M/T Langanger - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

M/T Langanger
Updated Nov. 22-2008

To Langanger on the "Ships starting with L" page.

Source: Markus Berger, Switzerland.
Another picture is available on this external page (click in it to make it larger).

When named Neuchatel, see post war info below. Source: Roger W. Jordan collection.
Picture may have been taken in Marseilles while rebuilding
(the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this page has more post war pictures).

Manager: Westfal-Larsen & Co. A/S, Bergen
Tonnage: 9215 gt, 14 510 tdwt.
Dimensions: 473.6' x 64.3' x 36.6'.
Machinery: 2x 6 cyl. 4T 4000 ihp, 11 knots.
Signal Letters: LCKY

Delivered in Sept.-1930 (July 25?) from Robert Duncan & Co. Ltd., Port Glasgow (397).

Related items on this website:
Interned Ships
A posting to My Ship Forum
Another posting to my Ship Forum - With details on misc. interned Norwegian ships, incl. Langanger (from French archives).

From Nov.-1939 until June 21-1941, Adolf K. Lines was 1st engineer on Langanger. His next ship is given as Bosphorus, so he may have been among those who were transferred to this ship when Langanger was requisitioned (see text below). He later served on Duala (1943) and Gabon (1944).

Her voyages are listed on this original image received from the National Archives of Norway.

Notes:

According to a French visitor to my website Langanger was seized off Tunisia by French patrol boats on Apr. 10-1940 (the day after the German invasion of Norway) and ordered to Bizerta. Released a few days later. As will be seen when going to the archive document above, she arrived Bizerta on Apr. 11. She was on a voyage from Curacao to Trieste, but was diverted to Marseilles, where she arrived, via St. Louis du Rhone, on May 9, having left Bizerta May 5.

Interned and Requisitioned:

Langanger was one of the 26 Norwegian ships interned in Vichy controlled North and West Africa 1940-1942, see Interned Ships for the names of all 26.

There's always quite a bit of date disagreement for these ships in my various sources, so also for Langanger, as follows:

J. R. Hegland's "Nortraships flåte" says she was interned in Oran June 22-1940, requisitioned June 21-1941. However, a French visitor to my site says she sailed from Marseilles (loaded with 14 000 tons of oil fuel on behalf of the French government) on June 22-1940 in Convoy 8P (external link) under French escort, arriving Oran on June 26 - this arrival date agrees with information found on the archive document. John Knudsen is also listed in this convoy.

Guri Hjeltnes' "Sjømann - lang vakt" states she was requisitioned in Oran on June 20-1940, later moved to Bone and interned there. Going back to the archive document, we see that she arrived Bone on July 9, having departed Oran on July 6.

The company fleet list says that she was initially interned in Oran in June-1940, subsequently moved to Bone, where she was seized by French authorities in June-1941 and entered service for them.

Roger W. Jordan (author of "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939") has told me that she was taken over by Vichy authorities at Oran on June 21-1941, then by Kriegsmarine in Marseilles on Nov. 24*-1942 and operated by Mittelmeer Reederei GmbH, Hamburg under the name Toni III. According to this posting to my Ship Forum, she went to La Spezia on Nov. 29 that year, Augusta on May 23-1943, journeyed Bastia-Civitavecchia Aug. 20/21-1943. Scuttled on Aug. 17-1944 at Port de Bouc (while under attack of allied aircraft?). "Nortraships flåte" adds she was declared a total loss in Apr.-1945.

*The archive document says she sailed from Marseilles on Nov. 23-1942.

I've found a very interesting article in the book "Tilbakeblikk" which states that after Langanger had been requisitioned in Bone in the summer of 1941 her crew was sent to Algiers and placed on Bosphorus. According to "Sjømann, lang vakt" Bosphorus took on board 21 from M/T Regina and 22 from Langanger on July 21-1941. They later took part in several escapes from Bosphorus, follow the links for more details.

Additional tidbit (from Lauritz Pettersen's "Hjemmeflåten - Mellom venn og fiende". Tonnage for Langanger is given as 14 150 gt):
The Germans very often tried to get their hands on Norwegian ships by forcing the owners to sign an agreement for charter. As in the case of some of the ships that were in Sweden, a few owners signed, under threat that if they didn't the consequences would be harsh; concentration camps in Germany, lost property and repercussions towards their families. Even some of those who did sign were arrested and sent to camps, the reason being that they had let it be known that the signature had been given under threat. The manager of Langanger was also called in in March-1942 and was asked to sign an agreement to let his ship be chartered by the German Navy. He refused and was sent to Grini, a well known concentration camp in Norway, and later to Sachsenhausen in Germany until the fall of 1943.

Some Crew Members:
Guri Hjeltnes' "Sjømann - Lang vakt" says she had a crew of 34, all Norwegian, 1 died, 20 escaped, 4 went home.
These men were still in Africa at the time of the allied invasion in Nov.-1942.
Unfortunately, I don't have the names of the ones who had previously escaped.

1st Mate Nils Jæger	2nd Mate Konrad Nilsen	3rd Mate Johannes Askeland	Boatswain Bernt Rasmussen	3rd Engineer Alfred Myking	Mechanic Nils Røyseth
Oiler Konrad Gjerde

I looked these men up in Kristian Ottosen's "Nordmenn i fangenskap" (Norwegians in imprisonment) and found the following details:

Nils Jæger is listed as Nils Jaeger, "arrested" (in this case meaning interned) on June 20-1940, transferred to Bona on June 21-1941, released Nov. 16-1942.
Konrad Emil Nilsen - same as above - but released Dec. 11-1942
Johannes Askeland - same as above - released Dec. 11-1942.
Bernt Rasmussen - same as above - released Nov. 16-1942
Alfred Myking - same as above - released Nov. 16-1942
Nils Røyseth - arrested June 20-1940, transferred to Bosphorus on Dec. 1-1941, released Dec. 11-1942.
Konrad Gjerde (listed as stoker) - same "arrest" date as all the others, transferred to Algiers Dec. 1-1942, arrived Bosphorus same date, released Dec. 11-1942.

POST WAR:

Raised in Febr. 1947 (the above mentioned message on my Forum gives 1950), sold to Roger de Perrot & A Bourquin, Neuenburg, repaired at Marseilles. Entered service as Neuchatel on Febr. 9-1950 under Swiss flag. Ownership transferred to Roger de Perrot, Neuchatel in 1954. Sold to Hugo Stinnes Transozean Schiffahrts GmbH, Hamburg on Oct. 1-1954 and renamed Transozean. Renamed Transozean Hugo Stinnes in 1955 (German flag). Sold in July-1961 to Spanish breakers. Arrived Bilbao in tow of tugs Humber and Poolzee on July 26-1961 to be broken up (info from R. W. Jordan and company fleet list).

Related external links:
Picture of Langanger - Linked to a portion of Markus Berger / Daniel Trösch and Peter Bichsel's website on Swiss Ships, which has several pictures of her when named Neuchatel, and one of Transozean, as well as some technical data and her history - click on the picture links on the left side of the page to see the pictures, and on the English flag to see her history in English.