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Owner: D/S A/S Fraktfart Delivered in May-1919 from N. V. Machf. & Scheepswerf van P. Smit jr., Rotterdam as Marguerite Pry to owners in Amsterdam, 756 gt, 975 tdwt, 182.2' x 28' x 12.9', Triple exp. 116 nhp (P. Smit jr.). From 1921 she sailed as Alfriston of London. Purchased in 1930 by J. Henning Thuestad, renamed Røyksund (R-145-H), registered for D/S A/S Røyksund. Sold in July-1933 to D/S A/S Fraktfart (Sigvald Risanger), Haugesund. Remeasured 1935 - 695 gt, 1000 tdwt. Captain: Lars Ommund Johansen Langeland At the end of March-1940 Røyksund, in ballast for Tyne, is listed as sailing in Convoy HN 23B from Norway to the U.K., but may have returned, because she also appears in Convoy HN 25, which left Norway on Apr. 7-1940, shortly before the German invasion (Apr. 9). In June-1940 she shows up in Convoy OA 169, which left Southend on June 17 and was dispersed 2 days later. Her destination is given as Rochefort, but there's a note saying she was diverted to Weymouth. The convoy was composed of 2 parts, OA 169(1) and OA 169(2), Røyksund being in station 14 of Part 2, which had several Norwegian ships (see the external links below).
Departed Cowes, Isle of Wight on May 22-1941 in ballast for Newport Mon. in convoy, via Darthmouth and Falmouth f. o. - left Falmouth on May 27-1941. That same night, when the convoy was between Trevose Head and Hartland Point at about 11 p.m., an aircraft was seen heading straight for Røyksund. Her 4 British gunners opened fire but one of them was killed immediately by the machine gun fire from the aircraft, and about half a minute later a bomb detonated in the engine room, killing 3 men and causing extensive damage. 2 explosions were heard. The 1st engineer, who was asleep in his cabin got up to find his door blocked, but the 2nd explosion opened it again. By the time he got out water was already filling his cabin. All the lifeboats on the starboard side were blown away, and the ship sank almost immediately, forcing the crew to jump overboard. Some grabbed a hold of two rafts that floated up while others kept afloat on lifebelts until the escort arrived and picked them all up within 15-20 minutes. 3 were presumed drowned. The maritime inquiry was held in Cardiff on June 5-1941 with the captain, the 1st and 2nd mates, the 1st engineer, and the steward appearing. The 1st mate stated that he had seen the body of Able Seaman Lossius on the trawler that picked them up, so it's possible he was buried in Swansea where they were landed(?). 2 of her gunners (including the surviving J. Taylor) were Army gunners from Cardiff who had joined Røyksund there on May 14 or 15, while the other 2 were Naval Ratings from Portsmouth who had joined her in Cowes on May 22.
Back to Røyksund on the "Ships starting with R" page. Sigvald Risanger later had another ship by this name, originally delivered in Jan.-1927 as Main to Rud Chr. Gribel, Stettin, 977 gt. Awarded Norway as replacement for war losses, then purchased by D/S A/S Rask (Sigvald Risanger) in Dec.-1946 and renamed Røyksund. Sold to Germany in July-1955 and renamed Birka. Delivered for breaking up in 1961. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Våre gamle skip", Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Norwegian Maritime Museum, Volume II, and misc. (ref. My sources).
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