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D/S Hørda To Hørda on the "Ships starting with H" page. Manager: A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen Built by W. Gray & Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool (928), delivered in July-1920 as Hørda to A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen, 379.9' x 53.7' x 23.9'. Captain: Osmund Lind
Hørda can be found in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 57 in July-1940, together with several other Norwegian ships (Hørda had previously been cancelled from HX 56, general cargo for Liverpool). In Sept.-1940, we find her in Convoy OB 215, leaving Liverpool on the 17th, dispersing on the 21st, and in Oct. that year she went back to the U.K. in Convoy HX 83, bound for Liverpool with a general cargo. She was scheduled for Convoy OB 257, leaving Liverpool on Dec. 10-1940, but instead joined OB 259 on Dec. 14, bound for Halifax - ref. the first external link below for the names of other ships in these convoys, some of which were Norwegian. She returned to the U.K. at the end of Jan.-1941 with Convoy HX 106, again in the company of several other Norwegian vessels (having previously been cancelled from an earlier convoy, HX 104). Follow the links for convoy details. Related external links: See also this
Torpedoed and sunk by U-97 (Heilman) on March 24-1941, all 30 on board died. According to "The World's Merchant Fleets" she had been in the dispersed Convoy OG 56, which in "The Allied Convoy System" is given the departure date of March 17, with arrival Gibraltar Apr. 2, 35 ships. There's no mention of the convoy being dispersed in this book, but "Nortraships flåte" states Hørda had departed Liverpool in a westbound convoy that had been directed far to the south because a section* of it was to head for Gibraltar in 20° W, adding that the convoy was dispersed at 20:00 hrs on March 23 in position 49 54N 19 10W, which was also the last known position of Hørda. Rohwer gives the position 49N 23W for her sinking, but does not mention a convoy in connection with this ship, nor with the British tanker Chama, sunk by U-97 on the 23rd in 49 35N 19 13W. The Norwegian source indicates that the British vessel had also been in OG 56, saying she was torpedoed just a few hours after the convoy had been dispersed with the loss of 58 men. The author (J. R. Hegland) says that Heilman probably assumed that a convoy had just been dispersed and therefore headed straight west at 8 knots in the hopes of encountering more ships. Hegland also indicates he may have been informed of the presence of another ship by the Italian sub Veniero (Petroni), which shelled and sank the Danish steamer Agnete Mærsk on the 24th with the loss of all on board. About half an hour later, in about 49N 23W, U-97 hit an unidentified (this book came out in 1976) steamer estimated to be 4000 tons, in other words Hørda. Hegland speculates that Hørda may have witnessed the sinking of the Danish vessel and steered away at full speed, thereby going straight down when the torpedo hit her.
Related external links: Operations information for U-97 - This pages say that Hørda was on a voyage from Liverpool for Halifax. Back to Hørda on the "Ships starting with H" page. Other ships by this name: Haugesund had a steamer by the name Hørda in WW I, built in 1892 for Carl Foss, Haugesund, 612 gt, later managed by T. H. Skogland (1900), then sold in 1905 to Th. Nordbø. Ran aground on Jan. 22-1915 near Shawbost, the Hebrides when on a voyage Odda-Lisbon with the loss of all 14 on board. Also, J. Ludwig Mowinckel, Bergen had a ship by this name in the late 1890's, originally delivered in Aug.-1893 as Sirona to owners in London, built at Stockton-on-Tees, 2830 gt. Sold in March-1898 to J. Ludwig Mowinckel and renamed Hørda. Ran aground on Nov. 10-1912 off Utsira Light, when en route to to Bergen. This company also had a Hørda after the war. This ship had originally been delivered in Dec.-1944 as Cape Beagle to the U.S. Shipping Administration (built in Beaumont, Texas, 5145 gt.) and was purchased by A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen in 1946, renamed Hørda. In 1954 managers became A. I. Langfeldt & Co., Kristiansand, renamed Sunland. Sold to owners in Piræus in 1966, renamed Elena, broken up in 1972. A more recent Hørda was delivered to A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, Bergen in Jan.-1955, built in Oslo, 5734 gt. Sold to Indonesia in 1974, renamed Tegal. Broken up in 1984. The company had a new Hørda delivered in Jan.-1982, 24 999 gt, sold in 1991 and renamed Gull Arrow for Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi, Bergen. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume I, and misc. others, some of which are named within above text - (ref. My sources).
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