D/S Sirehei

To Sirehei on the "Ships starting with S" page.

Crew List


Picture of this ship when she had the name Bratsberg.
Source: Sverre Johansen's postcard collection.

Sirehei's WW II Voyages:

(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's research).

Follow the links provided to available convoys for more information on each.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	May 25	Havre	Weymouth Bay	May 27	Independent	–
	May 30	Weymouth Bay	Southampton	May 30	Independent	–
	June 1	Southampton	Port Talbot	June 4	–	–
	June 10	Port Talbot	St. Nazaire	–	Independent	–
	June 18	St. Nazaire	Falmouth	June 21	–	–
	June 28	Falmouth	Pernambuco	July 21	–	–
	Aug. 29	Pernambuco	Buenos Aires	Sept. 11	Independent	–
	Oct. 14	Santa Fe	Rosario	Oct. 16	Independent	–
	Oct. 19	Rosario	Montevideo	–	Independent	–
	Oct. 23	Montevideo	Freetown	Nov. 11	Independent	–
	Nov. 19	Freetown	Rendezvous with Convoy SL 56	Nov. 21	SLS 56	Convoy available at this external site
	Nov. 21	Joined SLS 56	Belfast Lough	Dec. 11	SL 56	See text below
	Dec. 11	Belfast Lough	Waterford	Dec. 12	Independent	–
	Dec. 23	Waterford	Barry	Dec. 23	Independent	–
1941	Jan. 1	Barry	Newport	Jan. 1	Independent	–
	March 27	Newport	Cardiff	–	Independent	–
	May 27	Cardiff	Milford Haven	May 28	Independent	–
	May 31	Milford Haven	Belfast Lough	May 31	OB 329	Returned (Convoy available at this external site)
	June 20	Belfast Lough	Dispersed 48 17N 20 40W	June 28	OB 337	Rio (Convoy available on this ex. page)
	June 28	Dispersed/OB 337	Rio	July 24	Independent	–
	Aug. 7	Rio	St. Thomas	Aug. 26	Independent	–
	Aug. 26	St. Thomas	Hampton Roads	Sept. 2	Independent	–
	Sept. 3	Hampton Roads	Sydney, C.B.	Sept. 8	Independent	–
	Sept. 11	Sydney, C.B.	Loch Ewe	Sept. 27	SC 44	Convoy available at this external site
	Sept. 28	Loch Ewe	Methil	Sept. 30	WN 186	Convoy available at this external site
	Oct. 1	Methil	Middlesbrough	Oct. 2	FS 609	Convoy available at this external site
	Oct. 9	Middlesbrough	Tyne	Oct. 9	–	–
	Oct. 24	Tyne	Methil	Oct. 25	–	–
	Oct. 27	Methil	Belfast Lough	Nov. 1	EC 90	Convoy available at this external site
	Nov. 1	Belfast Lough	Dublin	Nov. 1	Independent	–
	Nov. 7	Dublin	Holyhead	–	Independent	–
	Nov. 9	Holyhead	Cardiff	Nov. 12	BB 98	Convoy available at this external site
	Nov. 21	Cardiff	Milford Haven	Nov. 22	Independent	–
	Nov. 24	Milford Haven	Oban	Nov. 28	OG 77	Returned Convoy will be added In the meantime, see ships in OG convoys
	Dec. 9	Oban	Liverpool	Dec. 11	Independent	–
	Dec. 27	Liverpool	Dispersed	Jan. 11-1942	ON 51	Straggled Convoy will be added In the meantime, see ships in ON convoys
1942	Jan. 11	Dispersed/ON 51	Halifax	Jan. 14	Independent	–
	Jan. 30	Halifax	Liverpool	Febr. 14	SC 67	–
	March 3	Liverpool	Oban	March 7	ON 72	Returned Convoy will be added In the meantime, see link above to "ships in ON convoys"
	March 10	Oban	Halifax	March 25	ON 74	Convoy will be added In the meantime, see list above
	Apr. 11	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Apr. 25	SC 79	–
	Apr. 26	Belfast Lough	Swansea	Apr. 27	BB 167	Convoy available at this external site
	Apr. 28	Swansea	Southampton	May 1	WP 148	Convoy available at this site
	May 7	Solent	Falmouth	May 8	PW 152	Convoy available at this site
	June 17	Falmouth	Port Talbot	June 18	PW 172	Convoy available at above site
	June 21	Port Talbot	Milford Haven	June 21	Independent	–
	June 22	Milford Haven	St. John's, N.F.	July 4	ON 106	Convoy will be added See ships in ON convoys
	July 26	St. John's	Ardrossan	Aug. 7	SC 93	Joined from Wabana
	Aug. 16	Clyde	Halifax	Sept. 1	ON 122	Bound for Sydney, C.B.
	Sept. 11	Halifax	Sydney, C.B.	Sept. 13	HS 50	Convoy available at this external site
	Sept. 15	Sydney, C.B.	Father Point	Sept. 18	SQ 37	Convoy not available
	Sept. 16	Sydney, C.B.	Montreal	Sept. 19	–	–
	(The last 2 entries seem a bit peculiar)
	Oct. 13	Father Point	Sydney, C.B.	Oct. 16	QS 40	Convoy not available
	Oct. 20	Sydney, C.B.	Oban	Nov. 4	SC 106	Convoy available at this external site
	Nov. 4	Oban	Methil	Nov. 6	WN 357	Convoy available at this external site
	Nov. 7	Methil	Southend	Nov. 9	FS 954	Convoy available at this external site
	Nov. 22	Southend	Methil	Nov. 24	FN 872	Convoy available at this site
	Nov. 24	Methil	Loch Ewe	Nov. 26	EN 166	Convoy available at this site
	Dec. 1	Loch Ewe	St. John's	Dec. 22	ON 150	Convoy will be added In the meantime, see ships in ON convoys
1943	Jan. 15	St. John's	St. John's	Jan. 20	JH 29	Returned (Convoy not available)
	Jan. 22	St. John's	Halifax	Jan. 27	JH 31	Convoy not available
	Apr. 16	Halifax	Loch Ewe	May 2	SC 127	See also text below
	May 4	Loch Ewe	Methil	May 6	WN 423	Convoy available at this external site
	May 6	Methil	Hull	May 7	FS 1108	Convoy available at this external site
	May 29	Humber	Methil	May 31	FN 1033	Convoy available at this site
	June 1	Methil	Oban	June 4	EN 237	Convoy available at this site
	June 9	Oban	St. John's	June 25	ONS 10	Convoy will be added In the meantime, see ships in ONS convoys
	July 4	St. John's	Botwood	July 5	Independent	–
	July 12	St. John's	Liverpool	July 22	HX 247	–
	Aug. 28	Liverpool	Convoy split	Sept. 8	OS 54/KMS 25	Gibraltar Convoy available at this external site
	Sept. 8	OS 54/KMS 25 split	Passed Gibraltar	Sept. 10	KMS 25	Malta Convoy will be added In the meantime, see ships in KMS convoys
	Sept. 10	Passed Gibraltar	Malta	Sept. 15	KMS 25	See above link
	Oct. 13	Malta	Oran	Oct. 18	GUS 18	Malta to Oran Convoy available at this external site
	Oct. 23	Oran	Oct. 23	Gibraltar	MKS 28	Oran to Gibraltar
	Oct. 27	Gibraltar	Casablanca	Oct. 29	GUS 19	Gibraltar to Casablanca Convoy available at external link above
	Nov. 3	Casablanca	Ardrossan	Nov. 18	MKS 29	Casablanca to U.K.
	Dec. 25	Clyde	Convoy split	Jan. 7-1944	OS 63/KMS 37	Oran Convoy available at this external site
1944	Jan. 7	Detached from OS 63/KM 37	Passed Gibraltar	Jan. 9	KMS 37	Oran Convoy will be added In the meantime, see ships in KMS convoys
	Jan. 9	Passed Gibraltar	Oran	Jan. 10	KMS 37	Oran See list above
	Jan. 25	Oran	Casablanca	Jan. 28	GUS 28	Oran to Casablanca Convoy available at this external site
	Febr. 1	Casablanca	Rendezvous with MKS 38	Febr. 2	SL 147	Casablanca to U.K.
	Febr. 2	Rendezvous of SL 147 & MKS 38	Loch Ewe	Febr. 13	SL 147/MKS 38	Convoy not available (except list of ships in MKS convoys)
	Febr. 13	Loch Ewe	Methil	Febr. 15	WN 544	Convoy available at this external site
	Febr. 15	Methil	Hull	Febr. 17	FS 1363	Convoy available at this external site
	March 27	Hull	Methil	March 29	FN 1309	Convoy available at this site
	June 6	Poole	Seine Bay	June 7	CORNCOB1	See text below

Further to the above voyage record:

(For voyages in between the ones mentioned in this text, please refer to her voyage record).

Under French charter. Caught up in the chaotic conditions in Le Havre at the end of May-1940 and waited with a full cargo on board for days before she could leave. She was then run into by a barge and had to undergo repairs for 7 days before she could continue to Southampton (this does not quite fit with the dates in the voyage record). On June 9 she left Barry with a cargo of coal for St. Nazaire, where it soon became apparent that an evacuation of British forces and war materials was underway. She was anchored in the bay just north of the city right next to the Cunard Line's Lancastria which already had 5800 men on board and was ready to depart, when a powerful air attack started on June 17, lasting for almost an hour. Lancastria was hit by two bombs and set on fire, the sea around her was covered in oil which also caught on fire, and when she sank about 15 minutes later almost 3000 men died. In the chaos that now prevailed Captain Bjelland realized he had to take matters into his own hands, and though no orders had been received he departed the next day for Falmouth, where Sirehei was registered as the 184th ship escaping France in the last few days.

At the end of 1940, Sirehei was in Convoy SLS 56 from Freetown, bound for Belfast with a cargo of maize in station 64 of the convoy, which left Freetown on Nov. 19 and arrived Liverpool on Dec. 12, having joined up with SL 56 en route on Dec. 9. Sirehei, however, experienced boiler trouble and left the convoy on Nov. 25, steering towards Tenerife. The Norwegian Bruse Jarl, Sandar and Ferm are also listed in this convoy at the external website that I've linked to at the bottom of this page.

At the end of Jan.-1942 she can be found among the ships in Convoy SC 67 in which the Norwegian Heina was sunk. Sirehei's destination was Manchester and she had a cargo of steel and pulp. A few months later, in Apr.-1942, she was one of several Norwegian ships in Convoy SC 79, cargo of steel and pulp for Swansea, station 93, and in July that same year she's listed in the Newfoundland portion of the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 93, cargo of iron ore for Ardrossan. The following month we find her in station 63 of the westbound Convoy ON 122, in which Trolla was sunk.

The following information was found in "Krigsseileren" No. 2-1993, article written by a crew member, Kristian H. B. Jensen, who had joined the ship in London on Nov. 18-1942:
On Dec. 1-1942 Sirehei departed Loch Ewe to join the main body of a convoy the next day for St. John's (Convoy ON 150 - see see ships in ON convoys) and did not return to British waters until May the following year, the reason being that she had been damaged during the heavy storm she encountered on the crossing. Jensen says they had arrived St. John's on Dec. 22-1942 and was temporarily repaired there before leaving again on Jan. 22-1943 for Halifax (Convoy JH 31) and more permanent repairs in dock. They were not ready to leave again until Apr. 16, at which time they returned to Britain with a cargo of lumber, arriving Loch Ewe on May 2 (this was Convoy SC 127 - Kristian Jensen remembers it as having 64 ships). Sirehei was among 17 ships that left the convoy on May 1, heading for Loch Ewe. She was bound for Hull with her cargo so had to wait for a coastal convoy and arrived Hull on May 7 (Convoy FS 1108).

As can be seen from her voyage record, she returned to St. John's in June-1943 with Convoy ONS 10, heading back to the U.K. the following month with Convoy HX 247, which had originated in New York, but Sirehei joined from St. John's on July 13. Cargo is given as pulp, destination Ellesmere Port and Manchester.

The external website about OS/KMS convoys that I've linked to at the end of this page has Sirehei in Convoy OS 54/KMS 25 in Aug./Sept.-1943, voyaging from Liverpool to Gibraltar with a cargo of coal in station 11. In Oct. she made a voyage from Oran to Gibraltar with Convoy MKS 28 (scroll down to the second table on that page), then proceeded from Gibraltar to the U.K. with Convoy MKS 29 at the beginning of the following month, together with the Norwegian Belnor and Norvarg. She returned to Africa in Dec. with Convoy OS 63/KMS 37, voyage from Clyde to Oran with lorries and coal in station 45. Follow the external link for more on the OS/KMS convoys mentioned here (KMS 25 and KMS 37 will also be added to my own site - in the meantime, see this section listing all ships in KMS convoys).

Final Fate - 1944:

Sirehei ended her long life as breakwater for the Normandy operations, June 7-1944, Gooseberry 3, Gold Beach, Arromanches; 1 of 4 Nortraship ships to be given up for this purpose. D/S Lynghaug, D/S Norjerv and D/S Norfalk were the others, though the latter struck a mine and sank en route to Normandy.

Two years (4 years?) later she was raised and taken in tow to Newcastle for repairs, but ran aground just before arrival and was given up.

The following were on board when sunk in 1944:

Captain Sigurd Mathias Bjelland	1st Mate Olav M. Guneriussen	2nd Mate Harald Hansen	3rd Mate Thor Johnsen	1st Engineer Hans Jensen	2nd Engineer Rolf Hansen
3rd Engineer Haakon Jensen	Donkeyman Lenadar Korneliussen	Donkeyman Erik Mekkebakken	Stoker Karl Hansen	Stoker Arne Thomassen	Stoker Gunnar Hansen
Stoker John Gangsø	Stoker Petter Pedersen	Stoker Fritjof Jensen	Oiler Erik Haakonsen	Trimmer Emanuel Vela (British)	Trimmer Patrick Smith (British)
Trimmer William Mallen (British)	Steward Thorvald Hovland	Cook Paul Sunde	Galley Boy Belone Gallant (British)	Mess Boy John Pickering

External websites related to the text on this page:
Evacuation - part of a diary written by a British passenger on the Lancastria, E. R. G. Quittenton (links checked May-2004 and still work, but take a while to load).
Images - Lancastria | The Cunarder Lancastria | The HMT Lancastria Association

SL Convoys - There's also a section on the OS and OS/KMS convoys, as well as the Russian Convoys and OB convoys (they can be reached through the main page). As will be seen, Sirehei is listed in Convoy SLS 56, as well as in Convoy OS 54/KMS 25 and OS 63/KMS 37, as are several other Norwegian ships.

Gold Beach

Mulberry - From the comprehensive website Skylighters.

Back to Sirehei on the "Ships starting with S" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold, Hague, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II (Norwegian Maritime Museum), and misc. other, some of which are mentioned in above text - (ref. My sources).