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M/S Heimvard To Heimvard on the "Ships starting with H" page. Manager: Lauritz Kloster, Oslo Built in Malmö, Sweden in 1930. Captain: I. Strand. Related items on this website: Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives: Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.
(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 many voyages are missing.
Heimvard was 1 of the 26 Norwegian ships interned in North and West Africa 1940-1942. She had arrived Dakar on Apr. 18-1940 having come from Saigon with a cargo of rice, then after unloading the cargo she continued to Kotonu to take on board palm oil and coco beans for Dunkirk, departing for the journey to Europe on June 13(?*). En route, she was redirected back to Dakar, and was subsequently interned. "Nortraships flåte" gives the internment date as June 22-1940. Going to Page 1 above, we learn that she had arrived Dakar on June 20.
According to Guri Hjeltnes' "Sjømann - Lang vakt", Heimvard had a crew of 29, all Norwegian, a total of 21 escaped. 12 men from Heimvard escaped to Bathurst in a lifeboat on March 5-1941, among them were Ingvald Dyrland, Edvard Jensen, Ludvig Thomassen and the brothers Nils Lund and Vermund Lund. From Bathurst, they got passage to Freetown on the Danish Dagø on March 9, arriving 4 days later, then signed on various other ships. A few days later, another 6 also escaped, then on Apr. 27, Radio Operator/Mate Ola Johansen, 2nd Engineer Mortensen, 3rd Engineer Vikenes, Electrician Karlsen, Cook Moen and Mechanic Melsether managed to get out in one of Heimvard's gigs. After an eventful voyage they arrived Bathurst safely; from there they were sent to Freetown on board a Dutch vessel that had escaped from Dakar the year before (M/S Rolf?). 32 escapees from Dakar were then sent from Freetown to the U.K. on board the troop transport Windsor Castle, arriving Clyde on May 16.
In "Krigsseileren No. 2 for 1985 there's an article written by Ola Johansen, detailing their arrival in U.K. and describing the destruction from the air attacks. He starts off by saying they had to stay on board Windsor Castle until May 18 at which time they were taken to the railway station in Glasgow under military escort (as they had come from an enemy area and had no passports). He describes the destruction of the shipyards outside Glasgow and all along the route to London. On May 11, London had suffered one of its worst air attacks of the war and when they were taken by car through the city they saw clear evidence of that raid. Their destination was Royal Victoria School in the Battersea district which was utilized as a transit point for escapees from enemy territories. Papers were checked and questions asked, and on May 25 the escapees from Dakar had "cleared" security and were picked up by a representative of the Norwegian authorities. While they stayed at County Hotel near Nortraship's offices at Tavistock House, trips to the various offices to get new identification papers, passports, ration cards etc. followed, before they were again ready to join allied service, and the group from Dakar was scattered. Ola Johansen joined D/S Marga in June, but on arrival Grimsby from Canada in Sept. he payed off together with the Mate Bryde and almost the entire complement; he says no one seemed to like it on board. (In Oct. Ola Johansen joined D/S Hardanger and later sailed on D/S Biscaya and Høegh Silverlight, then worked his way home from New York to Norway on M/S Hermund in the late fall of 1945).
Heimvard was back in Nortraship's fleet by March 20-1943, following Operation Torch in Nov.-1942, which freed all the interned ships. When going back to Page 1 of the documents received from the Norwegian archives, we see that she left Dakar on March 21-1943 and arrived Freetown March 24, subsequently making voyages to Takoradi, Matadi and Pointe Noire, then back to Takoradi and Freetown (she left Pointe Noire on Apr. 27 and arrived Freetown, via Takoradi, on May 10). She's now listed in Convoy SL 129, which departed Freetown on May 11 and arrived Liverpool on June 1, having joined up with Convoy MKS 13 off Gibraltar on May 24. She had a cargo of coffee, bauxite and other general; voyage is given as Pointe Noire-Clyde. The Norwegian Belnor, Fernhill and Vest are also listed. Follow the link provided within Hague's Voyage Record above for more convoy details. Towards the end of the following month, we find her in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 194, departing Liverpool on July 24, arriving New York on Aug. 7. This convoy will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section; in the meantime, the ships sailing in it are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. The Norwegian Anna Odland, Belinda, Brimanger, Dagrun, Fernmoor, G. C. Brøvig, Germa, Kaia Knudsen, Lista, Morgenen, Noreg, Norheim, and Skandinavia are also included, while the Norwegian corvettes Acanthus, Potentilla and Rose are named among the escorts. From the U.S., she now headed to Port Said, Suez and Aden, and in Oct.-1943, I have her in Convoy AP 50 / AB 18 (departing Aden Oct. 25), together with Egerø, Havkong and Kong Sverre. According to the archive document already mentioned, Heimvard arrived Fremantle on Nov. 16, continuing to Adelaide the next day. She returned to the U.S. again in Jan.-1944, then back to Port Said and Suez etc. - see her Voyage Record and Page 2. Skipping now to Oct.-1944, when she's listed in Convoy SL 175, which departed Freetown on Oct. 28, joined up with the Convoy MKS 66 from Gibraltar on Nov. 8, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Nov. 15. Heimvard is said to have been on a voyage from River Plate to Liverpool with a general cargo consisting of oilcake, maize, cased meats, fats, bone material, leather, casein and hair (the archive document states she arrived Avonmouth on Nov. 14). Again, follow the external link to the SL convoys provided in the table above and at the end of this page. The Norwegian Toledo and Ragnhild also took part in this convoy, Ragnhild joining from Gibraltar. (The MKS portion will also be added to my own website, but for now, the ships sailing in it are named in the section listing ships in all MKS convoys). The following month, Heimvard made another voyage to New York, having joined the westbound Convoy ON 270, along with several other Norwegian ships, as will be seen when clicking on the link. She arrived her destination on Dec. 22. She subsequently travelled to Augusta, Naples, Gibraltar and Casablanca, before heading back to the U.S. at the end of Febr.-1945. Again, see Page 2 as well as Page 3 for info on the rest of her voyages. As will be seen when going to Page 3, she got to go home to Norway in Aug./Sept.-1945, and again in Nov.-1945. Also, on Dec. 10 that year, she left Baltimore for Kirkwall and Oslo, but arrival Oslo is not given (it's possible she spent Christmas in Norway?).
Sold in 1950 to DDG Hansa, Bremen, Germany, and renamed Axenfels. Sold to Japanese breakers and arrived at Hirao on Dec. 24-1961 to be broken up. Related external links: SL/MKS convoys - Heimvard is listed in Convoy SL 129/MKS 13 and SL 175/MKS 66. Back to Heimvard on the "Ships starting with H" page.
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