Site Map | Search Warsailors.com | Merchant Fleet Main Page | Warsailors.com Home |
|
D/S Hellen To Hellen on the "Ships starting with H" page. Manager: Bruusgaard, Kiøsterud & Co., Drammen Built in Hong Kong 1921. My Warsailor Stories section has the story of someone who briefly served on this ship (pre war), text in Norwegian only. Captain: Brinck Olsen
Hellen is listed in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 47 in June-1940 (in which the Norwegian Italia was sunk). At the end of that year, on Dec. 23-1940, she's listed among the ships leaving Halifax with the slow Convoy SC 17, bound for Grangemouth with scrap iron in station 43 of the convoy (having originally been scheduled for the previous convoy, SC 16). Hellen lost touch with SC 17 on Dec. 26 (may have returned to Halifax?) - follow the links for the names of other ships taking part; several were Norwegian. She was scheduled for Convoy HX 121 in Apr.-1941, but cancelled, then eventually got away with Convoy HX 125 in May, bound for Liverpool with a cargo of steel and iron in station 72 of the B section of the convoy. Again, several Norwegian ships took part in these convoys, as will be seen by clicking on the links. In July that same year she can be found in Convoy SL 81, which departed Freetown on July 15 and arrived Liverpool on Aug. 8-1941 - the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page has more on this convoy. On the 16th we find her in station 82 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 8; her destination is given as New York.
Hellen left Gibraltar in ballast in the evening of Dec. 21-1941 to pick up a cargo of iron ore in Melilla, escorted by the armed British trawler Maida. About 4 n. miles off Cape Negro (while still in neutral territory) she was hit on the port side by 2 torpedoes from U-573 (Heinsohn), position 35 41N 05 10W. The 3rd mate had seen the tracks of the torpedoes at about 23:10 but they struck before he had time to do anything. The first one hit between No. 1 and 2 Holds, probably damaging the bulkhead, the second in No. 2 Hold, and she immediately started to sink by the head. The captain was on the starboard side of the bridge at the time and was thrown down on the lower bridge by the blast, temporarily losing consciousness. When he came to he ordered the engines to be stopped by the emergency gear on the boat deck, but this failed to work. In the meantime the crew had lowered the forward starboard lifeboat under supervision of the 1st mate. The 2nd and 3rd mates then started to get one of the port boats ready, but before they launched it they fired 4 rockets to advise the escort of their situation. Hellen was listing to starboard at this time; the engine was still going, and being as she was deep in the water with her bow the propeller was out of the water. The port boat was put on the water with the 2nd and 3rd mates as well as a few of the crew, while the captain, the 1st mate and the majority of the crew were in the starboard boat. They were all picked up by the escorting trawler about 45 minutes later. According to the captain's statement at the maritime hearings on Dec. 23, the lights went out about 00:45 on the 22nd, at which time the ship took a steeper angle, and it was believed she sank around 01:00 because she could not be seen after that time. The survivors were landed in Gibraltar that same morning where they were taken care of by the Royal Norwegian Consul. Crew List - No Casualties:
Related external links: Back to Hellen on the "Ships starting with H" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I (Norwegian Maritime Museum) and misc. (ref. My sources).
|
