D/S Haraldsvang - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Some War Voyages:

(More will be added).

When Norway was invaded on Apr. 9-1940 Haraldsvang was between Aden and Colombo en route to Japan via Singapore. After unloading cargo in Japan she continued to Hong Kong via Keelong (Formosa), back to Hong Kong, then to Saigon for a cargo of rice for Hong Kong, from there to Surabaya with cargo of sugar. In Mersin, Turkey a cargo of pyrites was taken on board for Philadelphia, then on to New York for war materials and Norfolk for aviation fuel, back to Suez (around Africa), then Alexandria. After cargo had been unloaded there she loaded cotton for Bombay, from there to Calcutta to pick up coal for Singapore, on to Palembang where a cargo of coal was loaded for Hong Kong. There she went to a yard for a while and also had armament installed. War materials for the Mediterranean were then loaded but she didn't get to finish before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Internment & Escape:

The ship had Norwegian officers, 28? (34?) Chinese, 1 Dutch, 4 Swedish, 1 Polish and 1 Finnish crew (ref. link to my POWs page above). On Dec. 7-1941 (Pearl Harbor attack) she was in dock at Kowloon for various repairs and was told by the authorities to get ready to leave as soon as possible. The repairs continued and were partly completed, then the dock was filled with water whereupon she was pulled out by 3 tugs and tied up outside the dock. The yard's people continued repairs and that afternoon a barge came alongside with cargo consisting of used railroad equipment, but due to the orders to leave as quickly as possible the 1st mate refused to accept it until firm orders had been received that this could be done. Loading of cargo into Hold No. 2 and 4 started that afternoon on the captain's orders and continued through part of the night, until they at 02:30, Dec. 8 had loaded about 120 tons. That morning she was ordered by Naval authorities to leave and anchor up at Channel Road, Kowloon Bay. Several Japanese aircraft circled above that afternon, dropping bombs nearby, so the lifeboats were partly lowered and the crew told to wear their life vests. Early the following morning, Dec. 9 she moved closer to land, and again the area was subjected to attacks during the day and through the next day. At this time they were told that some of the crew had to go ashore to save on provisions and on Dec. 11, 28 Chinese crew were taken off. Late that afternoon a launch from the British Admiralty came alongside with orders from the naval authorities in Hong Kong to scuttle as soon as possible, to prevent her from ending up in the hands of the Japanese, and this was done the next day. The officers were taken to the central police station where their passports were taken from them, then given lodgings at Marina House. They were all free to wander as they pleased.

The captain and another Norwegian escaped on Febr. 10-1943 and reached Kunming deep in China on April 27 that year. From there they flew to Calcutta, then continued to Bombay where the captain got passage to Durban on board M/S Cypria, arriving June 3. He was back in Nortraship's service on M/T Ima on June 17-1943 (the other man got a job at Nortraship's office in Bombay). Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong, as repercussion for the captain's escape the remaining Norwegians were placed in Stanley Internment Camp in Febr.-1943, where they stayed until Aug.-1945. My page "Merchant Marine Prisoners of War lists their names" - link further up on this page.

Captain Kvamsø's own Story:

In the book "Sjøfolk i krig" by Leif M. Bjørkelund Captain Kvamsø's personal story is included. He was one of the men interviewed for the book, which is based on interviews with seaman still alive when it was published in 1995, in connection with the fact that 50 years had passed since the war ended. Kvamsø's story gives details on the risky escape from Hong Hong. There's a slight conflict with the first paragraph above, in that he says they had in fact been in a camp since March 31-1942, adding that they had been "under consideration" up until that time, so it's possible they were at Marina House only while the Japanese were trying to decide whether they should be considered enemies or not. As mentioned the escape took place on Febr. 10 the following year, and had been planned for quite some time. They were aided by a Portugese man who introduced them to another who was to be their "guide". The first step of the journey was by way of a trolley car (full of Japanese soldiers as passengers) to Wangchai, then by "sampan", paddled to the other side of the river by a Chinese woman. This took about 20 minutes, so it must have been a fairly narrow river. They were met by 8-10 soldiers who turned out to be a Chinese guerilla group, who took them through the jungle to a cabin where they were fed, before being taken to a farm to spend the night.

The following evening a frightening journey across the mountains began, but they managed to get through the Japanese lines undetected and down to the sea near New Territories, where a Chinese junk (type of boat) awaited them to take them across Mers Bay to the free China. En route they had to pass a Japanese guardboat, so in order to proceed as quietly as possible the Chinese "crew" had wrapped fabric around the oars so as not to make any noice while rowing. When approaching their destination, this crew refused to go towards shore, so they forced another junk with a Chinese family on board to come alongside and take them in, while the guerilla soldiers returned. Next step was to the nearest town by the name of Waicho, this time by sedan chairs part of the way, by bicycle the rest. At Waicho they were met by English soldiers, and stayed for about 4-5 days before being told to continue, and were placed on a river boat which took them to Kweilin, the capital of the Kwangsi province. Captain Kvamsø was able to send a telegram from there to Nortraship in Bombay to inquire about his family, as he didn't know whether they were still alive. It's unclear to me whether they had all lived in Hong Kong at the time of the Japanese invasion; the captain says his family had been at Rangoon when he last heard from them. As it turned out they were safely in Durban, South Africa.

The journey continued by train from Kweilin as far as the rails went, then by truck across the mountains to a small village where they stayed for a while before continuing further west to Kumning, where they got in contact with an English major named Hemmingway. After a few days they were taken by plane to Calcutta, but not before the airport had been bombed by Japanese aircraft, killing 300 people according to Captain Kvamsø's story. It was a Chinese plane with American pilots, with "Red Devils" written on the back of their coats. On arrival Calcutta they boarded a train for Bombay where they stayed for a few days. The captain then got passage on the Norwegian M/S Cypria which was about to go to England via Mombasa, but en route a message was received to avoid Mombasa and proceed to Durban, where captain Kvamsø was finally reunited with his family. He mentions being attacked by U-boats the day before arrival Durban, but he thinks it was a northbound convoy they were really after (in which D/S Bergensfjord was Commodore Ship). After 2 weeks he joined M/T Ima, which he commanded for about 6 months.

Haraldsvang's Final Fate:

Haraldsvang, meanwhile, had been raised by the Japanese on June 6-1942, renamed Toryu Maru, sank off Choshi on May 17-1944 after having run aground.

External link related to this text:
The Fall of Hong Kong
Battle of Hong Kong

Not the slightest chance - The defence of Hong Kong. Includes a listing of each individual defender.