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D/T Marit II To Marit II on the "Ships starting with M" page. Manager: Jørgen P. Jensen, Arendal Built in Newcastle upon Tyne 1922. Previous name: Scottish Strath until 1937. Captain: Herman Williamson.
Marit II took part in Convoy OS 12 which departed Liverpool on Nov. 18-1941 and arrived Freetown on Dec. 12. She was on a voyage Milford-Aruba in ballast and sailed in station 96 of the convoy. The Norwegian Belnor and Santos also sailed in this convoy, which can be found at the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this text.
Marit II, with a cargo of fuel oil, was one of many Norwegian ships in Convoy HX 202, which arrived Liverpool on Aug. 21-1942, and on Sept. 4 she joined Convoy ON 127 to head back across the Atlantic, voyage London-New York-Curacao. This convoy, which also had several Norwegian ships (many of which had also previously arrived England with HX 202), was heavily attacked and the Norwegian Hindanger and Sveve were sunk in the course of the battle, while Daghild and Fjordaas were damaged. On Sept. 11, U-404* (von Bülow) sent off two torpedoes, and at the same time U-608 (Struckmeier) also attacked. Both reported having hit Marit II, but only one torpedo had hit her. She was sailing at a speed of 8 knots on course 240° at the time, in fine weather with a calm sea and good visibility, wind southwest force 3. The captain saw the track of the torpedo just before it hit, coming 45° on the starboard quarter, but there was no time for any evasive action, and she was struck on the starboard side in tank No. 8. Her engine was stopped and the crew ordered to their lifeboat stations. Upon inspection, tanks No. 6, 7, 8, and 9 as well as the pumproom were found to be extensively damaged. The deck was broken up and the foremast and both aerials destroyed. However, there was no damage to the engine and steering gear, so the captain decided to continue at utmost speed about half an hour later, steering different courses during the night in an attempt to avoid further attacks. She caught up with the convoy on Sept. 12 and reached port on the 18th (St. John's for examination, later routed to Sydney C.B. f. o.). She was repaired in New York and subsequently continued her service.
In Jan.-1944 Marit II sailed in Convoy HX 276 from New York; destination London, and in Apr. that year we find her in Convoy HX 287. At the end of the following month she joined Convoy HX 293, and that fall, in Aug.-1944 she's listed as sailing in Convoy HX 305, bound for Clyde and Ardrossan. In Oct. she shows up in Convoy HX 312, destination Swansea and London (Shellhaven). In Dec. that same year she was scheduled for Convoy HX 326, but was instead sent to join the slower Convoy SC 163, transferring to this convoy at sea. She must have gone straight back across the ocean, because in Jan.-1945 she's listed in the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 334, bound for Clyde and Ardrossan.
On a voyage with a cargo of oil from Curacao to New York when on September 13th, 1946, she was caught in a hurricane, broke in 2 and sank in 35 09N 73 34W. 18 survivors in a boat were picked up by the tanker Pan Amoco and another 6 by the tanker Gulfhawk, but the captain, his wife and 10 crew were lost. Related external links: 2 who died on this ship - Deckboy Reidar Hansen and Steward Mikal Isaksen are commemorated (no details on how or when). Back to Marit II on the "Ships starting with M" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: Misc. sources, including E-mail from Roger W. Jordan, England and from T. Cooper, England - and others as named within the above text.
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