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Manager: Westfal-Larsen & Co. A/S, Bergen Delivered in Apr.-1930 from Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen, 395' x 54.6' x 28.9', 2x 6 cyl. 4T 4200 ihp, 12.5 knots Captain: Sverre Solberg Related item on this website:
Taranger is listed in the Halifax-U.K. Convoy HX 33 in Apr.-1940, follow the link for more convoy details. In Dec. that same year she was scheduled for Convoy OB 257, leaving Liverpool on Dec. 10-1940, bud instead joined OB 259 on Dec. 14, bound for Panama and San Pedro in ballast - ref. the first external link below for the names of other ships in these convoys, some of which were Norwegian. According to Birger Lunde's letter, mentioned above, Taranger was being overhauled in dock in Liverpool in the early spring of 1941 and endured heavy bombing. (He also mentions her being in Le Havre the previous summer, when France fell to the Germans). In Apr.-1941 she arrived Liverpool in Convoy HX 117, and her next trip out was to be her last. As will be seen, there's quite a bit of confusion and disagreements in the various sources with regard to the loss of this ship. Part of the problem is the different time zones used in the reports. All I can do is summarize the information available to me as follows: Related external links: See also this
Taranger departed Liverpool alone in ballast for Vancouver B.C. on Apr. 28-1941, escorted in the first few days by British aircraft. On the 30th, in about 8°W, she signalled to the aircraft that a U-boat had been seen about 10 n. miles off to the north. The aircraft found the U-boat and dropped a number of bombs over it as it submerged, and a big spot of oil made it seem like it had been damaged but that later turned out not to be so. In the morning of May 1 Taranger's course was altered to more westerly, following orders received via radio from the U.K. Taranger continued, until she in the evening of May 2*, when about 150 miles southwest of Reykjavik, was suddenly shelled from behind. On duty on the bridge at the time was 3rd Mate Tveitvaag, while Able Seaman Solen was on lookout duty; Engine Room Assistant Juvik was on watch in the engine room. 2nd Mate/Radio Operator Birger Lunde went to the radio station to send an SOS. Taranger's only armament consisted of 2 Hotchkiss machine guns (according to Birger Lunde's letter, she was to get a 5" gun installed on arrival). She proceeded at full speed while zig-zag'ing in an effort to escape, but U-95 (Schreiber) followed, and as the shelling got more and more intense, and she was hit in several places, the captain ordered all men to the lifeboats, whereupon the engine was stopped and the engine crew came up on deck. While the shelling continued from the starboard side, the port lifeboat with 17 (16?) on board got clear, but near the starboard boat the captain was killed and 3 injured, 1st Engineer Mæland so badly that he was unable to lower himself down to the boat and had to jump into the water, where he was later picked up by the starboard boat. Able Seaman Solen had injured his back, Saloon Boy Wilkinson was injured by shrapnel in his foot. Taranger was hit several times on the starboard side and debris and shrapnel rained around the starboard lifeboat, which subsequently set off in an attempt to prevent getting hit. The U-boat now appeared in between the two lifeboats and going around to the port side, sent 2 torpedoes into the ship (amidships), causing her to break in two and sink.
All the injured men, who were in the starboard motor boat were given first aid. The 2 boats agreed to set a course for Iceland, so sail was set for Reykjavik. In the course of the day the port boat, being faster than the starboard boat, disappeared ahead. At 03:30, May 3 a westbound convoy was spotted by those in the starboard boat. Rockets were sent up and half an hour later they were picked up by HMS Begonia where the injured were immediately taken under medical care. The 1st engineer had lost a lot of blood and was in a very poor condition, having also developed a severe cold. On May 5 they were transferred to the British destroyer Wolverine which had a doctor on board. By this time the 1st engineer had developed pneumonia and was still in a very bad condition. On May 10 they were landed in Reykjavik where all the injured were immediately admitted to a hospital. The remaining men, except for a few who had joined the Navy, were sent to Glasgow on May 14 with arrival on May 18. The 1st engineer's condition was very serious when they left, but he survived - see details on him further down on this page (all dates in this paragraph are according to the 2nd mate's report - "Nortraships flåte" says they were picked up by Begonia at 04:00 on May 4). As mentioned, the 1st mate's report states that they set sail an hour after midnight on May 3. At 06:30 they saw a vessel far off on their port side and realizing it was the other lifeboat they altered course towards it, meeting up with it at 08:00. They were told by the 2nd mate at that time that there were 15 men in the starboard boat (this conflicts with the 2nd mate's own report, see the crew list below). After having conferred with each other it was decided to steer northeast in order to reach the coast of Iceland. At 20:00 on May 4 an aircraft was seen but it was too far away for contact. They saw land ahead on the port side at 04:00 on May 5 and course was altered towards it. At 05:30 a ship was observed ahead on the starboard side and course altered accordingly. The vessel also altered course and steered in their direction and at 08:00 ship's time, when about 46 miles from the coast, they were picked up by the Icelandic M/B Sigurfari (Sigurdfar?), skipper Bersør Guojønsson. The lifeboat was taken in tow and course set for Akranesi where they landed at 13:00 and were received by British military authorities. The following morning, May 6, they were taken by passenger vessel to Reykjavik where they were met by Norwegian naval authorities (the 2nd mate's report says the crew in the port boat had arrived Reykjavik on May 4). Meanwhile, the SOS had been heard, and the British destroyer Echo had been sent out to assist, searching for 8 hours without seeing a trace of the ship or the shipwrecked, and eventually had to head for Iceland. J. R. Hegland (author of "Nortraships flåte") believes that the position had been misread (25 30W instead of 20 20W), so that the wrong area was searched. The maritime inquiry was held in Reykjavik on May 8-1941 with the 1st mate, the 3rd mate, and the engine room assistant attending. All the statements given by these witnesses date the attack to May 2. The crew in the starboard lifeboat had not yet been landed at that time. Crew List:
Related external links: My query to ubootwaffe.net forum Back to Taranger on the "Ships starting with T" page. Other ships by this name: Westfal-Larsen later had another Taranger, originally delivered in Apr.-1940 as Ulanga (Deutsche Afrika Linje, Bremen), 6940 gt. Taken over by the Norwegian State in 1945 and renamed Stornes. Purchased by Westfal-Larsen in Jan.-1947, renamed Taranger. Sold in Nov.-1966 to Panama and renamed Plate Ranger. Broken up in Taiwan in 1969 (my Ship Forum has a posting about this ship, text is in German). The company's 3rd Taranger was delivered in Nov.-1969, built in Bergen, 19 025 gt. Renamed Star Taranger in 1972. Sold to Monrovia in Aug.-1978, renamed Star Najd. Sold to Piræus in 1980, renamed Star Orpheus. Sold to Manilla in 1981, renamed Star Luzon. (Info from Westfal-Larsen fleet list). 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. others as named within above text - (ref. My sources).
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