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M/S Alf Lindeberg To Alf Lindeberg on the "Ships starting with A" page. Manager: Nortraship Built by Pennsylvania Shipyards Inc., Beaumont, Texas in 1943 as Cape North (285). Taken over by Nortraship on Oct. 23-1943 in Beaumont; on bareboat charter from the US War Shipping Administration to Nortraship. One of 10 (11?) ships added to Nortraship's Fleet in 1943, see my page "Ship Statistics and Misc." under "Gains 1943" for a list of the others. See also my text under M/S Santos about Captain Mons Augestad who appears to have been directly responsible for the acquisition of this ship. She was joined by the majority of Santos' crew, including Captain Augestad. This ship had a female radio operator from Oct.-1943. Helene Karoline J. Fischer Dale was the first Norwegian female radio officer in our fleet. She had previously served as stewardess on Bayard from March-1940 till Dec. that year, and on the same ship from Febr.-1941 till March-1942, before joining Laurits Swenson in the same capacity in May-1942, till July-1942. The following month she started school at Little Norway, Toronto to become a radio operator, and fresh out of school she joined Fred. Olsen's Baalbek as 2nd radio operator in June-1943 (till Sept.-1943), before signing on Alf Lindeberg in Oct.-1943 where she stayed till Dec.-1945. Just 2 days after signing off Alf Lindeberg she joined M/S Fernplant, this time as 1st radio operator, remaining with this ship until March-1946. She was later awarded Krigsmedaljen and Haakon VII Frihetsmedalje - see my Norwegian War Medals page. Many women sailed with the Norwegian fleet during the war, mostly as stewardesses or saloon girls. Norwegian ships also had several female Canadian radio operators; a list of their names can be found at the end of my page about Mosdale. (My mother was also a radio operator, though not during the war. Her ships can be found at Åse's Ships). Related item on this website:
Follow the convoy links provided for more information on them.
Alf Lindeberg was in San Francisco at the beginning of Oct.-1944, taking on a cargo for Honolulu, Pelelieu and Angaur (east of Leyte where the Americans had landed in Sept. that year). Her deck cargo was discharged in Honolulu before continuing west with American soldiers as passengers, working alongside the Norwegian gunners on the passage. She arrived Eniwetok on Oct. 26 (date according to Norwegian source, Voyage Record gives Oct. 25), but had to wait for convoy until Nov. 15 before she could continue with 4 other cargo vessels, escorted by 3 destroyers (according to A. Hague, she sailed independently). 3 of the ships went to Ulithi while the other 2 anchored up in the straits of Kossol on the 22nd (7 n. miles from Babalthuap), where the soldiers were transferred to another vessel. Japanese aircraft were observed so all the ships left their anchorage on the 30th, and while they were gathered in convoy outside, a floating dock was bombed. The ships returned to their anchorage that same day, then departed with escort on Dec. 17, arriving Pelelieu the next day, where the cargo had to be discharged to barges. On Jan. 4-1945 she proceeded to Angaur for unloading, then returned to Pelelieu 2 weeks later. Early in the morning of Jan. 18, Japanese troops were landed in barges, one of which landed just 200-300 yards away from Alf Lindeberg, so a sharp lookout was kept all that night. She then departed for Angaur, arriving the same day. 400 Japanese troops had been landed there during the night, and had hid in the mountains. Alf Lindeberg was at Pelelieu again on Jan. 21 when 4 barges landed Japanese troops that evening, and again the soldiers withdrew to the mountains. She left the Palau islands on Jan. 24 in a small convoy, with a cargo of 500 tons scrap from the battlefields on Pelelieu and Angaur, and via Pearl Harbor she took on a cargo of niter in Tocopilla, then arrived Charleston via the Panama Canal on March 30-1945.
Remained under the Norwegian flag for the rest of her career, and was renamed Sunrose in 1954, Strøm Forest in 1962, and Rytterholm in 1970 (see also this external page). Here is a Guestbook message from Rytterholm's captain from Nov.-1969 to May-1971, Odd N. Skaug. His wife served as radio operator on board, and they also had their daughter with them. He says the officers were Norwegian, but she had a Chinese crew, service China-Japan as well as European ports (around S. Africa, as the Suez Canal was closed). Broken up at Whampoa, China, in 1972. Below is a picture of a painting of Sunrose, received from and painted by Jan Goedhart, Holland (larger picture is available).
Back to Alf Lindeberg on the "Ships starting with A" page. The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, the Norwegian magazine "Krigsseileren", E-mails from R. W. Jordan and misc. (ref. My sources). The majority of the information on Helene Fischer Dale was received from Olive Roeckner, who herself served as radio operator on Norwegian ships (she in turn received the information from Berit Pittman, Canada). A book has been written about her experiences - see my text under Narvik.
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