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M/T Sandar To Sandar on the "Ships starting with S" page. Owner: Viriks Rederi A/S Delivered in Dec.-1928 from Burmeister & Wain's Maskin- og Skibsbyggeri, Copenhagen, Denmark as Sandar to Viriks Rederi A/S (Halvor Virik), Sandefjord. 7624 gt, 4549 net, 11 150 tdwt, 451.9' x 59.2' x 33.9', dbl. scr. 2 x 6 cyl. B&W DM. Remeasured, 7624 gt, 12 000 tdwt. (Jürgen Rohwer lists this ship as a motor vessel [not a tanker], this is incorrect). Captain: Leif Wichberg Lie (captain may have been M. Engvik earlier in the war; this according to the Commodore's notes for Convoy HG 28). Under Admiralty control from 1940 (Royal Fleet Auxiliary).
Sandar is listed as sailing in Convoy HG 28 from Gibraltar to the U.K. at the end of Apr.-1940, cargo of crude oil, station 42. Her destination is initially given as Swansea, but she was sent to Milford Haven for instructions on May 7. The only other Norwegian ship in this convoy was Morgenen. A little over a week later we find her in Convoy OB 149, departing Liverpool on May 16-1940. Her voyage information is given as Swansea-Trinidad, and she had station 43 of the convoy. Novasli and Hada County are also listed. The external websites that I've linked to below have info on the OB convoys. In June/July-1940 she sailed in Convoy HX 51, which had originated in Halifax on June 17-1940. Sandar, however, joined this convoy with the Bermuda portion, cargo of fuel oil for Clyde, station 16. Follow the link for more convoy details. According to the external website that I've linked to at the end of this text, Sandar was in Convoy SL 56 from Freetown at the end of 1940, bound for Milford with a cargo of crude oil in station 94 of the convoy, which left Freetown on Nov. 21 and arrived Liverpool on Dec. 12, having joined up with SLS 56 on Dec. 9. The webmaster, Mike Holdoway, has told me that according to the Commodore's report Sandar rescued a man overboard from the Dutch Serooskerk in very heavy weather. The Norwegian Bruse Jarl, Ferm and Sirehei are also listed. The same website has her as scheduled for Convoy OB 279, which left Liverpool on Jan. 28-1941, but she did not sail (her destination is given as Curacao). Note that according to the next paragraph, she had, in fact, already sailed in Convoy OB 277. What follows is from crew member Dag Midbøe's personal documents, received from Neil Carlsen, Norway, and used here with Dag's permission. He was on board from Dec.-1940 until Febr.-1942 - see also text under Leiv Eiriksson. Sandar departed Swansea for Gourock on Jan. 23-1941, joined Convoy OB 277 on the the 24th, arrived Curacao on Febr. 26. On March 7 she departed Wilhelmstad for Halifax where she arrived on March 17, then joined Convoy HX 117 on March 27 for Clyde (she had been scheduled for Convoy HX 116 on March 21, but did not sail), arrived Gourock on Apr. 15. Joined Convoy OB 313 on Apr. 23 and arrived New York on May 10. On July 1 she departed New York for Halifax where she arrived on July 5, and the following day she joined Convoy HX 137, with arrival Gourock on July 21. Departed Courock on Aug. 12 in Convoy OS 3*, arrived Curacao on Sept. 2, then left again on the 3rd for Freetown with arrival on Sept. 20. Departed Freetown on Sept. 28, arrived Gibraltar Oct. 9, then headed back to Curacao on the 15th, arriving Nov. 1. Departed the following day for New York where she arrived on Nov. 12 (she's listed as scheduled for the slow Sydney-U.K. Convoy SC 55 on Nov. 16, but did not sail). On Dec. 18 she headed for Halifax and Sydney N.S., arriving Dec. 23, then Dag says she joined Convoy HX 168 on Jan. 2-1942, and arrived Old Kilpatrick on Jan. 18. However, she's listed in the slow Convoy SC 63, which left on Jan. 3, and she could not have been in both (see also SC 61 and SC 62).
Returning to the external website below, we find her in station 86 of Convoy OS 20, on a voyage from Clyde to Curacao in ballast. This convoy left Liverpool on Febr. 22-1942 and arrived Freetown on March 12 - several Norwegian ships took part. Related external links: See also
Torpedoed amidships and sunk on May 2-1942 by U-66 (Zapp), on a voyage from Port of Spain to Gibraltar with 11 500 tons fuel oil, position 11 42N 61 10W. The midships section was set on fire, including the bridge, but some of those who were on duty there managed to get down to the deck with the help of a ladder. The starboard lifeboat was destroyed, but the port boat was launched with 25 men. Shortly afterwards they spotted the motorboat, and at the same time they heard another explosion from the engine room. The ship started to sink by the stern and was gone within 2 minutes (about half an hour after the torpedo had struck). The motorboat capsized so that some of the men ended up in the water. The port boat rowed over to it to see if anyone was injured and they were told that the captain was terribly burnt. 2 men were missing, namely the 1st mate, who had been on duty on the bridge, and the boatswain. They searched for them for quite a while but could not see them. The U-boat came up and headed for the boats. The survivors were asked the usual questions about the ship, cargo and destination etc., then they were given some food and first aid articles as well as the course and distance to Trinidad (215°, 60 n. miles) before it took off in a southeasterly direction. The survivors were rescued the next day when 25 n. miles north of the inlet to Port of Spain, having been spotted by an aircraft which directed the American Alcoa Pilot to their assistance. The captain was immediately admitted to a hospital upon landing in Port of Spain but died shortly thereafter. The maritime hearings were held in New York on May 25-1942 with the 2nd mate, Able Seaman O. A. Henjum (helmsman), Able Seaman B. Sørvåg, and the 2nd engineer appearing. The latter had been on duty in the engine room when the torpedo struck.
Related external links: Back to Sandar on the "Ships starting with S" page. This company also had a Sandar later on. This was originally the German tanker Kattegat (6031 gt) which was en route to Narvik with supplies for the invasion fleet on Apr. 9-1940, but had to take refuge in the Glomfjord south of Bodø, due to the danger of mines in Vestfjord. She was discovered, and M/S Nordkapp was sent on Apr. 10 to seize her. She was scuttled, but saved and put into service under the Norwegian flag with the name Bodø. En route to Tromsø she was attacked and damaged by German aircraft. After the Norwegian capitulation of the North of Norway (summer of 1940) she again ended up in German control, was repaired and put into service under her original name Kattegat. At the end of the war she was badly damaged and being repaired at Sandefjord, where she again came under the Norwegian flag with the name Sandar. ("Handelfsflåten i krig", book 5, Lauritz Pettersen). Here's a lovely picture of this ship. The site also has info and pictures of other ships owned by Viriks Rederi. As will be seen by going to the latter link, the company had also had a ship by this name in 1907, as well as 2 more post war, one built in 1963, the other in 1969. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The Allied Convy System, Arnold Hague, "Axis Submarine Successes of World War II", Jürgen Rohwer, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II (Norwegian Maritime Museum), Dag Midbøe's personal documents, and misc. - (ref. My Sources).
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