M/T O. B. Sørensen - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

M/T O. B. Sørensen
Updated Febr. 8-2009

To O. B. Sørensen on the "Ships starting with O" page.

Source: Roger W. Jordan collection.

Manager: S. H. Smith Sørensen, Arendal
Tonnage: 7919 gt

Built in Malmö, Sweden 1931.

Captain: Jens Morthensen.

Related items on this website:
Guestbook message from the daughter of Norman Arthur Croton, who served on this ship in 1943.
The Norwegian version of my Warsailor Stories section has a story by Gunnar W. Bakke, who served on O.B. Sørensen during the war, among several other ships (text is in Norwegian).
Guestbook message from someone whose father served on this ship (and others).
Warsailor Stories (the first story on that page) has the personal story of someone whose brother was on board O. B. Sørensen at some point in the war (there's also a link to the original, Norwegian version of the story). While there are no details on this ship, it's an interesting story about 5 brothers and a sister who served outside of Norway during the war; the brothers on 17 different ships altogether. Another sister was involved in "illegal" activities in Norway, as was the father.

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5

Some Convoy Voyages:

Please follow the links provided for more information on the convoys mentioned here - most of them also have the Commodore's notes.

As will be seen when going to Page 1 above, O. B. Sørensen was en route from Shanghai to Miri when Norway was invaded by the Germans on Apr. 9-1940.

She was in service between Haifa and Alexandria through the winter of 1941/42, making several trips back and forth, carrying petroleum. From Dec.-1942 she was in service in the Atlantic, carrying depth charges for the escorts, as well as acting as oiler. She eventually covered 270 000 miles, transporting 450 000 tons cargo.

By following the instructions provided at the external link at the end of this page, convoy information for some of the voyages made in between those mentioned here will come up; compare these to the details found on the various archive documents.

Arnold Hague has included her in the eastbound North Atlantic Convoy SC 113, which left New York on Dec. 12-1942 and arrived Liverpool on Jan. 2-1943; O. B. Sørensen arrived Avonmouth that day, according to Page 3. This convoy is not available on my own site, but I've linked directly to Hague's listing at the end of this page. Later that month she's listed as bound for New York in station 63 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 161, originating in Liverpool on Jan. 12-1943. According to A. Hague, she returned in Convoy HX 230, departing New York on March 18-1943, arriving Liverpool on Apr. 2. This convoy is not available among the HX convoys on my own site, but again, see the external link at the end of this page. She subsequently headed back across the Atlantic with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 178*, which originated in Liverpool on Apr. 12 and arrived New York, her destination on that occasion, on May 2 (she had joined from Clyde). Just a few days later she was one of several Norwegian ships joining Convoy HX 238 from New York, bound for Stanlow with gas oil in station 43.

At the beginning of June we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 187*, departing Liverpool on June 1, arriving New York on the 15th, and later that month she returned to the U.K. in Convoy HX 245, bound for Avonmouth with a cargo of aviation fuel, station 105 - see also Page 4. She now appears in the westbound Convoy ON 193*, which originated in Liverpool on July 16 and arrived New York, her destination at that time, on the 31st. On Aug. 7 that same year she left New York with Convoy HX 251, cargo of gas oil for Avonmouth, station 135, again in the company of several other Norwegian ships. She returned with the westbound Convoy ON 200*, which originated in Liverpool on Sept. 2 an arrived New York on Sept. 18. From the U.S., she now made a voyage to Gibraltar, having joined Convoy UGS 19, which left Hampton Roads on Sept. 25-1943. O. B. Sørensen arrived Gibraltar on Oct. 12, then headed back to the U.S. on Oct. 19 in Convoy GUS 18, and arrived New York Nov. 6. Links to both these convoys have been provided at the end of this page.

The following spring, she was in Convoy HX 291, which included several other Norwegian vessels, among them Heranger, Høyanger (Vice Commodore ship), Vav, Para, Villanger, Stirlingville, Minerva, Velox, and others. This convoy departed New York on May 10 and arrived Liverpool on the 27th; O. B. Sørensen's destination is given as Clyde, where she arrived on the 26th. At the beginning of June she joined the westbound Convoy ON 239*, which originated in Liverpool on June 3 and arrived New York on the 22nd, and just 2 days later we find her in Convoy HX 297 from New York, again bound for Clyde, where she arrived July 10. She subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 245*, originating in Liverpool on July 18-1944, arriving New York on Aug. 2.

She now made voyages to Guantanamo, Curacao, Brisbane etc. - again, see Page 4, as well as Page 5.

* All the ON 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 are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. As will be seen, several Norwegian ships sailed in all of them.

POST WAR:

Sold in 1951 and renamed Vikinga. Laid up at Naples from Jan. 10-1962. Sold in Oct.-1962 by Fratelli D'Amico, Italy, to breakers at Spezia, where she arrived on April 9-1963.

Related external link:
Misc. convoys - Based on Arnold Hague's database. By clicking on "Ship Search", using "Sorensen" as keyword, a few convoys that are not mentioned in the above narrative will come up - Here are SC 113, HX 230, UGS 19 and GUS 18, all mentioned in my text.