D/S Norlom
Updated Jan. 28-2009

To Norlom on the "Ships starting with N" page.

Crew List


Source: Markus Berger (see Swiss Ships - external link).

Some Convoy Voyages:

(More will be added).

It looks like the information at the beginning of Page 1 above shows her voyages while still Empire Dunlin. In fact, she had arrived the U.K. under that name with Convoy SC 98, which had left Halifax on Aug. 29-1942 and arrived Liverpool Sept. 13; Empire Dunlin arrived Hull (via Loch Ewe Sept. 12) on Sept. 18. As already mentioned above, she was taken over by Nortraship at Hull on Oct 1-1942 and renamed Norlom.

Norlom is listed in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 144*, departing Liverpool on Nov. 7-1942, arriving New York on the 27th. Norlom, however, was bound for Halifax, where she arrived Nov. 25, having started out from Oban on the 8th. She spent Christmas of 1942 in Convoy HX 219, which originated in New York on Dec. 13, but Norlom joined this convoy from Halifax on the 16th. She had a general cargo for Tyne.

In Febr.-1943 she's listed in the westbound Convoy ON 165; the Commodore's narrative is also available. According to the Commodore, Norlom was among the ships joining the convoy from Iceland on Febr. 8, but but according to Page 1, she started out from Loch Ewe on Febr. 2. ON 165 arrived New York on March 1, however, the same archive document indicates she put into St. John's on Febr. 23, proceeding to Halifax on Apr. 24, with arrival Apr. 27 (she's listed in Convoy JH 50 for this voyage - ref. external link below). In June we find her in station 42 of the slow Convoy SC 133, which left Halifax on June 5 and arrived Liverpool on the 19th; Norlom stopped at Loch Ewe on the 18th. She later joined the westbound Convoy ON 193*, departing Liverpool on July 16, arriving New York on the 31st (Norlom had sailed from Oban on July 15). Note that she's also listed, with destination New York, in Convoy ONS 13*, departing Liverpool on July 14-1943, arriving Halifax on the 29th - she could not have been in both, unless she started out in one and transferred to the other. According to Page 1 and Page 2, she now made voyages to Guantanamo, La Romana, Macoris, Key West, back to New York then on to Boston, before heading to Halifax, where she on Sept. 15-1943 joined Convoy SC 142, cargo of sugar for Liverpool. (Convoy information for the above mentioned voyages is available by following the instructions at the external link below).

In Oct./Nov.-1943 Norlom is listed in Convoy OS 57/KMS 31, voyaging from Liverpool to Italy in station 53, carrying trucks and coal. This convoy left Liverpool on Oct 27 and split up Nov. 9, the Gibraltar bound ships arriving there on Nov. 10, while the OS convoy continued to Freetown, with arrival Nov. 19. See the external website that I've linked to below for more convoy information. The Gibraltar portion, KMS 31, will also be added to my own website, but for now, the ships sailing in it are named on this page. This convoy continued from Gibraltar on Nov. 10, arriving Port Said on the 21st; Norlom proceeded to Augusta with this convoy. She left Augusta again on Nov. 17 (listed in Convoy AH 9), arriving Taranto the next day, then continued to Bari on Nov. 24, where she arrived Nov. 25.

* The ON and ONS convoys mentioned here are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys and the page for ships in all ONS convoys.

Related external links:
OS/KMS Convoys - As can be seen, Norlom is listed in Convoy OS 57/KMS 31, as are a number of other Norwegian ships. Note also that by going to this section of the same site and clicking on "Ship Search", using "Norlom" as keyword, several convoys that are not mentioned in the above narrative will come up. Here are JH 50 and AH 9, both mentioned in my text.

The attack on Convoy KMS 31

Final Fate - 1943:

On December 2-1943 she was still in Bari, where several tankers, ammunition ships and supply vessels were at anchor with much needed supplies for the allied armies for their advance up the Italian mainland. The Liberty ship John Harvey (captain Knowles) had a cargo of liquid mustard gas bombs, (in case the enemy should resort to chemical warfare) and was guarded by a unit of the 701st Chemical Maintenance Company. In addition to Norlom, which had not yet unloaded her cargo of coal, the Norwegian Bollsta, Vest, Lom and Salamis were present (see also my text for Hermelin). About 20 enemy aircraft attacked and one of the ammunition ships was hit and blew up (John L. Motley), starting the domino effect of events, with one ship after another catching on fire. The end result was thousands of deaths, many injured and suffering from the effects of the mustard gas. At least 17 ships were sunk. The external websites that I've linked to below will have more information - see also the link to Bollsta, where a list of ships sunk and/or damaged is available.

2nd Mate Oddmund Hjelde on Norlom reported that he was left on board with the captain and 1st Mate Einar Hansen. He himself had started to experience terrible eye pain by then from the mustard gas, flames were everywhere, on board as well as on the water. He had a flash light in his hands and signalled an S.O.S. in the direction he assumed land to be, and his signal was seen. A military rescue came out and got all 3 of them ashore. 3rd Mate Lars Nilsen, 4th Engineer Agnar Gustavsen and a British gunner had been killed, the captain died at a hospital in Bari a couple of days later, the 1st mate died Dec. 14.

From George Southern, who has written a book about the Bari incident entitled "Poisonous Inferno", I've received the following:
"British Radio Officer Ian Peyman (name given as Fredrick Peyman in the crew list) serving aboard D/S Norlom when in Bari 2 Dec 1943 was watching the Norlom's gunners playing cards in the mess. When the raid began he followed the others onto the upper deck where he was knocked unconcious and regained his senses to realise he was on a small raft in the harbour. Alongside him was his cabin mate, Radio Operator Halvor Stensrud. The crew of a motor launch had pulled both men onto the raft with the intention of towing it to safety.

He asked Halvor if he was all right and he replied he was although Ian says 'we were both too much in shock to know how injured we were'. Of those moments Ian says 'All hell was going on in the harbour, fires on the water and shrapnel falling all over, and when the launch started off to take the raft in tow, perhaps a shade too quickly, both of us having nothing to hold on to, when the raft tipped we were both thrown into the water again'. Ian managed to keep afloat until the launch picked him up once more. I must have passed out again for I do not remember being hauled into either boat or the raft'. His shipmate Halvor Stenrud was never seen again".

George Southern adds:
"This is just one short account in addition to many others of survivors from many ships and participants of the raid in my book "Poisonous Inferno", the only published book researched and written by a survivor. At the time, I was serving aboard HMS Zetland, a Hunt class destroyer berthed adjacent to the Lom, Bollsta and the Norlom when the attack began. I was knocked unconcious but recovered to take part all night long in rescue, firefighting on abandoned vessels and also salvage on four other abandoned ships".

George has since told me that he received the news at the end of Dec.-2008 that Ian Peyman had passed away.

Crew List:

Survivors
2nd Mate Oddmund Hjelde **	Radio Operator Michael Killian ** (British)	Radio Operator Halvor Stensrud ** *	Radio Operator Fredrick Peyman ** (British)	Carpenter Arne Sørensen **	Boatswain Bjarne Meland *
Able Seaman Olv Brattaker *	Able Seaman Anton Halvorsen *	Able Seaman Ivar Jensen **	Able Seaman Bjørn Swan *	Able Seaman Jens Jensen *	Able Seaman Anders Rød *
Able Seaman Olav Rasmussen *	Able Seaman Hans Haug **	Able Seaman Odd Natvig **	1st Engineer Ernst Lindestrand	2nd Engineer Petter Schmedling	3rd Engineer Ernst Borge
Donkeyman Fritz Olsen *	Donkeyman Henning Helmersen *	Stoker Ole Johansen *	Stoker Johannes Fivesdal **	Stoker Algot Olsen **	Oiler * Anton Jaastad
Oiler Olav Ness *	Engine Boy Joseph de Goias ** (British?)	Engine Boy Michael Higgins ** (British)	Steward Gunnar Grimen **	Cook Finn Olsen *	2nd Cook Allan Ekdahl * (Swedish)
Mess Boy But Leung ** (Chinese)	Mess Boy Miguel Flaquer ** (Dom. Republic)	Gunner Ernest Birch (British)	Gunner Charles Cummings (British)	Gunner Alexander Cook (British)	Gunner Leslie Cunningham (British)
Gunner Eric Blakey (British)
Casualties
† Captain Jacob Ø. Samuelsen (Died in hospital?)	† 1st Mate Einar Hansen ** (Died Dec. 14)	† 3rd Mate Lars Nilsen	† 4th Engineer Agnar Gustavsen	† Gunner Robert Anderson (British)

POST WAR:

Refloated in Nov. 1946 and broken up at Bari in 1947.

Related external links:
The Empire Ships - On the "Mariners" website. Empire Dunlin can be found on this page.

Stavern Memorial commemorations - This site says that 4 died on board, 1 in hospital and 1 man died after the war due to the effects of the mustard gas, possibly Radio Operator Halvor Jæger Stensrød(?) who is included among those commemorated here. Oddmund Hjelde is also listed among the casualties, but I believe he was still around in the 1970's. (A search for Anton Jaastad gives no results - I've tried several spellings, Jåstad, Gjørstad, Gjorstad, Gjostad etc.).

Raid on Bari - 3 pages detailing the events.
Tragedy at Bari - Describes what happened to some of the ships (Naval Historical Center).
Bari Italy - This page has tables showing the names of US Navy personnel in the Harbor at Bari during the attack, as well as Chapt. 6 | Chapt. 7 | Chapt. 8 | Chapt. 9 | Chapt. 10 of the book."Disaster at Bari" by Glen Infield. It's a section of the website "US Navy Armed Guard".
Mustard gas

S/S Norlom - Technical data (Darren Dypevåg)

Back to Norlom on the "Ships starting with N" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume II, and misc. (ref. My sources).