M/T Kollskegg - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Misc. War Details:

Captain Ole Sørensen. Kollskegg was in the convoy in which M/S Tudor was sunk on June 19-1940, namely Convoy HGF 34, along with Nina Borthen, John P. Pedersen and Svein Jarl. The 2 British ships Baron Loudoun and British Monarch were also sunk in this convoy, by the same U-boat as sank Tudor (U-48), while the British Otterpool was sunk the next day by U-30. According to a personal story found in "Krigsseileren" No. 1 for 1974, Kollskegg left the convoy after a British ship had been sunk and continued alone at full speed, the captain being severely reprimanded on arrival Falmouth for going against orders, though they had arrived safely with 15 000 tons oil.

The next day they were ordered to Southampton where they arrived to complete chaos with vessels arriving continuously carrying refugees from France. After several weeks they were finally able to unload the oil. She was in the westbound convoy CW 7 which was attacked several times by a total of nearly 80 aircraft on July 21-1940. 12 planes attacked Kollskegg, 5 bombs hit, 3 of which went through the bottom of her without detonating, but 2 of them caused serious damage. Incendiary bombs set her on fire, a British gunner was killed, 4 crew seriously injured and 3 others less seriously. She was taken in tow and the crew taken to Portland. Kollskegg was at first beached at Dunnose, Isle of Wight, and then towed to a yard for repairs on the 23rd. The Norwegian tanker Nina Borthen was also damaged in this attack; follow the link to that ship above for some background history.

The personal story mentioned also describes the latter attack, slightly different (article written in 1969). The author says they were hit by 4 bombs, 3 of which hit the foredeck, the mast flying overboard, and the 4th bomb hit the bridge, going through to a tank where it exploded. Thick crude oil "rained" from the tanks all over the ship (reports state she was in ballast), and soon the foredeck and the bridge were in flames. The English gunner was killed when he was blown down to the afterdeck. They all went on board a destroyer, taking the gunner with them. Meanwhile, Kollskegg's bow was hit by an air torpedo, then the wind and current took the burning wreck towards shore where she later stranded. He says they were landed at Evermouth that evening (July 21), then sent to London the following day. After a couple of weeks they were sent back on board the burnt out Kollskegg and she was taken to dock at Southampton for repairs. He adds that Southampton was "sheer hell at that time, with air attacks 12 hours a day". In Sept. they headed out to sea again arriving South Bank 4 days later, and straight into dock, while the crew lived ashore, until she was ready to sail in June-1941 (this seems like an awfully long time). They subsequently made 2 voyages to South Africa (alone), then back to England (she's listed in the eastbound Convoy HX 160 in Nov.-1941).

Page 2 has several reports re the salvage of Kollskegg
Note that some of the dates and facts are a little different from the above.

In Jan.-1942 we find Kollskegg in station 43 of the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 172. At the beginning of March that same year she's listed in Convoy OS 21. Several other Norwegian ships took part in this convoy, which left Liverpool on March 4 and arrived Freetown on the 24th. Kollskegg was bound for Aruba, station 65. I don't have OS 21 in my own Convoys section, but please see the external website that I've linked to at the end of this page for a list of ships taking part.

Final Fate - 1942:

Captain Leif Søyland. Kollskegg left Willemstad, Curacao on March 29-1942 to return to the U.K., via Halifax for convoy. She had a cargo of about 8000 tons of Colon residue and about 6300 tons of fuel oil for the Anglo American Oil Company. Torpedoed on Apr. 6-1942 by U-754 (Oestermann) on the starboard side amidships, abaft of the pump room, tearing a large hole in No. 15 tank below the bridge superstructure, but though developing a heavy list (20°-25° to starboard), she stayed afloat. The officer on duty (2nd mate) immediately ordered the engines stopped and the crew to the boats, setting off the emergency alarm, but Captain Søyland, who had been resting in his cabin when the attack occurred, withdrew this order as soon as he arrived on the bridge. There's some conflicting information as to who did what, and how many boats were launched. The captain stated at the subsequent maritime hearings that when he came to the lower bridge he noticed that some of the crew were in the process of lowering one of the boats on the port side, and immediately gave the orders for this to stop (this was the midships motorboat, which was lost, adrift empty). He also saw that a boat had been put on the water on the port side aft (this was later hoisted back on board), and another was almost on the water on the starboard side.

Realizing the ship would remain afloat he ordered full ahead. By that time one of the lifeboats with 10* men (possibly the starboard boat mentioned above?) was so far behind the ship that the captain made the decision to leave it, as there was a U-boat in the vicinity. He sent out a radio message about their situation, then set a course for Hampton Roads, Virginia at full speed in the hope of getting away from the attacker, but the U-boat followed and Kollskegg was torpedoed in the engine room, starboard side that evening (apparently 15°-20° on the starboard quarter), inflicting heavy damage to the engine room, stopping the engines. The stern was practically blown to pieces, and she sank within 4 minutes. 2 men were killed in the latter attack, namely 2nd Engineer Arthur Gundersen, who had been in the engine room, and Steward Henry Pedersen who was on the bridge at the time of the explosion and was believed to have gone to his cabin afterwards.

The survivors took to the lifeboat, and this means that 5 lifeboats from two ships of the same company were drifting on the ocean east of Cape Hatteras on April 7, with a total of almost 80 men (see M/T Koll).

Captain Søyland's boat was located by a Panamanian ship (Bush Ranger) after 21 hours and the men landed in Nassau on the Bahamas in the evening of Apr. 11-1942.

Towards evening of the 7th the other lifeboat from Kollskegg had been in contact with 2 boats from Koll, and they stayed together for a while, but the near gale force wind separated them again. On the 14th a Canadian warship rescued the people in this boat and took them to Halifax. (I've come across a statement in the Norwegian magazine "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 2 for 1975, which says that after the first torpedo hit, 3 boats were launched without orders, and 1 of them was never found again; 10 men disappeared. It would seem that these men would be commemorated at the Stavern Memorial, but they are not - this is obviously not correct, and is probably the boat whose 8 occupants were picked up on the 14th).

*According to Captain Søiland's statements to the Norwegian Consul at Nassau on Apr. 13-1942, there were 10 men in the "missing lifeboat", and he lists them by name - they are denoted * below. However, it appears the 2 British boys were not in this boat. Electrician Kilmark stated at the hearings in New York on Apr. 30-1942 that when he came out on deck after the 1st explosion he saw that 2 British boys had started to launch the port boat aft (this was the boat that according to the captain was later hoisted back on board). The electrician had tried to stop them, but they appeared to be in a panic, so there was nothing he could do. "Nortraships flåte" says there had been a problem while launching one of the lifeboats, resulting in 2 young British boys drowning. If this was the case, there were only 8 men in the boat that was picked up by the Canadian warship on the 14th.

Captain Søiland gives the time for the first attack as 14:20 on the 6th, 33 01N 68 48W, and for the 2nd attack he gives the time 19:30 on the same date. Rohwer only mentions one attack, giving the German time 20:58 on the 6th and the position 34 58N 68 38W, while Roger W. Jordan's "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939" gives the position 35 01N 68 49W, and says she was torpedoed again on Apr. 7 and sunk in 35 20N 70 03W, adding that 4 died, 38 survived. Charles Hocking simply gives the position as "350 miles northwest of the Bermudas", voyage from Curaçao to Halifax with 14000 tons of crude oil (he says 5 men were lost).

A sinking report, based on subsequent interviews with the survivors, gives the time of the first attack as 18:50 GCT, Apr. 6 in 35 01N 68 49W, and as 00:00 GCT Apr. 6/7 in 35 20N 70 03W for the second attack, adding that 30 crew abandoned ship in 2(?) lifeboats 4 minutes later. These 30 were picked up at dusk Apr. 7 by Bush Ranger and landed at Nassau Apr. 11-1942, as mentioned. This report also says that she had been on a course 016° true until after the first torpedo hit, when a course of 283° true was set for the nearest port at a speed of 12 knots. She had not been zig-zagging before the first attack but did so afterwards because she could not be held to a true course. There were 5 lookouts at the time, 2 on flying bridge, 2nd mate and helmsman on the bridge and gunner on after deck. The weather was fair, broken clouds, wind WSW force 2, visibility good, sea calm, no ships in sight.

As mentioned, the maritime hearings were held in New York on Apr. 30-1942. The following appeared: Able Seaman Høiseth (helmsman during the 1st attack), Able Seaman Klepp (lookout, 1st attack), Gunner Hogstad (on duty by the aft gun, 1st attack), Electrician Kilmark, 3rd Engineer Jensen and 2nd Mate Karlsen (officer on watch, 1st attack). By that time they had learned that the men in the other lifeboat had been rescued and taken to Halifax.