D/S Norse King
Updated Jan. 30-2009

To Norse King on the "Ships starting with N" page.

See also Norsek King - Page 2

Crew List

Some Convoy Voyages:

(More will be added).

Norse King rescued 4 men from a lifeboat from the British S/S Bradfyne from Convoy SC 11 on Nov. 25-1940 and took them to Belfast (see also Bruse and Salonica). Note that Norse King was not herself in Convoy SC 11, but is listed as sailing in Convoy SL 54, which arrived Liverpool on Nov. 26, having departed Freetown on Nov. 4. Norse King arrived Belfast Lough on Nov. 27, cargo of wheat. The external website that I've linked to below has more info on this convoy, in which the Norwegian Evita and Lincoln Ellsworth also took part.

The same website lists her as bound for Halifax in Convoy OB 295, which left Liverpool on March 8-1941 and dispersed on the 14th, Norse King arriving Halifax on March 27. She headed back to the U.K. on Apr. 19 with the slow Convoy SC 29, from Halifax, cargo of pig iron and scrap iron for Hull, station 52 - escorts' reports are also available for this convoy. In June that same year, she's listed in Convoy OG 64, originating in Liverpool on June 4. This was a Gibraltar bound convoy, which arrived there on June 18, but Norse King was bound for Sydney, C.B., so would have left the convoy at some point in order to proceed to that destination, where she arrived June 19 (having started out from Oban on June 5, according to Page 1). OG 64 will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section; in the meantime, see the page listing ships in all OG convoys.

In Aug.-1941 we find her in station 15 of Convoy HX 144, along with the Norwegian Polartank (station 95), Orwell (54), Hallanger (53), Eidanger (83), Havprins (82), Grena (73), Evanger (84), Suderøy (63), Vinland (66) and Sommerstad (in station 93, all listed on this website). Norse King returned to the U.S. the following month with the westbound Convoy ON 19, bound for New York, where she arrived on Oct. 13, the convoy having been dispersed on Oct. 7, and in Nov.-1941 she shows up in the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 54, general cargo for Hull. See also Page 2.

In Jan.-1942 she joined the westbound Convoy ON 53*, which left Liverpool on Jan. 2 and dispersed on the 19th, Norse King arriving Halifax on Jan. 25 (she had joined from Loch Ewe). The following month she's listed among the ships in Convoy SC 71 from Halifax, bound for Leith and Hull with a general cargo, arriving Leith (via Loch Ewe) on March 13. She's also included in the westbound Convoy ON 102*, departing Liverpool June 9-1942, arriving Halifax on the 25th. Norse King, however, was bound for Hampton Roads, where she arrived (via New York) on July 2, having again joined from Loch Ewe.

Norse King collided with the Dutch freighter Ferdinand Bol on July 29-1942, while in Convoy HS 35 from Halifax to Sydney, C.B. (both ships were scheduled to join Convoy SC 94 from Sydney, C.B. to the U.K.). More details on this collision are available on this page. According to Page 3, Norse King did not leave Sydney again until Aug. 23, so may have been undergoing some repairs. She shows up again in Convoy SC 99 from Halifax on Sept. 5, and arrived Belfast Lough on Sept. 20 (having been cancelled from Convoy SC 97).

Related external link
SL Convoys - There's also a section on the OB convoys. As will be seen, Norse King is listed in Convoy SL 54 and OB 295. Note also that by going to this section of the site (based on Arnold Hague's database) and clicking on "Ship Search" on the left hand side, using "Norse King" as keywords, several convoys that are not mentioned in the above narrative will come up.

Final Fate - 1942:

Norse King left Belfast in convoy Convoy ON 154 on Dec. 19-1942 with a cargo of 5400 tons coal for Boston. The convoy consisted of 45 (49?) ships escorted by a Canadian destroyer and 5 corvettes. ON 154, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 18-1942 and arrived New York Jan. 12-1943, will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section, but for now, the ships sailing in it are named on this page. See also the external links provided at the end of this page. One of the responses to a query I posted to my Ship Forum states that Norse King had left Swansea Dec. 14-1942, arrived Milford Haven the next day, departed on the 17th for Belfast Lough where she arrived the following day, then left that same day for Boston (again, see also Page 3).

More than 20 U-boats assembled for attack. Between Dec. 27th and 29th a great number of ships went down and 1 U-boat (U-356) was sunk. According to the book "Ravnefjell", written by the mate/radio operator on that ship, Peder Kr. Nilsen, Norse King had been ordered to take on the role of rescue ship, after the designated rescue vessel Toward had taken on board as many as 164 survivors from the various torpedoed ships, and for safety reasons was ordered by the Commodore to refrain from further rescue work (probably on Dec. 27); see also my text under Ravnefjell and Fana.

Norse King was herself hit in the evening of the 28th by a torpedo from U-591 (Zetzsche), and damaged in position 43 27N 27 15W. The crew was rescued by the escort, which stayed close to the ship, and when it appeared to be repairable the crew rowed on board again, started the engine and headed for the Azores. D/S Veni indicated the next morning that she had seen Norse King in position 43 35 (25?)N 27 18W with a speed of 6 knots and her boats swung out. That was the last seen of her and her crew (some sources say 38 were on board, others 35). One of my Norwegian sources says that German reports state that Norse King was torpedoed again that same day (Dec. 29) by U-435 (Strelow), and then shelled. These reports say nothing about the Norwegian crew, and the U-boat also went down half a year later. (Here is a response to a query I posted on Uboat.net's forum - external link).

Arnold Hague (The Allied Convoy System) claims that Norse King was torpedoed and sunk by U 225 and U-435 on Dec. 29, while Rohwer agrees with the U-boats and dates in my text above. Rohwer lists the Norwegian Ingerfem among stragglers from ONS 154, this is incorrect; she was in Convoy ONS 156, or ON 156 to be correct. Technically the term ONS is incorrect, it should be ON 154, as the ONS series didn't start until March-1943 (with ONS 1), but the slower convoys were often referred to as ONS before that time.

If the statement that Norse King was assigned as rescue ship is correct, I'm wondering whether she also might have had some rescued seamen from other vessels on board at the time she was sunk? This might explain the differing numbers found in various sources. The Stavern Memorial has 30 Norwegians listed, Barbara Mumford (see the link below) lists 37 all total, and she has also received a list that originated from the Norwegian State Archives with a total of 35 names, all crew (28 Norwegians, the rest of other nationality).

Crew List - No survivors:
From Barbara & Gordon Mumford's website. Part of her list came from the Stavern Memorial. I have since compared it to what can be found in "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I, and adjusted the names accordingly. These men were Norwegian, unless otherwise noted.

Casualties
† Captain Lorentz Tvedt	† 1st Mate Konrad Næss	† 2nd Mate Kim Schrøder	† 3rd Mate Svein Bottolfsen	† Radio Operator Robert Hugh Squier* (Essex, England age 25)	† Radio Operator Knut K. Abrahamsen
† Boatswain Bjarne Sundfær (Sundfør?)	† Carpenter Hans H. Lande (Landa?)	† Able Seaman Tor M.P. Søreng	† Able Seaman Erik Johansen (Marstal, Denmark)	† Able Seaman Henry J. Olsen	† Able Seaman Gustav Larsen
† Able Seaman Torleif Steen	† Able Seaman Jonny Pettersen	† Able Seaman Frederick Valentine Sutcliffe* (Chiswick, England age 24)	† Able Seaman Svein Røvik	† Ordinary Seaman Johannes Hemmingstad	† Ordinary Seaman Terrence Forde * Tredegar, Wales [or Somerset?] age 22)
† Ordinary Seaman Alf Holnes	† 1st Engineer Harald Bjørnstad	† 2nd Engineer Håvard Hansen	† 3rd Engineer Olav O. Klepp	† Donkeyman Tønnes P. Meling	† Stoker Ingar Gullsten (listed as Steward at Stavern)
† Stoker Olav Jacobsen	† Stoker Halvor Skau	† Oiler Karl Ivar Delingsrud	† Oiler Leif Steinsund	† Oiler Lars P. Thomassen	† Oiler Gustav Norenes
† Oiler Bjørn Olsen	† Steward Hilmar Helland	† Cook Kaare M. Jensen	† Galley Boy Douglas Frederick Barnes * London - age 16)	† Messboy Walter S. May * (British - age 16)	† Saloonboy Russel Barry * (Plymouth, England age 18)
† Gunner Kenneth V. J. Deacon * (British - Age 22)

Related external links
Stavern Memorial commemorations - 30 Norwegians are commemorated at this memorial for seamen in Stavern, Norway.

ONS 154 Memorials - Names of those lost from the ships in this convoy, incl. Norse King, a section of Barbara & Gordon Mumford's website Battle of the Atlantic - Convoy ONS 154 which describes the battle in great detail. This list also has the next of kin of the casualties and info on memorials.

ONS-154, 26-30 Dec 1942
U-591
U-435 | Siegfried Strelow

There's a book about ONS 154 entitled "The convoy that nearly died" by Henry Revely - available from amazon.com among others.

Back to Norse King 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", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, and misc. others for cross checking facts as named within the above text - ref. Sources/Books.