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M/T South America To South America on the "Ships starting with S" page. Manager: The Texas Company (Norway) A/S, Oslo Completed by Nakskov Skibsværft, Nakskov, Denmark as Borneo in Apr.-1931, originally launched as Henrik Ameln for A/S Frugtfart (L. Harboe Jensen), Oslo. Borneo was laid up upon completion, then entered service as South America for The Texaco Company (Norway) A/S, Oslo in Jan.-1933. Captain: Alf Ambjørnsen
South America is listed in station 22 of the Halfiax-U.K. Convoy HX 27 in March-1940, destination Liverpool, cargo of lub. oil. In Apr.-1940 we find her in the Gibraltar Convoy OG 25, and is said to have been bound for Port Arthur, Texas (see this page listing ships in all OG convoys. OG 25 was a combination of OB 125, in which South America had sailed from the U.K. and OA 125, the 2 convoys joining up at sea to form OG 25 on Apr. 10). However, it looks like she may have gone into Gibraltar rather than proceeding to Texas, because later that month she shows up in station 14 of Convoy HG 27, leaving Gibraltar on Apr. 21-1940. This time her destination is given as Trinidad and she left the convoy during the night of Apr. 22/23 to proceed to her destination. In May/June that same year she sailed in Convoy HX 45. This convoy left Halifax on May 24-1940, but South America joined with the Bermuda portion which had sailed on May 23. She was bound for Manchester on that occasion, station 35. Early in June-1943 she made a voyage from Tripoli to Alexandria with Convoy KMS 15 (as stated in the section listing ships in all KMS convoys), and at the end of Aug.-1943 she travelled from Malta to Bizerta with Convoy MKS 23 (scroll down to the second table on that page). At the end of Nov. that year she's listed as bound for New York with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ONS 24, as will be seen on this page listing ships in all ONS convoys. In Jan./Febr.-1944 she sailed in the slow Convoy SC 152 from Halifax, listed in station 41 (having been cancelled from the faster Convoy HX 274 from New York, Jan. 6). South America subsequently joined the westbound Convoy ON 226 at the end of Febr. - this convoy will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on it. In the meantime, please go to ON 226 on this page in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. Note that all these convoys had several Norwegian ships in them - follow the links for more info. Note also that at the external site that I've linked to below, South America is included in several other convoys that are not mentioned here. Related external link:
Convoy ON 226, mentioned above, had arrived New York on March 15-1944. She was on her way back to the U.K. with the slow Convoy SC 156 from Halifax with a cargo of 7800 tons crude oil for Manchester when she on Apr. 6-1944 was struck by 2* torpedoes from U-302 (Sickel), 45 04N 35 22W (according to the captain's report). The 1st torpedo hit in No. 3 wingtank - No. 8 center tank behind the pumproom, port side, immediately setting her on fire. 5 minutes later another torpedo hit resulting in an enormous explosion aft. The effects of this torpedo appeared to have extinguished the fire, but the ship was broken and about to sink, so SOS was sent and orders given to take to the boats. Those who were on the poop managed to get clear of the ship on a raft and a lifeboat and were shortly thereafter picked up by the British rescue vessel Goodwin. 7 men from the amidships section got into the starboard lifeboat and were also picked up by the rescue vessel a little later. When they left the ship she was down in the middle and about to sink. The same U-boat had just torpedoed and sunk D/S Ruth I when South America was hit, and the rescue vessel proceeded to her location, but all they could see were empty lifeboats and lumber floating around, as well as a large patch of oil (survivors of this ship were picked up by another vessel - follow the link for details). About 45 minutes later Goodwin returned to South America to find both ends of the ship high in the air with the amidships section below water. The following day the escort went back to save the ship's papers and confidential books. At that time the after end had sunk and only a small portion of the bow was visible. South America's crew was landed in Gourock on Apr. 13 where they were taken care of by the Norwegian consul, before travelling to Glasgow where an inquiry was held on Apr. 18 with the captain, the 1st engineer, the 1st mate and the boatswain appearing. The captain had been asleep in his cabin when the attack occurred. On watch at the time were 2nd Mate Lydersen, Able Seaman Eide, Able Seaman Jørgensen, 3rd Engineer Andvik, Mechanic Nilsen and 3rd Radio Operator Robert Cobb.
Shortly after the attack on Convoy SC 156, U-302 was sunk with all hands by the British frigate HMS Swale. Crew List - No casualties:
Related external links: Back to South America on the "Ships starting with S" page. Another South America was delivered to this company in Nov.-1954. Renamed Texaco South America in 1960. Sold to South Korea in 1971 and renamed Korea Hope. Broken up in 1992. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, and misc. (ref. My sources).
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