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D/S Leikanger To Leikanger on the "Ships starting with L" page. Manager: Westfal-Larsen & Co. A/S, Oslo Delivered in Nov.-1923 from Lithgows Ltd., Port Glasgow. Captain: Eugen de Lange Hansen.
Leikanger is listed in Convoy OA 133 in Apr. 1940. This convoy left Southend on Apr. 20, joined up with OB 133 on the 22nd, the combined convoy forming the Gibraltar bound convoy OG 27F (see my page naming ships in all OG convoys; Leikanger's destination is given as Dartmouth, N.S., so she must have left this convoy at some point to proceed to her destination). She headed back to the U.K. with the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 46 in May-1940, cargo of lumber for London. Towards the end of June she was one of several Norwegian ships in Convoy OA 175, which departed Southend on June 27-1940 and dispersed on July 1. Her destination is given as Sydney, C.B. (Cape Breton), station 23, sailing right behind the company's Brandanger. Ref. external links provided below, as well as my own page related to OA 175 (Vice Commodore's report). At the end of July we find her going in the other direction with Convoy HX 61 (having been cancelled from HX 60), pit props for Hull, station 32, and in Sept. she shows up in Convoy OA 213 (left Methil Sept. 12, dispersed Sept. 16). She was scheduled to return to the U.K. with Convoy HX 80 the following month, but instead joined the next convoy, HX 81, steel and lumber for Hull, station 12. It looks like she dropped out of the convoy on Oct. 24/25, reason not given, but possibly because of the bad weather. Towards the end of 1940 Leikanger, with destination Havana, was scheduled for Convoy OB 262, leaving Liverpool on Dec. 20, but did not sail - again, see the first external link below for names of ships, some of which were Norwegian. Another section of the same site has her in the next convoy, OB 263, which left Liverpool on Dec. 23, dispersed on the 27th. Early in Febr.-1941 she sailed in Convoy (B)HX 108, joining the convoy from Bermuda. The following month she's listed as bound for St. John's, N.F. in Convoy OB 303, leaving Liverpool on March 28, dispersed Apr. 3 - ref. external link below. In June that same year she shows up in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 131, bound for Newcastle with a cargo of grain and beans in station 44, having joined with the Sydney, C.B. portion. She subsequently joined Convoy OB 341 at the end of that month in order to return to Sydney, C.B. (left Liverpool June 30, dispersed July 6). In Aug.-1941 she was in Convoy HX 145 (station 64, lumber) along with the Norwegian Annavore (station 122), Maridal (station 83), Høyanger (station 95, 3 bombers on deck), Vav (station 114), Charles Racine, Kaia Knudsen (station 73), and Slemdal. Note that my page about this convoy only names ships joining from Halifax, others may have joined from other ports later. Not long afterwards, Leikanger was passing Flamborough Head on the east coast of the U.K. in convoy* on Sept. 18-1941 when attacked by a German Ju 88 bomber. This appeared to have been shot down by the escorting destroyer Westminster before it could do any damage, but the convoy was attacked again that same evening and Leikanger was hit, though the bomb landed on deck without detonating and was carefully thrown overboard. About a week later Leikanger, bound for New York, joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 20, together with several other Norwegian ships. New Years Eve of 1941 was spent while in the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 61, general cargo for Cardiff.
In Febr.-1942 she's listed as bound for Portland, Maine with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 62, which left Liverpool on Febr. 1, dispersed on the 15th - please scroll down to this convoy in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. More info on all the other Norwegian ships mentioned here can be found with the help of the alphabet index at the end of this page. Related external links: See also this chronological list of
She was struck by 2 torpedoes from U-752 (Schroeter) in No. 2 and 3 holds, starboard side on July 27-1942, when on a voyage from Beirut and Table Bay to Trinidad and Baltimore in Convoy FN 20 (FN=Freetown North) with 1000 tons of chrome ore, 04N 18W. (Tony in England has told me that she had arrived at Table Bay on July 10-1942 and departed July 13, and that she had left this convoy at some point during the voyage north). On board were 29 crew and 2 British gunners. She was practically blown to bits, and the captain, 12 other Norwegians, 3 from Britain (incl. one of the gunners), 1 Canadian and 1 Danish died. The 13 survivors suddenly found themselves in the water among all the debris but managed to get on 2 rafts which floated nearby. Among the debris a crate containing signal flags proved useful, in that they used the flags as protection against the sun during the day and for warmth during the night, as they were practically naked. They were found in the evening of July 31 by the American ship S/S Harry Luckenbach, which took them to Cape Town on Aug. 12. A survivor report claims that blackout regulations were not inforced; men smoked on deck and lights were often shining from open portholes.
2nd Mate Østervold was in bed when the ship was torpedoed. He jumped up and grabbed a shirt holding his papers, having just gotten it in his hand when the second torpedo struck, causing everything in his cabin to collapse around him. He struggled to get the door open, then ran into the passage which was full of smoke, then aft to the deck and up the ladder to the boatdeck. At this time he felt the ship going straight down and tried to throw himself overboard, but got only his upper body out before he was jerked in by the sea and followed the ship down. He was under for a long time, but managed to get to the surface where he rested on some debris before swimming towards one of the rafts that had floated free, then tried to row it towards others whom he could see in the water. Another raft had also floated free and the two were tied together. With the help of whistles they were able to find and rescue all those who were in the water. The water keg on one of the rafts was broken but by careful rationing they managed well with the one keg they had, and the 2nd mate feels they could have managed another week. He estimates that there was enough food to keep them all alive for a month and a half. Once rescued, both he and the 3rd mate were extensively questioned by an American lieutenant by the last name Berg on S/S Harry Luckenbach, presumably for a report to naval authorities in Cape Town. 3rd Mate Olav Høyem was on duty on the bridge. The 2nd and 3rd mates both mention the fact that the ship should have had more people on proper lookout at all times, and that daily work on board should be secondary to this task. They had discussed this with the captain and 1st mate on several occasions. In fact, Kåre Knutsen had written to the Seamen's Union about this on behalf of the crew. The latter was at the helm at the time Leikanger was torpedoed. Ordinary Seaman Hilmar Haug was also on watch but was working on deck, which was usual during the daytime when the visbility was good (both lost their lives). The British Gunner Harry Pluck (survived) was lookout on the port side of the bridge, while the 3rd Mate had been keeping a lookout on the starboard side, but at the moment the torpedo struck he was helping 3 crew members who were working on the port side (all of whom died), so that at the time of the attack there were no lookouts on the starboard side at all. The Norwegian Able Seaman/Gunner Theodor Økland was on duty by the aft gun - this duty alternated between the 2 Norwegian gunners over a 24 hour period, while the 2 British gunners shared the watch on the bridge from 6 morning till 6 afternoon. Otherewise, there were no other lookouts. (There was a lookout "barrel" on board, but it was never used). That same morning they had been informed over the radio that a vessel had been torpedoed in Leikanger's intended course about 450 miles away, and therefore, they had had gunnery practice about 25 minutes before the torpedo struck. The 3rd mate had taken part in this. He says that when the first explosion occurred, the ship shook violently, and debris from the cargo and pieces of the ship as well as oil were flung high in the air. The Danish Galley Boy Thor Sort (died) had just happened to be on the bridge at that time, and he and Gunner Pluck immediately left the bridge, while the helmsman (K. Knutsen) remained. The 3rd mate ran into the radio room next to the wheel house to instruct the radio operator to get an SOS sent but was told the equipment did not work, so he told him to leave as quickly as he could and bring 2 lifebelts, 1 for the helmsman. At the same time the captain came up carrying a bag with the ship's papers, and at that moment the second torpedo exploded amidships beneath No. 3 hatch, causing the ship to break and go straight down. The captain, the radio operator and the helmsman ran out to starboard while the 3rd mate ran to port and was pulled down with the ship. When he surfaced he was surrounded by debris, then managed to get on one of the rafts, which in his opinion was the best rescue equipment they had on board, being as the lifeboats would not float free like the rafts would. In this case, all the lifeboats were lost. He feels there should be many more rafts on a ship. As mentioned, Able Seaman/Gunner Theodor Økland was on duty by the aft gun when the attack occured. He was in the process of cleaning the gun, ordered to do so by the 1st mate following the practice run they had just had, so he was not keeping a lookout at the time. He grabbed his lifevest which he always had with him - all crew members had one, of course, but in the tropical heat they did not wear them all the time. Gunner Gregorius Økland had also come up to the gun platform and together they ran down to the deck. Since departure Cape Town on July 13 these two had not been set to do any other work on board than keep watch by the guns. The entire foredeck was already under water so everybody who was there just threw themselves overboard. T. Økland got away from the suction and swam around for about an hour and a half in the direction of the rafts, one of which held 3-4 men who tried to maneuver the rafts so that everyone in the water could eventually be picked up. The British Cook John Mealim (possibly Mealin?) had just looked at his watch which showed 10:55 when the first torpedo hit. He saw the starboard lifeboats blow up before running to the boat deck, but the second explosion occurred while he was at the top of the ladder. He says he was blown out of his shoes, his shirt was blown off him and his glasses disappeared. He managed to get down to the main deck in a semi conscious state, and all he can remember is that his feet were in water before he left the ship. He saw the propeller pass him in the water. The cook does not believe the ship was hit in No. 2 hold but just behind the bridge; otherwise the lifeboats could not have gone like they did. He believes the second torpedo must have struck in the boiler room because he was covered with oil. He had no lifevest on, but was able to keep himself afloat on a hatch cover until he was picked up by one of the rafts, where he collapsed. This was the 5th time he had been torpedoed. Additionally, he had lost his wife, 2 children and his home in Liverpool during the blitz in Nov.-1940. On the Tobruk run his left foot had been hit by shrapnel and he was also burnt. Needless to say, with this 5th torpedo incident his nerves were more than a little frazzled. He too expresses relief that the rafts were positioned so that they floated free as the ship sank, but feels the provisions ought to include canned vegetables, because all the existing provisions in them tends to make people even more thirsty. Though the rafts had some medical supplies there were no splints, which in this case would have come in useful because the Czechoslovakian Josef Schwartz had a broken arm (he was later seen to at a hospital in Cape Town).
Related external links: Operations Information for U-752 OS & KMS Convoys - For more information on Leikanger as well as a picture of her, and some details on Harry Luckenbach go to "Convoy OS 33" in the list of links on the top of the page, then click on "other losses". Please note that Leikanger was NOT in Convoy OS 33, but U-752 was one of the 6 U-boats that had left France to rendezvous south of the Canary Islands in order to attack this convoy. Afterwards, this group of boats was dissolved (July 21-1942) and, acting independently, went on to sink another 8 ships, Leikanger being one of them. The website has more details on the others. Back to Leikanger on the "Ships starting with L" page. Other ships by this name: Westfal-Larsen had previously had another ship by this name, built in Sunderland 1916. Sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Spain on May 7-1917, voyage Baltimore-Nantes with wheat - no casulaties. Another Leikanger was delivered in Febr.-1958 (built in Japan). Sold in Jan.-1965 to Mil Tankrederi A/S, Oslo and renamed Norsk Barde. Sold in 1969 to Svend Foyn Bruuns Rederi, Tønsberg, renamed Petunia. Broken up in China in 1969. (Westfal-Larsen fleet list). 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 for cross checking info.
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