Manager: Nortraship
Tonnage: 7238 gt

Delivered in Nov.-1941 as Empire Grenfell to Ministry of War Transport. Tramp ship, built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd., Pallion, Sunderland. 7238 gt, 443 ft (oa), 429 ft. x 56.5 ft. Launched June 30-1941, completed in Nov. One of 19 Empire ships transferred to Nortraship in 1942. My list of Empire Ships has the names of the other 18. Kong Sverre was taken over in Hull, Sept. 28-1942.

In Nov.-1942 she served as military transport for the Torch operations (Athos has a list of Norwegian ships taking part in these operations). She arrived Algiers from England on Nov. 24, after having been attacked by German aircraft several times; the first time on Nov. 20. Troubadour was in the same convoy. Kong Sverre was credited with hitting one of the planes, which caught on fire and crashed in the sea behind them. Examining all the information available to me, I believe this might have been Convoy KMS 3, in which Prins Harald and the British Grangepark were sunk by U-263 on Nov. 20. Many details in J. R. Hegland's "Nortraships flåte" account of the aircraft attack on Kong Sverre on that day leads me to this tentative conclusion. Among other things, Hegland mentions that 3 ships on the starboard side of the convoy were hit, one ship started to burn (Prins Harald?), the other's after part broke off, while a third received a torpedo in the net defences, where it exploded. Eye witnesses on board Troubadour could not determine whether the torpedoes came from an aircraft or a U-boat, but the details fit in with a footnote in J. Rohwer's "Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two" stating "two ships were seen sinking and one burning. One torpedo (from U-263) exploded in the net defences of Ocean Pilgrim." (The British Trentpark was sunk by aircraft while in KMS 3 on Nov. 24).

The following month we find her in a convoy referred to by A. Hague as Convoy MKS 3Y - see the second table on my page for Convoy MKS 3. Other Norwegian ships in this portion were Bosphorus (just released from internment in Algeirs), G. C. Brøvig and Brisk, while Troubadour and Selvik are listed in what is referred to as MKS 3X.

In Febr.-1943 she's listed in station 83 of Convoy MKS 8, together with Ferncliff and Jenny. A few months later she shows up in Convoy HX 237, which originated in New York on May 1-1943, but Kong Sverre joined from Halifax, and was bound for Liverpool with general cargo. As will be seen by following the link, several Norwegian ships took part in this convoy (see also Sandanger and Brand). Later that year, in Oct.-1943, I have her in Convoy AP 50 / AB 18, together with Egerø, Havkong and Heimvard.

In the summer of 1944 we find her among the ships in Convoy GUS 47, which left Port Said on July 24-1944; Kong Sverre was on a voyage from Abu Sultan; arrived New York Aug. 17-1944. The Norwegian Tricolor, Fernplant, Polartank, and Lidvard also joined this convoy from Port Said, while Topdalsfjord later joined from Bizerta.