M/S Reinholt - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Owner: Ivarans Rederi A/S
Manager: S. Holter-Sørensen, Oslo
Tonnage: 4801 gt (4799 gt?)
Signal Letters: LKFK

Built in Malmö, Sweden 1939.

Captain: Hans Nilsen.

Some others are named within the text below.

A Frightening Moment - 1942:

Shelled continuously for 20 minutes by U-752 (Schroeter) on Apr. 23-1942, when on a voyage from Santos, Brazil to New York with a cargo of hides, having departed Santos on Apr. 6, according to the captain's report which gives the position for the attack as 39 28N 72 16W*. She was on a course 303° true, sailing at a speed of 12 knots, in calm seas with no wind, fair visibility, slight fog on surface of the water. "Nortraships flåte" states that earlier that morning, when about 70 n. miles southeast of Ambrose Light Vessel, 3rd Mate Thorvald Knudsen had observed a light signal and had awakened the captain, who then ordered a zig-zag course. About three and a half hours later, at 05:20, the mate on duty spotted an object off the port side and noticed that a U-boat was about to surface. Shortly thereafter the first shell was fired, falling short of the ship. The shelling continued, killing boatswain John Sætre, injuring Radio Operator Hans Mortensen and Carpenter Karl Innstrøm (Lundstrøm?). Reinholt's gunners replied by firing a round every 30 seconds, but while they were defending their ship, it caught on fire after having received a hit where the ammunition was stored, so after 14 rounds had been fired they could no longer get to the ammunition. However, at this time the U-boat submerged. The fire was eventually brought under control, and in the meantime, at around 06:00 a destroyer had been sighted on the horizon. The two injured men were transferred to USS Rhind at around 12:10 and taken care of there, then admitted to a hospital in Brooklyn that same day. Reinholt later arrived pier 33, Brooklyn at 23:00.

*Rohwer gives position 39 10N 72 00W and adds in a footnote that she was badly damaged by some 20-25 rounds of 8.8cm gunfire, and answered by firing 14 rounds.

An attack report states the following:
"The submarine was sighted surfacing at 05:00 E.W.T., five minutes prior to the attack (when about 80 miles S.E.E. of Ambrose). The course was immediately changed to place the submarine to stern, and speed was increased to 14 1/2 knots. The submarine tried to get abeam but the vessel was maneuvered to keep her astern. An SOS was sent at 05:15 E.W.T. but the radio was destroyed before a reply was received. The submarine opened fire from a range of 2 to 3 miles directly astern firing from 60 to 80 shells probably from 2 guns at a rate of one shell every 2 or 3 seconds. Fifteen to twenty were hits. The British 12 pounder anti-aircraft stern gun, 2 1/2 inch, was manned at 05:07 E.W.T. and 14 rounds were fired in defense at a rate of one every 30 to 45 seconds. Possibly one hit was scored. The prompt arrival of air and surface Navy units forced the submarine to abandon the chase and submerge at 05:20 E.W.T. just as the supply of ammunition on the Reinholt was exhausted".

There's a vivid account of this incident in the book "Tusen norske ship" by Lise Lindbæk. The book was translated to English under the title "Norway's New Saga of the Sea" in 1969 (my Books page has tips on how to find a copy). It's mainly based on Lise Lindbæk's interviews with seamen during the war, and first published in New York in Nov. 1943. In the chapter about Reinholt she describes the damages on the ship in detail, and judging from that it's a miracle only two were injured. A brief summary has been added below.

The incident received a lot of publicity on arrival New York. 15 men later received Krigsmedaljen, while the captain received the higher ranked Krigskorset (ref. my War Medals page).

Summary of Interview with the Captain:

New York, shortly after the attack (according to the above book, Hans Nielsen was only on board for that one trip, stepping in for his brother, the "real" captain of Reinholt):

The captain was on the bridge during the attack and still couldn't understand how he had survived it. All he did was swear and smoke; swear because they didn't have a big enough gun to get rid of the intruder. He was right next to the radio operator when he was hit, and there were at least 20 shrapnels around him, but not a scratch on himself. He says "the crew was absolutely fantastic, escpecially the 21 year old gunner, Sverre Batalden who was just fabulous". When the shelling started very early that morning the Danish radio operator was barely able to send out an SOS before the radio stopped working. He hadn't been able to give the position so tried to get the emergency radio going but that was shot to pieces too. He then went out on deck and was hit himself (practically had his legs torn off). The U-boat kept firing and many fell over just from the sheer impact; their hearing was affected for days afterwards. Most of the shells hit on the after part of the ship, especially the gunners' platform. The gunner crew had used up all the ammunition on the platform and the ammunition below deck had caught on fire, while the shots kept coming, leaving "shells with German names and Swastikas on them scattered all over the deck". The mate gave orders to extinguish the fire but the water hose didn't work, so they had to use the CO2 bottles which had to be carried from their location on the aft deck; 2 men even went down into the burning ammunition hold, though explosions had started to occur down there.

After about 20 minutes they saw smoke on the horizon and heard an aircraft approaching, then the U-boat disappeared. Shortly thereafter the American destroyer appeared, then a blimp, so after the 2 wounded men had been transferred to the destroyer for medical care Reinholt was escorted the rest of the way.

She had a complement of 34 at the time. Lise Lindbæk says the crew consisted of 1 Swedish, 1 Finnish, 2 Danish, 1 American, 1 Portugese, 1 Brazilian and the rest Norwegian. When Reinholt arrived New York that evening she got quite a reception. The captain received an invitation from Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews (U. S. Navy Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier) who wanted to hear all the details, and the newspapers were equally interested, covering the story widely. Lise Lindbæk also briefly spoke with the gunner, who said he served during the war in Norway, was on board Heimdal, then escaped to England where he went to gunnery school (probably at Dumbarton) and had since been on Norwegian ships in "the danger zone" for about 1 1/2 year. Jon Sætre was 40 years old and from Haugesund. Funeral services were going to be held from the Seamen's Church that same day. Radio Operator Hans Mortensen was from the Faroe Islands. He had been on Reinholt for just 18 days when the attack took place, having transferred from a Danish ship that had been requisitioned by the Brazilians at Santos.

Some other crew members were 1st Mate Fredrik Olausen, Able Seaman Arnold Skaar (helmsman at the time of attack), Able Seaman Jens Olden, Able Seaman Peder Pettersen, Ordinary Seaman Alf Nautnes, 2nd Engineer Arne I. Kallevik, 3rd Engineer Ludvig Larsen.

Reinholt underwent repairs for 17 days, then went to Buenos Aires. It appears she barely avoided being hit by a torpedo when en route to New York on Aug. 3-1942. She was not far from Port of Spain when a periscope and a torpedo wake were believed to have been seen, and this happened again a little later. Nothing further happened, but an SOS was received from a torpedoed ship in the course she was heading, so course was chosen accordingly. On Aug. 13 the convoy she was in had departed Port of Spain and was in Old Bahama Channel when the Commodore Ship was torpedoed*, and Reinholt took over. A new convoy was formed at Key West for New York, with Reinholt continuing as Commodore Ship.

* This was the American steamship Delmundo which according to Rohwer was torpedoed and sunk by U-600 on Aug. 13-1942 in Convoy TAW 12 (external link), position 19 55N 73 49W.

From New York Reinholt entered into Trans-Atlantic service, by this time with better armament. On one such voyage, with ammunition in her cargo, she was involved in a collision in Liverpool harbour. Another time she had a big hole torn in her underside by an iceberg (see next section).

Related external link:
The attack on Delmundo

Some Convoy Voyages – 1942-1945:

She's listed as sailing in Convoy HX 208 in Sept.-1942, cargo of steel and food for Liverpool, subsequently joining the westbound Convoy ON 139* the following month (left Liverpool on Oct. 16, arrived New York on Nov. 1), but returned to port and later joined Convoy ON 141*, which left Liverpool on Oct. 24 and arrived New York, which was Reinholt's destination, on Nov. 10. On this voyage she had 2 passeners on board. She went back to the U.K. in Convoy HX 216, departing New York City on Nov. 19-1942, arriving Liverpool on Dec. 6. Reinholt had a general cargo for Liverpool, and sailed in station 132 (became a straggler when the convoy encountered a gale). She returned to the U.S. at the end of Dec. with the westbound Convoy ON 155.

In Jan.-1943 she went back to the U.K. in Convoy HX 224, bound for Liverpool with a general cargo, station 132. She also had explosives as well as passengers on board, and it looks like she had been cancelled from the previous convoy, HX 223. Reinholt now returned to New York with the westbound Convoy ON 168*, which left Liverpool on Febr. 21, dispersed March 12. The external site that I've linked to below has her heading back to the U.K. in Convoy HX 231, which left New York on March 25-1943 and arrived Liverpool on Apr. 10 (this convoys is not available on my own site). She subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 180*, leaving Liverpool on Apr. 24, arriving New York on May 14. Reinholt is said to have arrived New York with ice damage on that occasion. That summer she can be found in Convoy HX 244, leaving New York on June 15, arriving Liverpool on the 30th. She was again bound for Liverpool with general cargo and passengers, station 52. The following month she joined the westbound Convoy ON 192* in order to return to New York (left Liverpool July 9, arrived New York on the 22nd), and on Aug. 7-1943 she departed New York in Convoy HX 251, general cargo and explosives, station 106, bound for Liverpool. At the beginning of the following month we find her in the westbound Convoy ON 200* (left Liverpool Sept. 2, arrived New York Sept. 18). She subsequently went back to the U.K. in Convoy HX 259, which left New York on Sept. 28, arrived Liverpool on Oct. 13 and is available at the external link below. At the end of Oct. she shows up in the westbound Convoy ON 208*, leaving Liverpool on Oct. 24, arriving New York on Nov. 7. She acted as Commodore Vessel for Convoy HX 268 later that month (also available at the external link below). This convoy left New York on Nov. 26 and arrived Liverpool on Dec. 11. Reinholt left again on Christmas Eve-1943, westbound Convoy ON 217*, which arrived New York on Jan. 10-1944.

In Jan./Febr.-1944 we find her in Convoy HX 277, general cargo for Cardiff, subsequently joining the westbound Convoy ON 226*, which left Liverpool on Febr. 29 and arrived New York on March 15, and in Apr. that year she's listed as bound for Liverpool with general cargo in Convoy HX 286. At the beginning of May she joined the westbound Convoy ON 235* in order to head back to New York (left Liverpool May 4, arrived New York May 18), returning to the U.K. in June with Convoy HX 294 from New York. At the beginning of July she joined the westbound Convoy ON 243* (left Liverpool July 3, arrived New York July 18), and later that month I have her as the Commodore Vessel for Convoy HX 301, again bound for Liverpool with general cargo. She must have gone back to the U.S.*, because in Sept. that same year she was scheduled for Convoy HX 308 but instead joined Convoy HX 310, again as Commodore Vessel. She subsequently returned to the U.S. with the westbound Convoy ON 261 towards the end of Oct., and the following month she's listed as bound for Liverpool with general cargo in Convoy HX 322. She now joined the westbound Convoy ON 273* (left Southend on Dec. 18, arrived New York on Jan. 4-1945), but returned to port, later joining ON 275*, which departed Southend on Dec. 28 and arrived New York on Jan. 13-1945. As will be seen when following the convoy links provided, several Norwegian ships took part in them. For more on the ON convoys mentioned here, please see the link further down on this page.

* In fact, the external site already mentioned has her in Convoy UC 34 in this period. This convoy left Liverpool on Aug. 17-1944 and arrived New York on Aug. 28. Her destination is given as Baltimore. UC 34 will also be added to my own site - in the meantime, see the section listing ships in all UC convoys.

She returned to the U.K. towards the end of Jan.-1945 in the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 334, bound for London with grain, then went back across the Atlantic with the westbound Convoy ON 286*, leaving Liverpool on Febr. 21, arriving New York on March 9. On her return voyage she acted as Commodore Vessel for Convoy HX 346 (Commodore H. G. Clayton, R.N.R.) - this convoy, which left New York on March 24 and arrived Liverpool on Apr. 7, is not available to me, but can be found at the external link provided below. The last ON convoy she sailed in was ON 298*, which left Southend on Apr. 21-1945 and arrived New York on May 7.

* 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, please go to these convoys in the section listing ships in all ON convoys.

POST WAR:

Arrived Norway with cargo in Febr.-1946. Sold in 1965 by Ivarans to "Bulet" State Economic Enterprise, Bulgaria, renamed Topaz.

Related external links:
Misc. Convoys - Clicking on "Ship Search", using "Reinholt" as keyword, will bring up some convoys that are not mentioned in my own text. Here's HX 231, HX 259, HX 268, and HX 346, all mentioned in my text above.

Some more details on J. Sætre

U-752

Note that
U-boat Archive has quite a bit of details involving Norwegian (and other) ships, including Reinholt - click on "Browse the Archives", then on the page that comes up, enter your keyword in the search field at the bottom of the page and hit "find" (keeping it on "Site search"). Reinholt will be in Eastern Sea Frontier, enemy action diary for Apr.-1942. - scroll down to Apr. 23, or use "find" in your browser. Position is given as 39 18N 72 57W, and it states among other things "Plane from USS Brooklyn sent to scene and Army bomber remaining to search for submarine".