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M/S Thalatta To Thalatta on the "Ships starting with T" page. Manager: Wilh. Wilhelmsen, Tønsberg Launched on May 7-1922 by Burmeister & Wain's Maskin- og Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenhagen (Yard No. 321). Completed July 29. Captain: Ole Hoff Lersbryggen. Related items on this website: Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives: Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.
(Received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database). Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.
As will be seen when going to Page 1 of the archive documents, Thalatta was en route from Tokuyama to Townsville when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940. That summer she's listed, with a cargo of wool and zinc concentrates, in Convoy SL 38, which left Freetown on July 1 and arrived Liverpool on the 20th (Dagrun is also listed); according to the archive document, Thalatta arrived Avonmouth July 22/23, remaining there for quite a long time. The following month we find her, along with Heina, Idefjord, Nea, Ringstad, Sama and Thorshavn, in Convoy OB 203, which originated in Liverpool on Aug. 24 and dispersed on the 28th, Thalatta arriving Baltimore Sept. 8 (she had started out from Milford Haven on Aug. 24). Both these convoys are available via links provided within the Voyage Record above. From Baltimore, she now headed to Durban, Fremantle and Sydney, Australia (Page 1). She was scheduled for the Bermuda portion of Convoy HX 111 on Febr. 21-1941, but instead joined the Bermuda portion of HX 114 on March 9, bound for London with wood, steel and sugar. The Norwegian Hidlefjord was sunk and Kaia Knudsen was damaged at the end of their voyages with this convoy. Follow the links for more details. In May that same year, she's listed as bound for Montreal in Convoy OB 320, originating in Liverpool on May 8, dispersed May 14, Thalatta arriving her destination on May 24; she had started out from Loch Ewe on May 10. Gallia, Harpefjell and Høegh Scout are also listed (link in the table above). Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 1 and Page 2. On Dec. 16-1941 she was scheduled for the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 60, but instead joined the next convoy on Dec. 21, SC 61, cargo of sugar and copper for Clyde, where she arrived Jan. 7-1942, remaining in the U.K. for over 2 months. In the spring of 1942 she's listed in Convoy OS 22, which departed Liverpool on March 13 and arrived Freetown Apr. 1. Thalatta, however, was bound for Capetown, and arrived there on Apr. 16 (having sailed from Clyde on March 13). Again, see the external link in the table above for more convoy information - Andrea Brøvig and Kristianiafjord are also included. From Capetown, Thalatta proceeded to Durban 2 days later, with arrival Apr. 23 (Page 2). Fearing that Japan's strong fleet would make a move on Madagaskar, thereby posing a threat to the transports to the Middle East, the troop transports to India, the southern shipping routes to Australia, and the oil supplies from The Persian Gulf, the Allies decided to attack the Vichy French controlled air base at Diego Suarez in the north of Madagaskar (Operation Ironclad). In the course of Apr.-1942 war ships, troop transports and supply ships arrived Durban, which was to be the base for the operation. Thalatta was one of these supply ships (as mentioned above, she had arrived Durban from Capetown on Apr. 23). She took on board equipment for an infantry brigade; landing barges and 120 Commando soldiers, and the convoy arrived Diego Suarez on May 5-1942 (see Convoy Y - external link). The websites that I've linked to at the end of this page have more information on this operation. Thalatta headed back to Durban on May 30, later proceeding to Lourenço Marques, where she remained for a long time - again, see Page 2. In Sept.-1942, Thalatta rescued the survivors from the Panamanian Tambour which had been torpedoed the day before, Sept. 26, and landed them in Trinidad on Sept. 28. Among the casualties were her Norwegian captain, Halfdan A. Mørland and the steward, Hylje E. Lorentzen. They are both commemorated at the Memorial for Seamen in Stavern, Norway, which I've linked to at the end of this page ("Nortraships flåte" places this incident a year later, in Sept.-1943, but J. Rohwer agrees with 1942 - ref. external link below). With a cargo of sugar, 4 passengers and mail, she was scheduled for the New York-U.K. Convoy HX 214 on Nov. 3-1942, but did not sail. Arnold Hague has instead included her in Convoy SC 109, which left New York on Nov. 9 and arrived Liverpool on the 30th. This convoy is not yet available among the SC convoys included in my Convoys section, but will be added - see Ships in all SC convoys; Astrid, Atlantic, Grado, Hjalmar Wessel, Iron Baron, James Hawson, Mathilda, Norse Lady, Ragnhild, Ravnefjell and Veni are also named. It'll be noticed, when going back to Page 2, that Thalatta subsequently remained in Liverpool for almost 2 months. On Jan. 23-1943, she can be found in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 162, along with a number of other Norwegian ships, as will be seen when following the link. Thalatta's destination is given as Table Bay, and she had station 45 of the convoy. According to the archive document mentioned above, she arrived Walvis Bay on March 1 (A. Hague says she had been detached from ON 162 on Febr. 1), continuing to Table Bay about a week later, with arrival March 13. Convoy information for this, and some of her subsequent voyages (shown on Page 2 and Page 3), can be found in the Voyage Record. In Aug.-1943 she appears, with Borgholm, Bosphorus, Nyhorn, Spurt and Viva, in Convoy SL 135 / MKS 22, bound for Loch Ewe, cargo of copper (links in the table above). SL 135 had departed Freetown on Aug. 14 and joined up with MKS 22 from Gibraltar on the 26th, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Sept. 6. Thalatta is listed in the SL portion and stopped at Loch Ewe on Sept. 5, continuing to London that same day. As will be seen when going back to Page 3 of the archive documents, she later spent a long time in North Shields, where she had arrived on Sept. 28-1943. Her next departure date is given as May 27-1944, "for trials", returning to North Shields that same day. A week later, we find her in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 239, originating in Liverpool on June 3-1944, arriving New York June 22 - Thalatta had joined from Loch Ewe. This convoy will also be added to an individual page in my Convoys section, but for now, the ships sailing in it (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys - Evanger, Henrik Ibsen, Idefjord, John Bakke, Mui Hock, O. B. Sørensen, Torborg, Vav and Vinga are also listed. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 3, with convoy information for some of them in the Voyage Record above. Skipping now to Nov.-1944, when Arnold Hague has included her (together with Novasli) in Convoy MKS 68, which will also be added to my Convoys section; in the meantime, please see the section listing ships in all MKS convoys. The convoy left Gibraltar on Nov. 25, joined up with Convoy SL 177 from Freetown on Nov. 26, the combined convoy arriving Liverpool on Dec. 5; Thalatta anchored in the Downs Dec. 4, continuing to Tyne the next day. Again, ref. link provided in the Voyage Record. A. Hague also has Cypria in the combined convoy, while another section of the same site has added Gabon and Karmt, but not Novasli and Cypria (checking further, I find that Gabon and Karmt had sailed in the previous convoy, SL 176/MKS 67). Thalatta now had another long stay at Tyne. On Jan. 17-1945, I have her in station 95 of the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 279, which arrived New York on Febr. 5. Page 3 indicates she was bound for St. John, N.B., as does A. Hague, but she arrived New York on Febr. 5, remaining there for about a month before proceeding to Port Said. The rest of her voyages are listed on Page 4 (it'll be noticed that she had long stay in Bombay in the summer of 1945) and Page 5; as will be seen, she went home to Norway in Nov.-1945, and again in the spring of 1946. More information on the other Norwegian ships mentioned here can be found via the alphabet index at the bottom of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.
Went aground on July 5-1948 off Suvadiva Atoll (Maldive Islands) on a voyage from Shanghai to Oslo with passengers and general cargo. Reported later that month to have been (unofficially) renamed Aqua Queen (meaning Water Queen). Refloated on Oct. 26 and arrived Colombo on Nov. 9, where she was found to be beyond economical repair, and on Apr. 20-1949 she was declared a constructive total loss. Sold on July 31-1949 by insurance underwriters to A. Ebrahim & Co., Bombay for scrapping. Demolition began in Nov.-1949 at Darukhana, Bombay. Related external links: Stavern Memorial commemorations for Tambour - The Norwegian captain and steward are commemorated. Back to Thalatta on the "Ships starting with T" page. Wilh. Wilhelmsen later had 2 more ships by this name. Germany also had a ship by this name - became British Empire Tegaya in 1945. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, Wilh. Wilhelmsen fleet list, and misc. (ref. My sources).
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