M/T Havsten - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Some Convoy Voyages – 1940-1942:

Havsten, cargo of crude oil for Brest, is listed in the Bermuda portion of the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 51 in June-1940 - however, it looks like she returned to Bermuda and did not join the main convoy to the U.K.

At the beginning of 1941 we find her in station 53 of Convoy SL 63, which left Freetown on Jan. 20 and arrived Liverpool on Febr. 9. The external website that I've linked to below has more information on the SL convoys. See also Bur and Soløy. The same site has her in Convoy OB 298, which left Liverpool on March 16-1941 and dispersed on the 20th. Her destination is given as Aruba.

She's listed, with a cargo of fuel oil for Manchester, in station 72 of Convoy HX 126, in which M/T John P. Pedersen was sunk in May-1941 (Havsten had initially been scheduled for an earlier convoy, HX 122 which left Halifax on Apr. 20-1941, but she did not sail). In June she shows up, with destination Las Pedros, in Convoy OB 331, leaving Liverpool on June 8, dispersed on the 19th; again, ref. external site below. The following month we find her in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 138, bound for Milford Haven and Southampton*, returning in Aug. with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 8; her destination is given as New York (according to a section of the external site below, she was in Convoy OS 3, which left Liverpool on Aug. 13, but if she was in ON 8, which left Liverpool on Aug. 16, she could not have sailed in the OS convoy, unless she joined and later returned to port. Note that another section of the same site does not mention her in this OS convoy).

* HX 138 arrived Liverpool on July 27-1941, however, it looks like Havsten stopped by Belfast Lough before proceeding to her final destination, because she's listed in Convoy BB 54 from there on July 28 (external link).

Havsten rescued 34(?) survivors from the British Thursobank on March 25-1942, which had been sunk by U-373 off Cape Hatteras three days earlier. Havsten arrived Halifax with them on March 28. According to a personal story found in "Krigsseileren" No. 4 for 1998, written by the 2nd mate on Havsten, Karl Niva, the Indian crew (I believe this should be Chinese) from Thursobank were arrested for mutiny on arrival Halifax, having placed the 4 British officers in the front of the boat, throwing the oars away as well as refusing to share the food and warm clothing in the boat with them. (This posting to my Ship Forum has the names of Thursobank's casualties - see also the other postings in the thread, started by the granddaughter of Thursobank's captain). Havsten was on a voyage alone from Aruba with a cargo of diesel oil for the convoy escort vessels in Iceland at the time. She was subsequently scheduled for Convoy SC 77 which left Halifax on March 30, but instead joined Convoy SC 79 on Apr. 11. I'm not sure whether she would have gone directly to Iceland from the convoy, or whether she would have followed SC 79 all the way to the U.K. first, then proceeded to Iceland, but either way, she left Iceland for the U.K. again with Convoy RU 23 around May 14-1942; her destination is given as Oban.

A few days later she embarked on a voyage to Trinidad, according to the external website below, which lists Havsten in station 15 of Convoy OS 29, departing Liverpool on May 22, voyage Oban-Trinidad in ballast. Many Norwegian ships took part; follow the link for further convoy details.

Related external links:
OS and OS/KMS Convoys - The site also has a section on the SL convoys, and as will be seen Havsten is included in Convoy SL 63 and OS 29, but note that this particular section of the site does not include Havsten in OS 3. Note also that by going to this section of the same site and clicking on "Ship Search", using "Havsten" as keyword, some convoys that are not mentioned in my own text will come up. Here are OB 298, OB 331, both mentioned in my text above. This section of the site also lists Havsten in OS 3 in Aug.-1941 (see my text at the end of the 3rd paragraph above).

The attack on Thursobank - This site says that only 26 survived the attack.

Operation Paukenschlag

Final Fate - 1942:

Not long afterwards, at 20:15 on Aug. 3-1942 Havsten was torpedoed by U-160 (Lassen), position 10 25N 56 00W* when on a voyage from Freetown to Trinidad in ballast, having departed Freetown on July 25. At the time of attack she was on a course 268° true, sailing at a speed of 11 knots, zig-zagging, in hazy weather with a smooth sea, moderate east wind and poor visibility; no other ships were in sight. The track of the torpedo was seen about 40 yards away, but before avoiding action could be taken, it hit in the engine room aft, starboard side, killing the 2nd engineer. Masses of steam came gushing out of the engine room, the engines had immediately stopped, her steering gear was put out of order, fires broke out fore and aft in the bunkerage, and she started to sink by the stern.

The starboard lifeboat had been destroyed, but the port boat, the motorboat (starboard) and the midships gig were launched. The motorboat, which had been launched by the captain, the 3rd mate and 2 others went aft to pick up 2 men there who had initially been trapped, but when it came back to pick up the others who were still on board, the captain and the radio operator could not be found and were believed to have been killed in the shelling taking place about 15 minutes after the torpedo attack - the 2 had remained on board to wait for replies to distress signals; the U-boat had surfaced and from 45° off the starboard bow, from a distance of 500 yards, had fired 20 rounds at the ship; about 5 hit, destroying the radio and bridge - however, Captain Gjert Olsen and Radio Operator Jack Holt had, in fact, been taken prisoners by the U-boat. The captain was at Marlag und Milag Nord for a while, but eventually came back to Norway. The radio operator also ended up at Marlag und Milag Nord. (According to U-160's KTB, the radio operator was born in England and had served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force - went to sea in Apr.-1941 - this KTB gives the time of attack as 01:59 on Aug. 4, German time, and also mentions a second torpedo fired at 02:05 German time, which missed, so the boat then started shelling the ship. The 2 prisoners were taken aboard around 04:35).

The boats set a course for Trinidad and were picked up about 26 hours later by the Argentinian tanker Juncal, which left them outside the harbour of Pernambuco in the evening of Aug. 12**. They subsequently continued into the harbour in the lifeboats.

* Rohwer gives position as 11 18N 54 45W, at 01:59 on Aug. 4 (agreeing with the KTB), "Nortraships flåte" gives the time as 23:54, Aug. 3 - position as in the first paragraph above.

** "Nortraships flåte" states the lifeboats reached land on Aug. 14.

2nd Mate Karl Niva says the Argentinian tanker landed them at Recife in Brazil, where they stayed for a month before being sent to New York. Many of them waited for 6 months before they could find another job. (At that time joining other allied ships was not allowed, they had to wait for a Norwegian one to become available. This rule later changed). The 2nd mate was eventually able to join M/T Kaldfonn in Febr.-1943, where he later became the 1st mate (he had previously served on Soløy and James Hawson, and had joined Havsten in Aug.-1941).

Havsten was not seen to sink, but when last seen she was in a sinking condition and in flames. What was not known at that time was that she had kept afloat for several days until the Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli (Fecia di Cossato) encountered the wreck and sent her to the bottom with 2 torpedoes in the morning of Aug. 6, position 11 18N 54 45W.

The hearings were held in Pernambuco, Brazil on Aug. 23-1942, with the 1st mate, the 3rd mate, Able Seaman/Gunner Madsen, Able Seaman Pettersen (lookout on bridge), and Mechanic (Motorman) Angelsen appearing. Madsen had just come on gun duty and was thrown from the gun platform down to the poop deck, where he was buried by the seas that washed over it, but managed to climb up to the boatdeck where he joined the others in the aft lifeboat. Mechanic Angelsen had been able to get out through the messroom skylight, assisted by shipmates, then went in the gig together with the 1st mate.