M/T Havfru - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Misc. (Late) War Details:

Just a small tidbit from "Nortraships flåte"; Havfru reported seeing a surfaced U-boat far west of Madagaskar on July 9-1944.

Equipped to replenish escort vessels on the Atlantic convoy crossings, supplying 5 Canadian corvettes on her last crossing. The rest of her cargo was unloaded at Thameshaven, where she arrived at the end of Apr./beginning May-1945. While there, several V-2 bombs hit the area, but no damage was caused to the oil installations.

Havfru departed in ballast in convoy for New York on May 6. On VE Day May 8 at 03:45 both engines were stopped (on order from commodore?) and shortly afterwards a powerful "bang" was heard followed by a power failure. Due to all the confusion that occurred in the convoy Havfru was rammed by the American José Marti; screws and bolts and other items "rained" around the engine crew. At daylight it was decided to take her to Portland, where she arrived the same day. Tony Cooper, England has informed that a survey was held at South Shields on May 22-1945 in respect to the damage caused through this collision off Portland Bill while in thick fog. 3 injured seamen were taken to Portland Royal Naval Hospital on arrival. She sailed from there on May 15, arriving South Shields on the 18th for repairs to 8 shell plates.

The repairs took 6 weeks, and Havfru then continued to a U.S. port for a cargo for Antwerp.

Some crew members at the time of the collision: 2nd Mate Finn Anker Isaksen, Able Seamen Johan Tandberg, Jan Arthur Jørgensen, Arnt Abrahamsen, and Svenn Olsen, Ordinary Seaman Michael Goodhew (British?), 1st Engineer Peder Hansen, 3rd Engineer Fredrik Gustav Werner, British Gunner Sidney Heslop.

Accordng to a snippet of info by Peder Hansen, it looked like the Commodore vessel for this convoy may have been the Norwegian Temeraire, because Albert Toft, of Talabot "fame", who later served on Temeraire is said to have been the captain of this convoy's Commodore ship which, therefore, I thought may have been Temeraire. However, a posting to my Ship Forum from Temeraire's 2nd radio operator at the time, Dave Jeanes states that Temeraire departed her anchorage off Southend-on-Sea on May 7-1945, to sail independently to Melbourne, via the English Channel and then Panama, adding she was not in a convoy and therefore not the Commodore ship in the convoy in which Havfru collided, so Peder Hansen may remember this detail wrong. Peder Hansen also says 7 German U-boats (under British supervision) arrived Portland shortly after Havfru had anchored up there and he adds "whether it was these boats that had caused the commotion in the convoy I don't know". Peder Hansen wanted to go home to Norway to see his family since the war was now over, but getting there proved difficult, until Kaupanger's captain one day came on board asking for some provisions. Havfru's captain agreed to comply, but on the condition that his engineer was given passage to Norway on Kaupanger, whereupon Peder Hansen boarded that ship (which had been under German control during the war) and arrived Skien on Sept. 3-1945 after having been out for 7 consecutive years. He had been on Havfru since Jan.-1940, previously on M/T Ora as 2nd engineer.

POST WAR:

Sold in 1951 to Rio Blanco Cia. Nav. Panama, renamed Ambitious. Broken up in Baltimore 1953.

Related external link:
The Australian War Memorial has a picture of Havfru. The memorial also has pictures of V-2 bombs, one with the caption: A sectionalised drawing showing the component parts of a German V-2 rocket (also designated A-4), and another with the caption: Belgium. 1944-12. The first picture of the German V2 Flying Bomb which fell in Belgium. All 3 picturesr can be found by running a search through their collection search page.

Other ships by this name: P. Meyer later had another Havfru, also built by Kockums, delivered in Jan.-1952, 10 491 gt. Sold to Japan for breaking up in 1964. In July-1967 another Havfru was delivered, built in Nagoya, 13 621 gt. Sold to Panamanian owners in 1978, sold to China in 1983, renamed Ji Hai 10. A more recent Havfru (not P. Meyer) was originally built as Venator for Peder Smedvig, Stavanger in 1973, became Vanda of Singapore in 1986, Havfru in 1987 (Havfru Shipping Ltd.), later misc. owners, still in service.