D/S Norlom

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

Crew List


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

Some Voyages:

(More will be added).

Norlom spent Christmas of 1942 in Convoy HX 219, which originated in New York on Dec. 13, but Norlom joined the 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, and in Sept. that same year we find her in the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 142, cargo of sugar for Liverpool.

Final Fate - 1943:

In Oct./Nov.-1943 Norlom is listed as being in Convoy OS 57/KMS 31, voyaging from Liverpool to Italy in station 53, carrying trucks and coal. See the second external website that I've linked to at the end of this page for more convoy information. On December 2-1943 she was 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. 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 launch 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, Bolsta 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".

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.

OS and OS/KMS Convoys - This website lists all the ships in quite a few of these convoys, along with their convoy stations and info on their destination. As can be seen, Norlom is listed in Convoy OS 57/KMS 31, as are a number of other Norwegian ships.

6 Norwegians - This site (memorial in Stavern, Norway) 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).