D/S Hestmanden
(still exists)

To Hestmanden on the "Ships starting with H" page.

Post war picture, when named Vegafjord - see Post War below.
Courtesy of the webmaster for Riversea International (external link)

WW II:

Requisitioned by the Norwegian Navy in Apr.-1940 for use as military transport. Returned to Vesteraalens D/S a month later, and placed in service with coal to Svalbard. Escaped from Norway to Thorshavn on June 7-1940, arriving June 12 (my page about D/S Finmarken has background history on this event) and served on the coast of England during the war.

She had a crew of 19 and 2 gunners. Captain Jentoft, who had taken the ship over to England was on board for most of the war but became ill and died in Glasgow in 1944. The boatswain on board, Bendik Kristiansen, also deserves a special mention. He had joined the ship in 1914, and served on her for over 30 years altogether, until Hestmanden returned to Norway in June-1945.

Hestmanden "collided" with a German bomber in the Bristol Channel at some point during the war - date not known. The aircraft crashed in the sea, while Hestmanden's only damage was a broken mast.

POST WAR:

Served as transport in connection with the rebuilding of Finnmark until 1951. Sold in 1955 to Høvding Skipsopphugging (breakers), renamed Vegafjord, used as salvage vessel, later laid up near Sandnessjøen. In the fall of 1979 she was taken over by Norsk Veteranskipsklubb, and was later towed to Trondheim. She now has the name Hestmanden again, and I believe she's currently in Kristiansand. The plan is to turn her into a floating museum about seamen's struggles in 2 world wars, completion is planned for 2008.

Related external links:
Hestmanden's Official Website - text in Norwegian. The site has her history from 1911 until 1979, and several picturesr.

Picture of Hestmanden on the website of Norsk Veteranskibsklub (Norwegian Veteran Ships Club), which rescued the ship from being broken up. She's the last remaining ship from Nortraship's fleet, and is to be found at Veteranskipsverftet Bredalsholmen, Kristiansand S, where she's undergoing restauration, as a memorial to the contribution of the Norwegian Merchant Fleet during the two world wars. The website also has several pictures of other Norwegian coastal ships, as well as the Tirpitz and other foreign ships.

Here's a list of links to websites about other old, restored vessels (text is in Norwegian on all of them):
Veteranbåtar (Veteran Ships). The main page is Norhordland Veteranbåtlag.

Back to Hestmanden on the "Ships starting with H" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Skip og menn", Birger Dannevig - and misc.