D/S Novasli - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Owner: Skibs-A/S Novasli
Manager: Jens Samuelsen, Farsund
Tonnage: 3204 gt, 1973 net, 5408 tdwt
Signal Letters: SLSN

Built by Robert Thompson & Sons Ltd., Sunderland in 1920. Previous names: Ronalee until 1922, Maplewood until 1929.

Captain: Leif Midthassel

Some War Voyages:

Novasli, carrying a cargo of cotton and sulphur for Liverpool, can be found listed among the ships in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 31 in March/Apr.-1940, station 24. The following month she briefly sailed in Convoy OB 149, departing Liverpool on May 16-1940. Her voyage information is given as Liverpool-Cardiff, and she had station 43 of the convoy. Sandar and Hada County are also listed, bound further afield. She shows up again in Convoy OB 155G, leaving Liverpool on May 26-1940. This convoy joined up with Convoy OA 155G on May 29, forming the Gibraltar convoy OG 31, which arrived there on June 3. Novasli was bound for Malta from Barry with a cargo of coal, station 56. The external websites that I've linked to at the end of this page have info on the OB convoys.

Received minor damages in an air attack in Swansea Jan. 17/18-1941.

At the external website that I've linked to below she's listed as scheduled for Convoy OB 295, which left Liverpool on March 8-1941, but she did not join. The same website has her in station 102 of Convoy SL 73, leaving Freetown on Apr. 27-1941, arrived Liverpool on May 25. Follow the link for names of other Norwegian ships taking part.

Novasli joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 16 in Sept.-1941, and early in Nov.-1941 she sailed in the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 53, cargo of wheat for Mersey.

At the end of Jan.-1942 she was scheduled for the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 67 in which the Norwegian Heina was sunk, but did not sail. She also cancelled from the next convoy, SC 68, but eventually got away with SC 69 in Febr.-1942, cargo of grain for Ipswich, station 22. She's also listed in Convoy SC 82 in Apr. that year, and in Convoy SC 98 in Aug. (having cancelled from the previous convoy, SC 97).

In March-1943 she shows up in Convoy SC 125 from Halifax, in July-1943 she can be found in Convoy SC 138, and in Nov. that year she's listed in Convoy SC 147, joining from Sydney, C.B., cargo of steel and lumber for London.

Going back to the external link below, Novasli is listed in Convoy OS 66/KMS 40 in Jan./Febr.-1944, voyaging from Oban to Gibraltar with coal in station 25. The same website also lists her in Convoy OS 68/KMS 42, voyage Clyde-Gibraltar in station 22, and I don't think she could have sailed in both(?), so it's possible she cancelled from the former(?). Follow the link for convoy information.

Novasli also sailed in OS 83/KMS 57 which departed Liverpool July 12-1944. She was on a voyage from Belfast for Gibraltar with coal, sailing in station 22 of the convoy. The convoy had split up on July 23, with the majority of the ships, the Gibraltar portion, arriving there on July 25 (this included the Norwegian Astrid and Bestik), while the rest went to Freetown with arrival Aug. 3. Novasli returned to the U.K. the following month with Convoy SL 170 / MKS 61. The SL portion of this convoy left Freetown on Sept. 8-1944, then joined up with the MKS portion from Gibraltar on Sept. 18, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Sept. 26. Voyage information for Novasli is given as Casablanca-Ipswich, cargo of phosphates. Belnor, Somerville and Sophocles also took part in this convoy, Belnor having joined from Gibraltar with the MKS portion, while the others had started out from Freetown. In Nov.-1944 we find her in Convoy OS 94/KMS 68, voyage Milford-Gibraltar with coal in station 21 (convoy departed Liverpool on Nov. 3, arrived Gibraltar Nov. 13). Again, refer to the external link below.

All the KMS and MKS convoys mentioned on this page will also be added to my own Convoys section. Information on all the westbound North Atlantic convoy voyages she made in between the eastbound (HX and SC) voyages mentioned above will also be added (ON and ONS convoys).

Related external links:
SL convoys and OS/KMS Convoys - As can be seen, Novasli is listed in the SL and OS convoys mentioned in my text above, as are many other Norwegian ships. The site also has a section on the OB convoys

Final Fate - 1945:

Novasli had taken on board 1123 standards of lumber in Philadelphia, before leaving for Halifax on Febr. 7-1945, arriving Febr. 14. Departed Halifax on Febr. 16 for Swansea Bay and London in Convoy SC 167, station 31. On March 2 she had reached St. Georges Channel, and was just off Milford Haven when she was torpedoed in the stern by (possibly) U-1302 (Herwatz), 52 04N 05 42W*. The rudder and propeller were blown away, she had a crack behind midships on both sides from the gunwhale and as far down as they could see, with an opening of about 1' wide from the rail and down, and water gushed into the engine room. It took the 1st engineer only a few minutes to run down and stop the engine, and there was already about 8-10' of water in No. 4 hold.

3 lifeboats were sent away from the ship while the captain, the 1st mate, the radio operator, steward and mess boy remained on board, and that afternoon she was taken in tow. However, the water kept rising in the engine room and hold and the after section sank deeper and deeper, until around 18:00 that evening (9 hours after the explosion had ccurred), the engine room and boiler room were full of water and the sea was washing over the midships deck. Consequently, those who were left on board also abandoned ship in a lifeboat that was tied alongside. About an hour later what was left of her was seen to be on fire.

The survivors were picked up by the trawler Helier II (FY-312), which shelled and depth charged the wreck, and by midnight she was gone. Novasli's crew were landed in Milford Haven in the early morning hours of March 3. An inquiry was held in Cardiff on March 8-1945 with the captain, the 1st and 3rd mates, the 1st engineer, and Able Seaman Båtnes (helmsman) appearing.

The British ship King Edgar was also in this convoy and believed torpedoed by the same U-boat. One of my Norwegian sources says U-1302 was sunk on March 7, and this corresponds with what is found on U-boat Net. Consequently, no report by this U-boat on the sinking of the 2 ships is available.