D/S Granli - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Voyage Record
From Jan.-1940 to June-1944:

(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database).

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	Jan. 1	Norwegian Waters	Methil	Jan. 4	HN 6	–
	Febr. 4	Verdon	Casablanca	–	33 XS	Convoy available at 33 XS (external link)
	March 9	Casablanca	Brest	March 15	74 KS	Convoy available at 74 KS (external link)
	Apr. 22	Brest	Casablanca	Apr. 29	40 BS	Convoy available at 40 BS (external link) See also archive doc (missing voyages)
	Aug. 5	Milford Haven	–	–	OB 194	For St John's, N.F. Dispersed 54 36N 18 02W, Aug. 10. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link)
	Sept. 2	Sydney, C.B.	Liverpool*	Sept. 18*	SC 3	*Clyde, Sept. 17
	Sept. 21	Clyde	Methil	Sept. 25	WN 17	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Sept. 26	Methil	Southend	Sept. 28	FS 292	Convoy available at FS convoys (external link)
	Oct. 4	Southend	Tyne	Oct. 6	FN 299	Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 18	Methil	–	–	OA 231	Dispersed Oct. 23. Convoy available at OA convoys (external link) See also archive doc
	Nov. 22	Sydney, C.B.	Liverpool	Dec. 7	SC 13	See also narrative below (and archive doc, missing voyages)
	Dec. 29	Milford Haven	Gibraltar	Jan. 9	OG 48	For Huelva - see archive doc. Convoy will be added. See ships in OG convoys
1941	Jan. 27	Gibraltar	Liverpool	Febr. 15	HG 52	See also archive doc
	March 1	Clyde	–	–	OB 292(?*)	Dispersed March 6. Convoy available at OB convoys (external link) See "Final Fate" below
1944	*June 22	Seine Bay	Southend	June 23	FTC 14	*This voyage is obviously an error and should be ignored

Some Convoy Voyages:

For voyages made in between those discussed here, please see the document received from the National Archives of Norway as well as Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the convoy links provided for more details on them - other Norwegian ships also took part.

Granli is listed in Convoy HN 6 from Norway to the U.K. in Dec.-1939/Jan.-1940. As will be seen when clicking on the link, several Norwegian ships took part.

A French visitor to my website has told me that Granli was in Casablanca in March-1940. She had arrived there from France the previous month in Convoy 33 XS. On March 9, she sailed from Casablanca, together with Oria, in Convoy 74 KS under French escort; at Le Verdon on March 15.

In Aug.-1940, we find her in Convoy OB 194, originating in Liverpool on Aug. 6, dispersed Aug. 10, Granli arriving St. John's, N.F. on Aug. 18 (she had started out from Milford Haven on Aug. 5). Balla, Beth, Fernbrook and Madrono are also listed. The following month, Granli rescued 26 men from Empire Volunteer, Page 2 has a full report. At the time, she was on her way back to the U.K. in the slow Convoy SC 3 from Sydney, C.B., from which the Norwegian Lotos was sunk. Granli had a cargo of pulp wood for Medway - according to the archive document, she stopped at Clyde on Sept. 17. With Augvald and Fjord, she later joined Convoy OA 231, which departed Methil on Oct. 18 and dispersed on the 23rd, Granli arriving Chandler, PQ on Nov. 4. She was scheduled for Convoy SC 12 from Sydney, C.B. on Nov. 13, but instead joined the next convoy on Nov. 22, SC 13, cargo of pulp for Preston, with arrival there on Dec. 13. Follow the links for further dates and names of the other ships, several of which were Norwegian.

At the end of that month, she's listed, together with Tejo, in Convoy OG 48, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 29 and arrived Gibraltar Jan. 9-1941. Granli was bound for Huelva, where she arrived Jan. 14, having started out from Milford Haven on Dec. 28. She returned to the U.K. in Convoy HG 52 from Gibraltar, bound for Ardrossan with a cargo of minerals, arriving her destination on Febr. 15, leaving again for Clyde on Febr. 25.

Final Fate - 1941:

Granli was one of several ships from the dispersed Convoy OB 294* captured and/or sunk on March 15/16-1941 by the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which at that time had become a serious threat to shipping in the Atlantic Ocean (there's more details on this under M/T Bianca and M/T Polykarp). She was on a voyage from Courock for British Guiana, having left Gourock on March 1 (see also archive document), when shots were heard in the distance on the night leading up to March 16. The captain ordered a course alteration, but the following morning 3 warning shots were fired near her. Gneisenau ordered the crew to the lifeboats, and in 2 boats they rowed across to the German ship and were taken on board, whereupon Granli was sunk (about 350 n. miles south of Cape Race).

*As can be seen in the above Voyage Record, Arnold Hague has included Granli in OB 292, rather than in OB 294 (external links). OB 292 (with Fjord, Hellen, Ruth I, Selbo and Solitaire in company) originated in Liverpool on Febr. 28 and dispersed March 6, while OB 294 departed Liverpool on March 5 and dispersed in 51 29N 20 30W on the 9th. In addition to Bianca and Polykarp already mentioned above, the Norwegian Hada County and Heina are also listed (but not Granli).

They were taken below decks where about 300 other seamen of various nationalities were also held. That same evening the cruisers were spotted by the British battle cruiser Rodney, but the German ships were able to escape with all their "loot", and arrived Brest on March 22, where all the prisoners were put ashore. This means that by the spring of 1941, the Allies had been deprived of over 1000 Norwegian seamen due to the raids of German battle cruisers or auxiliary cruisers; about 600 having been taken from the whaling fleet alone, when captured by Pinguin (see also M/T Sandefjord).

Granli's crew spent 3 days at a camp near Brest before they were sent by train to Fallingbosten via Paris, Cologne and Hanover, a journey taking 6 days. The camp had about 6000 prisoners of misc. nationalities, Belgian, French, Polish and Yugoslavian. After about a month they were transferred to another camp near Triers, but were retunred to Fallingbosten a month later, then spent another month there before being sent to Sandbosen(?). 2 weeks later, Granli's crew, together with other Scandinavian seamen were sent to Bremen where they spent 6 days at a hotel, then via Hamburg, Flensburg, Helsingör and Gothenburg they arrived Oslo, Norway. Before they were "freed" they were taken to Akershus fortress where they had to sign contracts promising to serve on Norwegian ships under German control, whereupon they were given a 2 weeks holiday. They were told, however, that if they did not show up in Oslo for service at a stipulated time, punishment would be strict.

Able Seaman A. J. Lunde* went home to his parents and did not show up in Oslo after his 2 weeks vacation were up. He stayed in hiding for several weeks, then escaped to Shetland with a fishing vessel. He may be identical to the Anders Johannesen Lunde who is listed among those who left Bremnes on Sept. 28-1941 with M/B Utnøring, which after a horrendous voyage arrived Lerwick on Sept. 30. Able Seaman Lunde was questioned by authorities in London on Oct. 14-1941 about the sinking of Granli, and some of the above text is based on his statements given at that time.

It's also possible that the M/T Geisha narrowly escaped capture by these battle cruisers on March 20, when she had observed a suspicious vessel in position 31°N 59 30W. The vessel had changed course and headed towards Geisha, but she managed to get away.