less serious damages. Temporary repairs were made to the ship on the spot, before she was moved to an anchorage nearby where her cargo was transferred to other tankers and barges. On April 6, she went back to Oran for docking and further repairs, then on July 30, she departed Oran for Gibraltar (Convoy MKS 19Y - scroll down to the third table on that page) in order to join a convoy back to New York** where permanent repairs were undertaken.

* She's said to have arrived from the U.S. with Convoy UGS 6 (external link), which had left Hampton Roads on March 4-1943 and arrived Oran on the 22nd. A Hague gives the date of the aircraft attack as March 26, and does not mention Garonne in Convoy KMF 11 (also external link), however, Windsor Castle, which according to "Nortraships flåte" was sunk in the same attack, is included. See also my page about Hallanger.

** This was in Convoy GUS 11 (also external page).

Further Voyages – 1943-1946:

Again, for information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and the Voyage Record above.

After repairs were completed, Garonne joined Convoy HX 271 from New York to the U.K. on Dec.15-1943. This convoy is not yet available among the HX convoys included in my Convoys section, but will be added. For now, please see the section naming ships in all HX convoys.

She returned to New York again at the beginning of 1944 in Convoy ON 219*, which originated in Liverpool on Jan. 8 and arrived New York Jan. 27. At the end of March, she's listed in Convoy HX 285 from New York, bound for Clyde, where she arrived Apr. 11, proceeding to Bowling, with arrived there Apr. 13, according to Page 4. She subsequently went back across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 234*, originating in Liverpool Apr. 26, arriving New York May 12.

From the U.S., she now went back to Oran, and in June-1944, she's listed in Convpoy KMS 54*, voyage from Oran to Port Said, where she arrived July 3, having left Oran on June 24. On Sept. 9, she made a voyage from Malta to Port Said, having joined Convoy KMS 61*, and the following month, we find her in Convoy MKS 64*, voyage Alexandria to Gibraltar, before again heading back to the U.S. on Oct. 22 - see Page 5.

She made voyages to Abadan, as well as to Mombasa, Bombay etc. For a while she was also used as "topping-up barge" for some of the T2 tankers in that area. As already mentioned, she also went to Alexandria where she for a while refuelled the allied Mediterranean fleet. Some voyages were made to Malta, with oil as well as fresh water from Sicily. Later on she made a trip to Marseilles before heading to Boston for docking, though I'm wondering if this latter piece of information is dated wrong, as no Marseilles voyages are listed until Apr.-1945. She did go to Boston shortly thereafter, but stayed for one day only, so I doubt she had been in dock at that time. However, she spent over a month in Boston from Nov. 7-1944, so maybe she had been in dock in that period? Having docked in Boston she's said to have continued with voyages from the east coast of the U.S. and Caribbean to British ports, but again, this sequence of voyages appears to be somewhat jumbled when compared with her Voyage Record.

The chief engineer says that on this voyage to Boston, while in the middle of the Atlantic, a Liberty Ship ran into her taking with it the 2 lifeboats on her side, but left half of the motor lifeboat on the boatdeck, so they were able to save the motor.

Peace At Last!

According to the chief engineer, they were en route from Halifax to the U.K. on VE Day, May 8, having departed Halifax on May 5, but again, this appears to be a memory lapse (the story was written down around 1992, so it would be understandable if he remembered some of the dates wrong - he died in 1995). As can be seen in her Voyage Record above, as well as on Page 6 of the archive documents, she was in Hampton Roads on VE Day, having arrived there from Oran on May 5. On May 9, she proceeded to New York and Boston, then on to Halifax, and from there she joined Convoy SC 176* for the U.K. on May 16. She later returned to the U.S. for docking in Baltimore, then picked up a cargo in Bermuda before heading to Naples, then to Port Said, and was in the Suez Canal when Japan capitulated. She now made some voyages from Abadan to various ports in The Indian Ocean as well as to New Zealand, and her last voyage for Nortraship was to Cochin, India where she was officially returned to owners. Another voyage was made from Abadan to Madras and Calcutta, where she took on board five Norwegian female missionaries who had been trapped in China since before the war and had suffered greatly until they had eventually managed to escape to Calcutta. Finally, on Apr. 10-1946 Garonne arrived Copenhagen, then proceeded to Sandefjord, Norway.

* As already mentioned, all the ON convoys are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. The HX series and the SC series will also be completed, but for now, please see the section for ships in all HX convoys and ships in all SC convoys. As will be seen, they all had several Norwegian ships. See also ships in all KMS convoys, as well as ships in all MKS convoys, where Garonne appears in KMS 54, KMS 61 and MKS 64. These will also be added to individual pages in my Convoys section.

POST WAR:

Sold in 1952 to African Enterprises Ltd., Monrovia, Liberia (managed from New York), and renamed African Hope. Sold in 1954 to Societe de Transports Internacionaux, Monaco, and renamed Fontvieille. Extensively damaged by fire and explosion on July 3-1954, while undergoing repairs at Bremerhaven, four workers were killed. Found to be beyond economical repair and sold for £53,000 to Eisen & Metall KG Lehr & Co, for breaking up at Bremerhaven.

Astrup Fearnley - the Fearnley company today.

Back to Garonne on the "Ships starting with G" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 1 and 2 for 1996, E-mails from R. W. Jordan and misc. (ref. My sources).