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Manager: S. Ugelstad, Oslo Built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd., Wallsend, Sunderland in 1931. Captain: Hans N. Thormodsen In Admiralty service from 1940 (Royal Fleet Auxiliary). Her voyages are listed on this original document received from the National Archives of Norway.
Svenør took part in "Operation Substance" in July-1941, see M/T Høegh Hood and/or my text in Thermopylæ's Voyages for details. The operation was a great success, and in reality, the 4 Norwegian ships Høegh Hood, Svenør, M/S Thermopylæ and M/S Talabot, and the Danish Amerika as well as the British Settler were the only merchant ships to travel across the entire Mediterranean from Alexandria to Gibraltar at a time when such a voyage was considered sheer suicide. According to Arnold Hague, she sailed in Convoy HX 154, which left Halifax on Oct. 10-1941 and arrived Liverpool on Oct. 23. The following month, we find her in station 46 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 34 which left Liverpool on Nov. 7-1941 and dispersed on the 21st, Svenør arriving New York Nov. 27 (she had started out from Loch Ewe on Nov. 8). Christmas that year was spent in Convoy HX 166, departing Halifax on Dec. 21-1941, arriving Liverpool on Jan. 5-1942. Svenør, however, stopped at Reykjavik on Jan. 2, and from there, she later joined the westbound Convoy ON 59, which had originated in Liverpool on Jan. 23-1942. Svenør arrived Curacao independently on Febr. 12, the convoy having been dispersed Febr. 6. This convoy will be added to my Convoys section; in the meantime, the ships sailing in it, several of which were Norwegian, are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. Related external link:
Svenør had departed Curacao on March 17-1942 with a cargo of 11 400 tons fuel oil, and was en route to join a convoy in Halifax (see HX 183) when she at 02:30 EST on March 27 was hit on the port side by 2 torpedoes from U-105 (Schuch), 35 55 (35 35? 35 05?)N 69 20W - about 300 miles east of Cape Hatteras according to the 1st engineer's statements at the subsequent inquiry. The weather was dark and overcast at the time, wind light force 3-4, sea choppy; she was sailing at a speed of 10 knots, compass course 064, not zig-zagging. The first torpedo struck high, forward of amidships, near the bridge, with the resultant fire instantly enveloping the bridge and the surrounding area and engulfing all the deck officers, incl. the British radio operator, and 2 able seamen (8 in all). The 2nd torpedo hit a minute or two later behind amidships, causing considerable damage below the water line. The survivors managed to launch 2 aft lifeboats which they got into; the starboard boat with 15 men (commanded by the boatswain), and the port boat with 11. One of the boats subsequently picked up 3 men who had jumped overboard, among whom was the carpenter who had been asleep when the attack occurred. All 3 were wearing their Vaco suit, which to a great extent was credited with saving their lives. After the ship had been abandoned, the U-boat was seen fully surfaced, and the glare of a fire, believed to be from another torpedoed ship, was seen about 2000 feet astern of Svenør. When Schuch saw that Svenør didn't sink he sent a 3rd torpedo into her about an hour later (10 minutes later?), but she still remained afloat. The U-boat cruised in the vicinity without contacting the lifeboats, then as day dawned at about 04:30 the survivors watched their ship being shelled from a range of about 2000 yards to 900 feet. About 47 rounds were fired, the first 2 missing, but the remainder being hits, and she finally sank between 07:00 and 08:00. Schuch then approached another ship in the distance, and upon registering that it was a neutral one, the Portugese D/S Cunene, he surfaced nearby it and advised them of the location of the shipwrecked crew. Cunene changed her course, picked them all up and landed them in Philadelphia on March 31. (When questioned, the captain of Cunene reported that there had been a light blue star on the conning tower of the U-boat). The inquiry was held in New York on Apr. 4-1942 with the 1st engineer, the boatswain, the carpenter and Able Seaman Florent attending. The latter had been at the helm but had been relieved about 5 minutes before the torpedo struck. All the other witnesses had been asleep in their cabins at the time. For info, in Issue No. 4/1975 of "Krigsseileren" there's a picture of 18 men from Svenør with a caption saying it was taken after they had arrived New York. One of the survivors, Motorman Oskar Johansen is pictured; the other 17 in the photo are not named. Crew List:
Related external links: Back to Svenør on the "Ships starting with S" page. I believe S. Ugelstad had another tanker named Svenør built in Sweden towards the end of the war, launched 1947. Will confirm if possible. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Krigsseileren", Issue No. 4 - 1975, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum, and misc. (ref. My sources).
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