M/S Toronto - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Manager: Wilh. Wilhelmsen, Tønsberg
Tonnage: 5018 gt, 2883 net, 6608 dwt.
Dimensions: 381.8' x 52.2' x 27.7'.
Machinery: 2 x 6 cyl. 4 SCSA oil engines totalling 4000 ihp by shipbuilders, driving twin screws.
Service Speed: 12.5 knots.
Passenger cap.: 10

Launched on Aug. 17-1927 by Chantier et Ateliers de St. Nazaire (Penhoët) S.A., Grand Quevilly, Rouen (Yard No. V 5). Completed Jan. 30-1928.

Captain: Karl Waarøe.
3rd Mate: Erling Nakkestad

Related items on this website:
Guestbook message from Eric Byron, who served as radio operator on Toronto from June-1944 till July-1945 (I have now made him aware that her voyage record is available).
Another Guestbook message (in Norwegian) re some of Toronto's post war voyages.

Her voyages are listed on these original images from the Norwegian National Archives:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5

Please compare the above voyages with Arnold Hague's Voyage Record below.

Voyage Record
From March-1940 to Sept.-1945:

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

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

	Departure	From	To	Arrival	Convoy	Remarks
1940	March 26	Santos	New York City	Apr. 13	Independent	See also Page 1
	Apr. 24	New York City	Baltimore	Apr. 25	Independent	–
	Apr. 30	Baltimore	New York City	May 2	Independent	–
	May 7	New York City	Rio	May 25	Independent	A. Hague says: Then traded E Coast N & S America (missing voyages: Page 1 & Page 2).
1941	July 16	Montevideo	Boston	Aug. 9	Independent	–
	Aug. 14	Boston	New York City	Aug. 15	Independent	–
	Sept. 24	New York City	Halifax	Sept. 27	Independent	–
	Oct. 5	Halifax	Halifax	Oct. 6	HX 153	Returned
	Oct. 10	Halifax	Clyde	Oct. 22	HX 154	(See also Page 2)
	Nov. 8	Clyde	–	–	ON 34	For NYC. Dispersed 46 18N 52 40W, Nov. 21.
	Nov. 21	Dispersed from ON 34	New York City	Nov. 25	Independent	–
	Dec. 17	New York City	Halifax	Dec. 19	Independent	–
	Dec. 21	Halifax	Belfast Lough	Jan. 4-1942	HX 166	–
1942	Jan. 5	Belfast Lough	Avonmouth	Jan. 7	BB 120	Convoy available at BB convoys (external link) Left Avonmouth May 8 (Page 2).
	May 11	Milford Haven	–	–	OS 28	For Capetown. Detached May 30. Convoy available at OS 28 (external link)
	May 30	Detached from OS 28	Capetown	June 13	Independent	–
	July 1	Capetown	Aden	July 18	Independent	–
	July 18	Aden	Suez	July 23	Independent	Missing movements, Page 2
	Aug. 2	Suez	Aden	Aug. 9	Independent	Again, see also Page 2
	Aug. 10	Aden	Capetown	Aug. 26	Independent	–
	Aug. 28	Capetown	Trinidad	Sept. 19	Independent	–
	Sept. 22	Trinidad	Gitmo	Sept. 27	TAG 8	Convoy available at TAG convoys (external link)
	Sept. 29	Gitmo	New York City	Oct. 7	GN 8	Convoy available at GN convoys (external link)
	Oct. 10	New York City	Baltimore	Oct. 11	Independent	–
	Nov. 25	Baltimore	New York City	Nov. 26	Independent	–
	Dec. 6	New York City	Gitmo	Dec. 13	NG 327	For Cristobal. Convoy available at NG convoys (external link)
	Dec. 18	Gitmo	Cristobal	Dec. 21	GZ 16	Convoy available at GZ convoys (external link)
	Dec. 24	Balboa	Capetown	Jan. 27-1943	Independent	–
1943	Jan. 30	Capetown	–	–	CA 8	For Aden. Dispersed Febr. 1. Convoy available at CA 8 (external link)
	Febr. 1	Dispersed from CA 8	Aden	Febr. 19	Independent	–
	Febr. 20	Aden	Suez	Febr. 25	Independent	Left Suez March 8 - See Page 3
	March 21	Port Said	Alexandria	March 23	Independent	(Had arrived Port Said March 19 - Page 3)
	March 25	Alexandria	Tripoli, Libya	March 31	XT 7/1	Convoy available at XT 7 (external link)
	Apr. 15	Tripoli, Libya	–	–	TX 7/1	Convoy available at TX 7 (external link)
	Apr. 16	From TX 7	Alexandria	Apr. 19	ME 23	Convoy available at ME 23 (external link)
	Apr. 29	Alexandria	–	–	MW 27	Detached to XT 12, May 3. Convoy available at MW 27 (external link). See also narrative below
	May 3	Detached from MW 27	Tripoli, Libya	May 3	XT 12/1	Convoy available at XT 12 (external link)
	May 18	Tripoli, Libya	–	–	TX 11/1	Convoy available at TX 11 (external link)
	May 19	From TX 11	Alexandria	May 22	ME 26	Convoy available at ME 26 (external link)
	May 22	Alexandria	Port Said	May 23	Independent	–
	June 14	Port Said	Alexandria	June 15	Independent	See also narrative
	July 6	Alexandria	Acid South	July 13	MWS 37	See also Page 3 Convoy available at MWS 37 (external link)
	July 16	Syracuse	Tripoli, Libya	July 18	–	–
	July 21	Tripoli, Libya	Port Said	July 27	MES 37	Convoy available at MES 37 (external link)
	Aug. 11	Port Said	Beirut	Aug. 12	Independent	–
	Aug. 24	Beirut	Port Said	Aug. 26	Independent	–
	Aug. 30	Port Said	Haifa	Aug. 31	Independent	–
	Sept. 11	Haifa	Alexandria	Sept. 13	Independent	–
	Sept. 22	Alexandria	Tripoli, Libya	Sept. 26	XT 3	Convoy available at XT 3 (external link)
	Sept. 28	Tripoli, Libya	Bizerta	Sept. 30	MKS 26	Tripoli, Libya to Bizerta
	Oct. 4	Bizerta	Bone	Oct. 5	–	–
	Oct. 5	Bone	Bizerta	Oct. 6	–	–
	Oct. 10	Bizerta*	Gibraltar	Oct. 14	MKS 27	A. Hague says: "Bizerta to Gibraltar for UK" *Page 3 gives departure Bone Oct. 10
	Oct. 14	Gibraltar	Loch Ewe	Oct. 27	MKS 27G see link above	–
	Oct. 28	Loch Ewe	Dundee	Oct. 30	WN 498A	Convoy available at WN convoys (external link)
	Nov. 9	Dundee	Tyne	Nov. 11	–	Fire in engine room Dec. 14.
1944	July 20	Tyne	Methil	July 21	FN 1423	(Out for trials July 17 - Page 3). Convoy available at FN convoys (external link)
	July 22	Methil	Loch Ewe	July 24	EN 411	Convoy available at EN convoys (external link)
	July 25	Loch Ewe	New York City	Aug. 9	ON 246	For Baltimore. Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	Aug. 30	New York City	Hampton Roads	–	Independent	Page 3 gives arrival Aug. 31
	Sept. 2	Hampton Roads	Alexandria	Sept. 27	UGS 53	For Alexandria. Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	Oct. 9	Alexandria	Port Said	Oct. 10	Independent	On to Suez Oct. 10 (Page 4).
	Oct. 11	Suez	Aden	Oct. 16	Independent	–
	Oct. 16	Aden	Lourenço Marques	Oct. 28	Independent	–
	Nov. 6	Lourenço Marques	Capetown	Nov. 10	Independent	–
	Nov. 11	Capetown	Montevideo	Nov. 27	Independent	–
	Dec. 2	Montevideo	Buenos Aires	Dec. 3	Independent	–
	Dec. 15	Buenos Aires	Casablanca	Jan. 6-1945	Independent	–
1945	Jan. 10	Casablanca	Downs	Jan. 19	MKS 76G	Convoy will be added. See ships in MKS convoys
	Febr. 10	Southend	New York City	March 1	ON 284	See also Page 4 Convoy will be added. See ships in ON convoys
	March 23	New York City	Passed Gibraltar	Apr. 7	UGS 82	Convoy available at UGS convoys (external link)
	Apr. 7	Passed Gibraltar	Naples	Apr. 12	Independent	–
	Apr. 19	Naples	Gibraltar	–	Independent	–
	Apr. 23	Gibraltar	Casablanca	Apr. 24	Independent	–
	Apr. 28	Casablanca	Hampton Roads	May 14	GUS 86	Casablanca to USA. Convoy available at GUS convoys (external link) See also Page 4
	May 26	Hampton Roads	Havana	May 31	Independent	–
	May 31	Havana	Puerto Plata	June 2	Independent	(Again, see Page 4)
	June 10	Puerto Plata	Downs	–	Independent	(See Page 4)
	June 25	Downs	Dundee	June 27	Independent	–
	July 19	Dundee	Port Arthur	Aug. 6	Independent	–
	Aug. 8	Port Arthur	Kristiansand	Sept. 6	Independent	Notional sailing date
	Sept. 8	Kristiansand	Oslo	Sept. 11	Independent	Subsequent voyages: Page 4 & Page 5

Misc. Convoy Voyages:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the documents received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the links provided for more convoy information; the Commodore's notes are also available for some of them, and several Norwegian ships took part.

According to Page 1 of the archive documents, Toronto was on her way from Santos to New York when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940. Her 1941 voyages also start on this document and continue on Page 2.

She's said to have joined Convoy HX 153 from Halifax on Oct. 5-1941, but returned to port, later joining Convoy HX 154 on Oct. 10, together with the Norwegian Hilda Knudsen, Kaia Knudsen, Ranja, Tai Shan, Samuel Bakke, Emma Bakke, Polarsol, Skiensfjord, N. T. Nielsen-Alonso, Noreg and Svenør. Some of these ships, including Toronto, subsequently returned with the westbound Convoy ON 34, which originated in Liverpool on Nov. 7 and dispersed Nov. 21, Toronto arriving New York Nov. 25 (she had joined from Clyde). Acanthus is named among the escorts for this convoy. Toronto headed back to the U.K. on Dec. 21 with Convoy HX 166 from Halifax, and arrived Avonmouth, via Belfast Lough, on Jan. 7/8-1942.

As can be seen when going back to Page 2, she subsequently remained in Avonmouth for a long time; departure is given as May 8-1942, when she proceeded to Milford Haven, and a few days later we find her in Convoy OS 28, which originated in Liverpool on May 12 and arrived Freetown May 30. Toronto, however, was bound for Capetown, where she arrived June 13, having sailed from Milford Haven on May 11. Astrell, Hallanger (returned), Santos and Spinanger are also named in this convoy; ref. external link provided in the Voyage Record. (Another section of the same site says that Fernbank was scheduled but did not sail and has also added Leiv Eiriksson, but this ship sailed in OS 30).

Toronto's subsequent voyages are listed on Page 2 above and Page 3; convoy information for some of these can be found in the Voyage Record.

On May 1-1943, she was attacked by aircraft when in a convoy near Benghazi, with a cargo of bombs and petrol, position 32 40N 19 50 E - A. Hague has her in Convoy MW 27 at this time (external link - Pronto and Stirlingville are also listed). Two British ships were hit (troop transport D/S Erinpura, and the tanker British Trust), but Toronto escaped with just temporary engine trouble. The convoy is said to have shot down 5 planes that day. Her cargo was unloaded in Tripoli, then for her return voyage to Port Said on May 18 she took on board about 400 Italian prisoners.

After 3 weeks in Port Said being equipped for invasion, she went to Alexandria, took on board a cargo of petrol, tanks and large trucks, as well as 150 British soldiers, and was Vice Commodore ship for a convoy which departed on June 29-1943, bound for Sicily (compare w/Page 3, voyage not included? - it'll be noticed in A. Hague's record above, that she's listed with a similar cargo in Convoy MWS 37 [external], departing Alexandria on July 6 - Hermelin, Marit and Strix are also named). After having unloaded at Avola for 3 days, she left with 4 other ships for Syracuse, which had just been taken by the allied forces, then 3 days later she again left (for Tripoli) with 350 Italian prisoners on board, among them the General for the Napoli divison and his staff. A few days later she headed back to Alexandria and Port Said, this time as Commodore Vessel (possibly Convoy MES 37? External link; Belpareil, Hermelin and Strix are also included). She arrived Port Said on July 27, according to the archive document.

She was now fitted out for invasion again, then took on a cargo in Port Said, with further loading of cargo in Beirut, where 300 Indian soldiers embarked. However, the next voyage was cancelled, whereupon the soldiers disembarked, and Toronto returned to Port Said to unload all the war materials. This turned out to be the last of her invasion duties, and she now proceeded to Haifa to take on a general cargo for the U.K. She's said to have made a voyage from Tripoli to Bizerta with Convoy MKS 26 at the end of Sept.-1943, later proceeding to Gibraltar with Convoy MKS 27, before continuing to the U.K. with the Gibraltar-U.K. portion of Convoy MKS 27 on Oct. 14, together with the Norwegian Brønnøy and Sneland I. Toronto's destination is given as Dundee and she arrived there (via Loch Ewe) on Oct. 30. Again, see Page 3 for voyage comparison. The same document also shows a big gap in her voyages, from Nov. 11-1943, when she arrived North Shields, to July 17-1944, when she left "for trials". A. Hague says she had an engine room fire on Dec. 14 - see also the note below.

I found 2 pictures of Toronto at the section for Ordering Pictures of Ships on The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich website (external link). They have an extensive collection of ships' photographs and I found several of my father's ships here (my father served as radio operator on Toronto from Oct.-1951 till Dec.-1951). They're quite expensive and I only mention this because of the info provided in the text for each picture. The first one says: "Nov. 1943, lying alongside another vessel at Smith's Dock Co quay, North Shields. Negative dated 22 Nov. 1943. The Toronto arrived on the Tyne on 11 Nov. 1943 and, after suffering a fire, did not leave until at least the end of Jun. 1944". The text for the other picture says: "A/S D/S Fjeld, (Anton Meidell, manager), June 1952 in Cape Town harbour, still wearing the colours of Wilh. Wilhelmsen by whom she was owned until Oct. 1951".

Following the trials, she proceeded to Methil and Loch Ewe, and we now find her, along with Abraham Lincoln, Alaska, Atlantic, Brimanger (Commodore Vessel), Dageid, Dalfonn, Danio, Fernwood, Ivaran, James Hawson, Kaldfonn, Leiv Eiriksson, Petter, Skotaas, Strinda, Thorhild, Tiradentes, Vardefjell, Velox and Ørnefjell, in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 246*, which originated in Liverpool on July 25-1944 and arrived New York Aug. 9; Toronto was bound for Baltimore, but it looks like this was cancelled - arrival there is not given on Page 3. From the U.S., she later headed to Alexandria and Port Said.

Skipping now to Jan.-1945, when she made a voyage from Casablanca to the U.K. in Convoy MKS 76* (Ragnhild and Tigre are also listed). The following month she's listed, together with Abraham Lincoln (Commodore Vessel), Fernwood, Noreg, Norsol, Sverre Helmersen, Troubadour and Velma, in the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 284*, departing Southend on Febr. 10, arriving New York March 1. Her subsequent voyages are shown on Page 4 (with convoy info in Voyage Record). From this document, we also learn that she went home to Norway in Sept.-1945, and again in Dec.-1945 (it looks like Christmas was celebrated in Norway that year). Some of her early 1946 voyages are listed on Page 5.

* The ON convoys will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys. The MKS convoys will also be added, but for now, see ships in all MKS convoys.

More info on the other Norwegian ships mentioned here is available via the alphabet index at the end of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.

POST WAR:

Sold to A/S D/S Fjeld, (Anton Meidell, manager), Bergen on Oct. 3-1951, and renamed Hordnes in 1952. (My father served as radio operator from Oct.-1951 till Dec.-1951). Sank off Swinoujscie on May 22-1956 after striking the wreck of S/S Orion while on a voyage from Murmansk to Stettin with a cargo of apatite. Refloated on Sept. 21-1956 and later towed to Kiel, arriving Febr. 6-1957. Condemned and sold to Eckhardt & Co. on March 19-1957 for scrapping. Arrived Hamburg on March 23, demolition commenced Sept. 30.