M/T Vanja - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

1940 - 1941:

When Norway was invaded on Apr. 9-1940 Vanja was en route from Aruba to Havana, having departed Aruba on Apr. 6, arriving Havana on the 11th, unloaded cargo and departed again on Apr. 13 (she was chartered by American charterers for 6 months for West Indies trade). Arrived St. Nicholas, Aruba on Apr. 17, picked up a cargo of fuel oil and departed Apr. 18 with arrival Kingston, Jamaica on the 21st. Departed May 2 for Matanzas, a voyage which took 3 days, and the day after arrival she left for Aruba again, via Kingston where she remained for 3 days, then arrived Aruba May 16. She continued voyaging between Aruba and Cuba until Aug. 23 (11 voyages with cargoes to Cuba), and on that date she went from Matanzas to Houston, Texas whereupon she made a few voyages with cargoes from Gulf ports to Cuba. In Oct. she took a cargo from Curacao to New York, and at the end of that month she was docked. At this time the 6 months time charter was completed. Repairs were finished on Nov. 26; degaussing had also been installed. She left New York to pick up a cargo in Port of Spain, departed alone for Bermuda on Dec. 8, joined a convoy for Halifax, with departure Halifax in Convoy HX 100 for the U.K. on Jan. 1-1941.

Vanja received a signal from the Convoy Commodore on Jan. 9 that her cargo was to be unloaded in Iceland. Realizing that she was not prepared for this the Commodore asked Vanja's captain if he would be willing to go to Reykjavik without a map if another ship, the British Standella, would lead the way. She arrived Reykjavik on Jan. 12-1941 and the next day part of her cargo was unloaded, while the rest was taken to Scapa Flow with arrival Jan. 20. Her cargo was transferred to various warships there and on Jan. 26 she continued to Loch Ewe to meet a westbound convoy in order to head back across the Atlantic on the 31st (OB 280 ?) - this time with Trinidad as her ultimate destination. (The convoy appears to have been attacked by German aircraft on Febr. 2 ?). Vanja arrived Port of Spain on Febr. 24-1941.

She now loaded a cargo again (being a tanker, I assume all her cargoes were oil or similar), proceeded alone to Bermuda like last time, then on to Halifax again. This time her stay in Halifax was a little longer because she had a gun installed (the preparatory work for this gun had been done while in dock in New York in Nov.-1940), then on March 26 she departed in convoy, arriving Liverpool on Apr. 15-1941. She had been scheduled for Convoy HX 114, but cancelled and instead joined HX 117. (According to Rohwer the Dutch Prins Willem II became a straggler and was torpedoed and sunk by U-98 on Apr. 9, and the British Armed Merchant Cruiser Rajputana was torpedoed and sunk by U-108 on Apr. 13). Vanja left the U.K. again in convoy for Curacao on Apr. 23, with arrival May 16. She was ready to leave already the next day but as 2 crew had not come back on board the rest of the crew, with the exception of officers refused to leave. However, the 2 were brought to the ship with the help of policemen and she could take her leave. This was May 17, a very important date to Norwegians (Norway's Constitution Day which is usually celebrated with fervour), so I would imagine the longing for home and family was even more intense than usual, this affecting the morale on board.

Vanja now proceeded directly to Halifax then on to St. Johns, N. F. where several warships received some of her cargo. She also paid a visit to the British battle ship Repulse, which was at Belle Island, but after having replenished her, she returned to St. Johns to finish replenishing some destroyers, corvettes etc. She was not the only Norwegian ship there at the time. One day, on June 15, the Norwegian Ingerfem drifted into Vanja causing some damages in her side, but it could not have been too serious because Vanja left for New York on June 23, took on more cargo there and was ready for her next voyage across the Atlantic, but developed engine problems and had to return (scheduled for Convoy HX 138, cancelled). Having been repaired she left again on July 16-1941 with Convoy HX 139, this time bound for Londonderry, then back to the U.S. in Aug. with the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 6.

Christmas that year was spent in Convoy HX 165 which departed Halifax on Dec. 15-1941. Several other (unfortunately unnamed) Norwegian tankers also took part in this convoy.

She continued in this service (U.S. -West Indies-U.K.) until Dec.-1942, with Johannes Amundsen as captain until Oct. that year.

1942 - 1943:

In Febr.-1942 we find her in Convoy HX 174, together with the Norwegian James Hawson, Athos, Fernwood, Høegh Giant, Thorsholm, Beth and Anderson, as well as the Panamanian Norvinn - all listed on this website.

According to the first external website that I've linked to at the end of this text, Vanja was scheduled for Convoy SL 113 in June-1942 (together with Thorhild, Thorshavet and Fagerfjell), but did not sail. Instead she joined the next convoy, SL 114, which departed Freetown on June 25-1942 and arrived Liverpool on July 17. Vanja is listed as sailing in the fast portion of the convoy, cargo of fuel oil for Londonderry. The Norwegian Belnor, Norholm, Solfonn and Villanger also took part in SL 114, as did the Norbris (Panamanian flag). Sveve was scheduled but did not join (sailed in the next convoy).

As mentioned, on Oct. 24 that year Captain Amundsen allowed himself a break and on the 30th, while in New York, Captain Arne Andreassen replaced him. Vanja then headed for Londonderry* again with her cargo, and 9 days later she went back towards the U.S., but south of New Foundland she was ordered to leave the convoy and go alone to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On Dec. 13 a suspicious vessel, believed to be an enemy sub was spotted; the alarm was sounded and guns manned. The gunners were ordered to fire, but fortunately this order was withdrawn at the last minute when the sub turned out to be an American one.

*As can be seen by going to my page about Convoy HX 213, Vanja was scheduled for this convoy, which left New York City on Oct. 26, but she did not sail. As far as I can see, she's not listed in the next HX convoy, so she may have sailed in one of the slower SC convoys, for instance SC 108, which departed New York City on Nov. 1-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 19th (this convoy is not available to me, so I cannot confirm).

Vanja arrived Guantanamo Bay on Dec. 14, then joined a convoy there for Trinidad, with arrival Dec. 25, departure (with cargo) in Convoy TM 1 for Gibraltar on Dec. 28, escorted by a destoyer and 3 corvettes. (At that time Vanja had a Canadian priest as Radio Operator. Follow the link to TM 1, as well as the external link provided at the end of this text for more details on this convoy). TM 1 was the first direct convoy from Port of Spain. The tanker convoys started to go straight from Trinidad, without first going to Halifax at this time, thereby saving valuable time when bringing much needed supplies to the Allies in North Africa. The Norwegian Albert L. Ellsworth and M/T Minister Wedel were sunk in this convoy, as was M/T Norvik (Panamanian flag). Follow the first 2 links for more details. After Minister Wedel had gone down on Jan. 9-1943 the gunners on Vanja were on duty 24 hours a day for the last part of the voyage. According to the captain's report she barely avoided a torpedo herself on Jan. 9. He says he was on the bridge with the 3rd mate and the 1st mate when he suddenly heard the 1st mate command "hard port wheel" (I'm sure there's a proper term for this in English, but I don't know it), having observed a torpedo coming towards them from the port side. For a while it looked as if it would hit them, but their evading maneuver saved them. They also saw the U-boat about 500 meters away and fired at it, but this didn't succeed in anything other than making the escorts aware of its position. The ocean around them was and inferno of flames so it was difficult to maneuver, and debris was "raining" all around them when the flames reached the ammunition on the sinking ships, causing further explosions.

Vanja was now 1 of only 3 ships left of the convoy of 9 tankers, escorted at that time by 2 of the corvettes as the others stayed by the torpedoed ships.

On Jan. 11 another destroyer and 2 corvettes were sent by the British to reinforce the escort. By then the ships had also arrived within the reach of the aircraft patrols, so the attackers finally withdrew, but when Vanja reached Gibraltar on Jan. 14, only 1 other ship was with her, namely the British Cliona. In addition to the Norwegian ships mentioned above, the British Empire Lytton, Oltenia II, British Dominion and British Vigilance had been sunk. On arrival Gibraltar the surviving officers from all the ships were called to the battle ship Renown where they were questioned about the voyage.

At the time it was believed that Vanja had successfully finished off one of the U-boats in Convoy TM 1. The captain says about 200 machine gun bullets had been observed hitting the tower of the U-boat, but the 4" aft gun had a better result. According to a gunner's report they fired 4 shots, the 1st one missing, the 2nd hitting right below the tower resulting in a greyish smoke, followed by a whistling sound. The 3rd shell went in front of the boat and the 4th hit exactly where it had just submerged, with the smoke from it continuing for quite a while. The Admiralty was cautious in its comments after the report had been given, saying "The attack by Vanja on 10th January, 1943, has been assessed as U-boat present, insufficient evidence of damage", and "The Admiralty consider that the efficiency displayed by the Vanja is most praiseworthy". Subsequently, those on Vanja who had already received Krigsmedaljen, were awarded a star for their medals after this incident (follow the link for an explanation of what that means).

They were:

Captain Andreassen, 1st Mate Ragnar Henningsen, who had been on Vanja since Nov.-1937, and 2nd Mate Eilert Eilertsen, who had also been on board since before the war. The following were awarded Krigsmedaljen: 3rd Engineer Rolf Larsen, Boatswain Magnus Pedersen, Able Seamen Kaare Kristoffersen and Arthur Nilsen, Petty Officer Arnt Andreassen, and the gunners Reidar Berntsen and Waldemar Lund. This took place in Glasgow on arrival there on a later voyage in Oct.-1943.

Vanja continued to Oran on the 18th to unload her cargo, arriving Jan. 20, endured a hefty German aircraft attack that evening but was not hit. After having unloaded her cargo of fuel oil she returned to Gibraltar with Convoy MKS 7 (scroll down a little in my table for this convoy). Gibraltar in those days was not exactly a resting place for worn out nerves, because every 5 minutes, all through the night, depth charges were dropped in order to keep possible midget submarines at bay. Vanja remained in Gibraltar until Febr. 22 at which time she headed for New York in a convoy consisting of 45 large ships, all in ballast, escorted by 6 American(?) destroyers with a large American(?) naval tanker as commodore vessel. Without more information it's difficult to determine which convoy this might have been, but Convoy GUS 4 is a possible candidate. According to "The story of 19 Oslo ships during WW II", 2 of the American destroyers were torpedoed that same day, about 10 n. miles northwest of Cape Spartel, and Thorsholm also received a torpedo in the foreship. These details appear to be erroneous; please see my text under the heading "Some Detective Work" on my page about M/T Thorsholm for an explanation.

Vanja arrived New York on March 13-1943 and continued to Baltimore for repairs the following day. When she arrived the dock it turned out she had several leaks, believed to have been caused by all the depth charges that had been dropped on the Trinidad-Gibraltar voyage. The repairs were completed a month later and Vanja returned to New York where it was decided she was to go to a yard again, this time for the installation of an extra deck to enable the transport of aircraft. A week later, on Apr. 26-1943 she departed New York for Boston in order to join a convoy, with departure Apr. 28 for Halifax, then headed for the U.K. in the slow Convoy SC 129 on May 2 (she had originally been scheduled for Convoy HX 235 from New York on Apr. 18, but joined the slower convoy instead). The British Antigone (with cargo of grain, general and MT) and the Norwegian Grado, cargo of lumber and iron were torpedoed on the port side of the convoy on May 11. From Vanja they could tell that the British ship received the torpedo in the engine room, the boilers exploded and she sank immediately. Jürgen Rowher lists the culprit as U-402 for both, as does Arnold Hague who adds that Antigone had 3 dead. My text under Grado has some more details. The Norwegian James Hawson and Grey County are also listed in this convoy.

The convoy arrived Belfast on May 20 and the following day Vanja joined another convoy for Milford Haven, then continued to Plymouth with arrival May 22. Having unloaded her cargo there she departed again on May 31 in a large convoy for New York. This may have been Convoy ON 187 which departed Liverpool on June 1-1943 with 75 ships, arrival New York on June 15. On this voyage Vanja had some problems with her machinery so in New York she went to a yard again. The repairs took about a month, whereupon she picked up a cargo of diesel oil and via Boston and Halifax she again headed across the Atlantic. According to the source mentioned above, this convoy encountered heavy fog, resulting in a Liberty ship becoming a straggler and receiving a torpedo, but again, I believe some of this info might be erroneous. On checking with Rohwer I find only 2 Liberty Ships sunk or damaged on a date that remotely fits this, nameley Richard Caswell and John A. Poor. The former was sunk on July 16 in a different area completely (+ the date is a little too early to fit), so that can be ruled out. The latter could be the ship referred to in the Norwegian source; however, she was not torpedoed but struck a mine on July 26-1943, laid by U-119 on June 1. She was en route from Boston to Halifax in Convoy BX 65 at the time, so it's possible that Vanja was also in this convoy before she joined a Trans-Atlantic convoy in Halifax (she's listed in Convoy SC 138 which left Halifax on July 30-1943 and arrived Liverpool on Aug. 12).

Vanja unloaded her cargo in Grangemouth then headed back to the U.S. in convoy on Aug. 18. This convoy was also attacked by U-boats that same afternoon but no ships were lost. I can find no convoy that fits this date exactly (ON 198 departed Liverpool on Aug. 21), unless she was in the slow convoy ONS 16 which left Liverpool on Aug. 19-1943? However, Rohwer reports no attacks on any of these convoys. In New York Vanja loaded fuel oil and a deckload of 13 aircraft, then headed to Lynhaven, and departed in convoy on Sept. 15 for the Mediterranean, however, due to engine failure she had to return to Norfolk for repairs, which were completed on Sept. 23 at which time she was sent to New York again in order to continue from there to the U.K. The original aircraft were taken off while in New York and replaced by 13 new ones before she left on Oct. 1 via Boston and Halifax for Glasgow where her cargo was discharged (she's listed in Convoy SC 144 from Halifax, departing on Oct. 11-1943, arriving Liverpool on Oct. 27). She subsequently went to Greenock for the installation of equipment that would enable her to replenish the escorts at sea. While there, Captain Amundsen returned on Nov. 1, he had served in the Navy for a year. Vanja again departed for New York on Nov. 14 (Convoy ON 211?), with arrival Nov. 29; Captain Andreassen came with them on this voyage but left the ship in New York on Nov. 30. On Dec. 9 she again returned to Loch Ewe, as usual via Boston and Halifax*. Her cargo was discharged in Shellhaven.

*There was actually a convoy that left New York for Liverpool on Dec. 10-1943, namely HX 270. From Halifax, the convoy closest to Dec. 9 was the slower SC 149 with departure Dec. 15, but Vanja is listed as cancelled from this convoy, and does not show up again until Convoy SC 151, which left Halifax on Jan. 14-1944, so the date Dec. 9 above appears to be incorrect, unless it simply refers to the date she left New York for Halifax? (It seems strange to me that she would go to Halifax to join a convoy when HX 270 departed from New York; why would she go via Boston and Halifax when the HX convoys originated from New York where she was at that time? The only explanation I can come up with is that perhaps she was deemed too slow for the HX convoys?).

External links related to text above:
SL / SL/MKS convoys - Convoy SL 113 and SL 114 are included.

TM-1, 3-12 Jan 1943

1944 - 1945:

As mentioned, Vanja is listed as sailing in Convoy SC 151 in Jan.-1944. In the middle of Febr.-1944 she left Loch Ewe with destination Baltimore in Convoy ON 224, then went to a yard in Maryland and was not ready to sail again until the middle of May. In New York she took on board 60 depth charges, as well as a deck cargo of 43 tons of aircraft, joining convoy Convoy HX 292 for the U.K. A couple of voyages were now made between New York and the U.K. with oil and aircraft (she's listed in Convoy HX 298, which arrived Liverpool from New York on July 18-1944), then on July 26 she departed London for Curacao via Methil and Loch Ewe, then back to England (London) via Guantanamo Bay and New York. This would have been with Convoy HX 309, in which she's listed in Sept.-1944. She was subsequently ordered to Corpus Christi, followed by some short voyages in somewhat safer waters than her previous ones. On Nov. 16 she departed Houston for New York with arrival Nov. 25. After having removed depth charges and the equipment for replenishing the escorts, as well as her cargo, she was sent to Galveston where she was docked from the beginning of Dec.-1944 until the middle of Jan.-1945. For the last part of the war Vanja was in service between U.S. ports in the Gulf with an occasional voyage to Boston or Philadelphia. On May 3-1945 she departed Philadelphia for Port Arthur and was at sea between Cape Hatteras and the Florida coast when Germany capitulated. Cargo was loaded in Port Arthur with departure May 15 for Philadelphia; no convoy was necessary and all lights were lit for the first time in many years.

Related external link:
Halfdan Ditlev Simonsen today