M/T Glarona

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


Received from Markus Berger, who also tells me that the name Glarona is derived from Glarus where the Tschudi familiy originally came from.
(Markus and Peter Bichsel have a website about Swiss Ships - external link).

Misc. War Details:

Managed by British Tanker Co Ltd, London during the war.

Glarona is listed among the ships in Convoy Convoy HX 49 in June-1940, in which Eli Knudsen and Randsfjord were sunk. Glarona was bound for Clyde with Admiralty fuel and joined with the Bermuda portion. Follow the link for cruising order; several Norwegian ships took part.

She reported having seen a U-boat in 06 30N 11 52W on May 26-1941; "Nortraships flåte" suggests this may have been U-38. According to Rohwer this boat sank the Dutch Berhala on May 23 - 09 50N 17 50W, the British Vulcain, on May 24 - 09 20N 15 35W, Tabaristan, on May 29 - 06 32N 15 23W, Empire Protector on May 30 - 06N 14 25W and the Norwegian Rinda on May 31 - 06 52N 15 14W. Judging from the positions and dates of these sinkings, it would seem to me that U-103 would have been closer to the position of Glarona's sighting on the 26th than U-38 (U-103 sank a ship in 05 24N 12W on the 25th). I asked one of the visitors to Uboat.net's forum about this (I was told he has info from the KTB's) and he has informed me that U-38 chased a steamer from 17:45 on May 25 until 03:00 on the 26th going from Quadrant ET 1182 to ET 1253, so he agrees it's improbable that this U-boat was in ET 6662 which corresponds to 06 30N 11 52W (the position reported by Glarona on that date). On the other hand, at noon on the 26th U-103 was in ET 68 so he agrees that this must have been the boat seen by the Glarona. No other boat was in this area.

In Aug.-1942 Glarona can be found in Convoy SC 98 from Halifax, together with a great number of other Norwegian ships. She returned the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 134*, and is said to have gone into St. John with defects, later joining ON 135* from there. Her destination is not provided, but it looks like she went to Halifax, because she shows up again in the next westbound convoy, ON 136* at which time she's said to have joined from Halifax.

Early in Jan.-1943 she shows up in Convoy GN 32, on a voyage to the U.K. via New York, but I can't find her in any of the HX convoys subsequently leaving New York, so it's possible she sailed in an SC convoy again (unfortunately, I don't have the SC convoys for that period). That spring, in March-1943, she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 170, again in the company of several Norwegian vessels. There's a note in one of the documents* I have for this convoy, stating that she arrived Halifax with engine defects. In May that same year she was one of 10 Norwegian ships in the slow Convoy SC 132 from Halifax (having been cancellled from the faster Convoy HX 239, which left New York City on May 13-1943), then returned in June with the westbound Convoy ON 189*.

In Sept-1943 she made a voyage from Malta to Bizerta with Convoy MKS 24. This convoy left Alexandria on Sept. 4, arrived Gibraltar on the 13th, then continued to the U.K., after having joined up with Convoy SL 136 (from Freetown) on Sept. 14. (Glarona, however, being bound for Bizerta, was not part of the Gibraltar-U.K. convoy).

In Apr.-1944 she was scheduled for the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 287, but instead joined the next convoy, HX 288. In May she's listed as bound for Curacao, Convoy ON 237*. She was scheduled to return to the U.K. with Convoy HX 298 from New York in July-1944, but did not sail. She was also cancelled from Convoy HX 299, but joined HX 300 on July 17. In Aug.-1944 we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 248S*, and she was scheduled to go back to the U.K. at the end of that month with Convoy HX 306 but was cancelled and shows up again in Convoy HX 309 in Sept. that year. In Dec.-1944 she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 273*.

She was scheduled for the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 165 in the middle of Jan.-1945, but instead joined SC 166 at the end of that month; her destination was Liverpool. In March-1945 she joined the westbound Convoy ON 290*, and must have gone back to the U.K. again, because at the end of Apr. that year she shows up in the westbound Convoy ON 299*.

* 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, please go to these convoys in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. As will be seen, they all had several Norwegian ships.

POST WAR:

Sold in1951 to Italy and renamed Isabella O, renamed Amalthea in 1954.

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