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D/S Novasli To Novasli on the "Ships starting with N" page. Owner: Skibs-A/S Novasli Built by Robert Thompson & Sons Ltd., Sunderland in 1920. Previous names: Ronalee until 1922, Maplewood until 1929. Captain: Leif Midthassel Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Novasli, carrying cotton and sulphur for Liverpool, can be found listed among the ships in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 31 on March 29-1940, 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; according to Page 1 above, she arrived Barry on May 18. Sandar and Hada County are also listed in this convoy, bound further afield. She shows up again in Convoy OB 155, originating in Liverpool on May 26-1940. This convoy joined up with Convoy OA 155 on May 29, forming the Gibraltar bound convoy OG 31, which arrived there on June 3. Novasli was bound for Malta from Barry with coal, station 56, and arrived Malta on June 10. (OG 31 will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section, but for now, see the page listing ships in all OG convoys). The external website that I've linked to further down on this page has info on the OB convoys, as well as Convoy SL 57S, in which she's listed. This convoy left Freetown on Nov. 28-1940 and arrived Liverpool Dec. 22 (her departure Freetown is given as Nov. 25 on Page 1 above). Novasli received minor damages in an air attack in Swansea, Jan. 17/18-1941. It appears these took quite some time to repair, because there's now a long gap in her voyage information on Page 1, from Dec. 23-1940, when she arrived Swansea, to March 7-1941 (unless some voyages are missing from the record). She's listed as scheduled for Convoy OB 295, which left Liverpool on March 8-1941, but she instead joined Convoy OB 296, departing Liverpool on March 10-1941, dispersed March 15. Her destination is given as South Africa. Going back to Page 1 of the archive documents, we find that she arrived Freetown on Apr. 6, having started out from Milford Haven on March 9. She later appears in station 102 of Convoy SL 73, leaving Freetown on Apr. 27-1941, arriving Liverpool on May 25; Novasli arrived Workington that same day. The following month, she's listed in Convoy OB 341, which originated in Liverpool on June 30-1941 and dispersed July 6, Novasli arriving Three Rivers on July 20, proceeding to Montreal a few days later. Again, follow the external links provided below for names of other Norwegian ships taking part in these convoys. According to Arnold Hague, she returned to the U.K. in Convoy SC 40, which left Sydney, C.B. on Aug. 10-1941 and arrived Liverpool on the 29th; Novasli stopped at Belfast Lough that day. This convoy is not available among the SC convoys included on my own website, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing below. Novasli subsequently joined the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 16 the following month, bound for Halifax, where she arrived on Oct. 4, the convoy having been dispersed on Sept. 27. Having made voyages to Montreal and Quebec, she headed back to the U.K. again on Nov. 4 in the slow Convoy SC 53 from Sydney, C.B., cargo of wheat for Mersey, later joining the westbound Convoy ON 43*, which departed Liverpool on Dec. 3-1941, but she returned to port (arrived Oban Dec. 8), and shows up again in Convoy ON 45*, originating in Liverpool on Dec. 9-1941, dispersed Dec. 16, Novasli arriving Halifax on Dec. 30 - see Page 2. She was scheduled for the slow Halifax-U.K. Convoy SC 67 at the end of Jan.-1942 (in which the Norwegian Heina was sunk), but did not sail. She was also cancelled from the next convoy, SC 68, but eventually got away with SC 69 on Febr. 10, cargo of grain for Ipswich, station 22. She returned across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 80* (from Liverpool March 27-1942, to Halifax Apr. 15), sailing back to the U.K. in Convoy SC 82 from Halifax on Apr. 30. In July she's listed, with destination Sydney, C.B., in Convoy ON 110*, which originated in Liverpool on July 6. Novasli arrived Halifax on July 22, having started out from Loch Ewe on the 6th, returning at the end of the following month in Convoy SC 98 (having been cancelled from the previous convoy, SC 97, in which Bronxville was sunk). She later joined the westbound Convoy ON 136* (departure Liverpool Oct. 3-1942, arrival New York Oct. 26; Novasli arrived Halifax Oct. 24, having joined from Loch Ewe), and in Nov.-1942 we find her in Convoy SC 111, which departed New York on Nov. 25 and arrived Liverpool Dec. 17; Novasli, cargo of lumber, joined from Halifax - again, see the link to A. Hague's listing for this convoy further down on this page. See also Page 3. In Febr.-1943 she's listed among the ships in Convoy ON 167*, which originated in Liverpool on Febr. 14 and arrived New York March 8, Novasli, however, was again bound for Halifax, where she arrived on March 6. At the end of that month she shows up in Convoy SC 125 from Halifax, and in June she's listed in the westbound Convoy ONS 10*, departing Liverpool June 8, arriving Halifax June 27. This time she was bound for St. John, N.B., where she arrived on June 29, having started out from Oban on the 9th - see Page 4. At the end of July she can be found in Convoy SC 138 from Halifax, steel and timber for London, and in Sept.-1943 she's listed in the westbound Convoy ONS 19* (from Liverpool Sept. 26, to Halifax Oct. 14; Novasli had again joined from Loch Ewe). She returned to the U.K. in Nov.-1943 with Convoy SC 147, joining from Sydney, C.B., cargo of steel and lumber for London. She now headed to another part of the world. Going back to the external website that I've linked to below, Novasli, on a voyage from Oban to Gibraltar with coal, is listed in station 25 of Convoy OS 66/KMS 40, which left Liverpool on Jan. 24-1944. However, she returned to port (Clyde, Jan. 30), later joining Convoy OS 68/KMS 42, voyage Clyde-Gibraltar in station 22. This convoy departed Liverpool on Febr. 12-1944 and split up on the 23rd, the Gibraltar bound ships arriving there on Febr. 25, while the OS convoy continued to Freetown, where it arrived March 5. Novasli was in the Gibraltar convoy, KMS 42*, and continued from Gibraltar to Augusta with this convoy. In Apr.-1944, she's included in Convoy SL 155/MKS 46. The SL convoy had started out from Freetown on Apr. 11, joined up with the MKS convoy from Gibraltar on the 23rd, and arrived Liverpool on May 3. Novasli was in the MKS convoy*, and arrived Workington on May 4, according to Page 5. She also sailed in OS 83/KMS 57, which had departed Liverpool July 12-1944. She was on a voyage from Belfast for Gibraltar with coal, sailing in station 22 of the convoy. It had split up on July 23, with the majority of the ships, the Gibraltar portion, arriving there on July 25 (this also included the Norwegian Astrid and Bestik), while the rest went to Freetown with arrival Aug. 3. Novasli continued from Gibraltar to Augusta, still in Convoy KMS 57*, and arrived Augusta (via Bizerta July 30/31) on Aug. 2. In Sept.-1944 she made a voyage from Augusta to Gibraltar, having joined Convoy MKS 60*, which arrived Gibraltar from Port Said on Sept. 7. Novasli had sailed from Augusta on Sept. 1, arrived Algiers Sept. 5, leaving again for Gibraltar that same day. She subsequently returned to the U.K. with Convoy SL 170/MKS 61. The SL portion of this convoy left Freetown on Sept. 8-1944, joined up with the MKS portion from Gibraltar on Sept. 18, and arrived Liverpool on Sept. 26. Voyage information for Novasli is given as Casablanca-Ipswich, cargo of phosphates. As will be seen when going back to Page 5 of the archive documents, she had left Casablanca on Sept. 18, arrived Ipswich on the 30th. Belnor, Somerville and Sophocles also took part in this convoy, Belnor having joined from Gibraltar with the MKS portion, while the others were in the SL convoy. 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, KMS portion*, in which Novasli took part, arrived Gibraltar Nov. 13). According to A. Hague, she returned in the MKS portion of Convoy SL 177/MKS 68. The SL convoy had left Freetown on Nov. 15-1944, joined up with the MKS convoy from Gibraltar on the 26th, and arrived Liverpool on Dec. 5; Novasli arrived Ardrossan Dec. 4. Again, refer to the external links below for more convoy information. See also Page 6. At the end of that year we find her in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ONS 39*, which originated in Liverpool on Dec. 28-1944 and arrived Halifax Jan. 13-1945; Novasli arrived Philadelphia on Jan. 17, having sailed from Clyde on Dec. 28. As will be seen, her return voyage to the U.K. proved to be her last. Please follow the instructions provided at the external link below for convoy voyages, made in between those mentioned here, and compare these to the voyages found on the various archive documents.
Related external links: See also this chronological
Novasli had taken on board 1123 standards of lumber in Philadelphia, before leaving for Boston and Halifax on Febr. 4-1945 (this according to Page 6 of the archive documents; another source says she left Philadelphia on Febr. 7), arriving Halifax on Febr. 13. She departed Halifax again on Febr. 16 for Swansea Bay and London in Convoy SC 167, station 31 (A. Hague has her in station 54 - see his listing for SC 167, external link). She had reached St. Georges Channel on March 2, 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 aft section sank deeper and deeper, until around 18:00 that evening (9 hours after the explosion had occurred), 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 HMS 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 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 uboat.net. Consequently, no report by this U-boat on the sinking of the 2 ships is available.
Related external links: Back to Novasli 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. as named within the text above - (ref. My sources).
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