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D/S Gro
Updated Sept. 23-2011

To Gro on the "Ships starting with G" page.

Crew List

A picture of this ship is available at Uboat.net (external link).

Manager: O. Grolle Olsen & I. Hysing Olsen, Bergen
Tonnage:
4211 gt, 7064 tdwt.
Call Sign: LCLS

Built by J. L. Thompson & Sons Ltd., North Sands, Sunderland in 1917. Previous name Tenterden until 1920. According to this external page, she was delivered as Tenterden in Oct.-1917 to Norfolk & North American Steam Shipping Co. (Furness, Withy & Co), London. From 1920, owners were A/S Gro (A/S Jacob R. Olsen), Bergen, renamed Gro. From 1922, A/S D/S Gro (O. Grolle Olsen & I. Hysing Olsen), Bergen, no name change. From 1938, A/S O. Grolle Olsen & I. Hysing Olsens Rederi, Bergen, same name.

Captain: Paul Brun

Her voyages are listed on this original document received from the National Archives of Norway.

 Notes: 

As will be seen when going to the archive document above, Gro was on her way from Hampton Roads to Bergen when war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940, but put in to Kirkwall, where she arrived Apr. 11. The document indicates she proceeded to Tromsø, Norway about a month later, but arrival there is not given.

She managed to get out of Norway on June 9-1940, was attacked by aircraft on June 12 in position 70 05N 04 40E, but reached U.K. with only minor damages. She had started out from Kirkenes, where she had been unloading coal, and en route to the U.K. she stopped at Honningsvåg to take on board some people who wanted to get out of Norway, as well as 100 tons aluminum which had been transported north by M/K Grimsøy. Going back to the archive document, we learn that Gro arrived Kirkwall on June 20, proceeding to Sydney, C.B. and Montreal a week later, with arrival Montreal July 18.

 Final Fate - 1940: 

In Montreal, Gro had loaded over 6000 tons of wheat for Manchester, U.K., then arrived Sydney, C.B. on Aug. 1-1940 for convoy. On Aug. 15 they received orders for degaussing and this was subsequently installed at the Sydney Foundry and Engineering Works, completed on Aug. 24. The next day, she joined the slow Convoy SC 2, which sailed in 9 columns with Gro in station No. 83. The Germans had desiphered the British sailing codes for this convoy by Aug. 30, and knew exactly where it was to meet the escort from the U.K., so 3 U-boats were sent to attack, reaching the meeting place shortly after the escort had formed around the convoy.

After 2 British ships had been torpedoed in the early morning hours of Sept. 7 (Neptunian and José de Larrinaga) the convoy adopted a zig-zag course in an effort to shake off the attackers, but Gro received a torpedo on the port side* amidships from U-47 (Prien) at about 02:00 in position 58 30N 16 10W (northwest of Rockall). The boilers exploded and hot steam gushed out. She broke in two and started to sink right away, 10 minutes later she was gone.

21 men, including the captain had gotten away in the port lifeboat (the starboard motorboat was blown to pieces), 11 were missing, 8 of whom had been in the engine room, stoke hold or coal bunkers. Just before Gro had broken in 2 the men in the boat had seen 2 shadows move on the lower bridge, but could do nothing to investigate when she sank shortly thereafter. After a while 2 lights were seen on the water, assumed to be coming from one of the rafts or the gig, but in the gale force wind and high seas they were unable to row in that direction and the lights soon disappeared. (One of the rafts from Gro with 2 bodies tied to it was found on the ocean on Sept. 27 by HMS Periwinkle. This raft had belonged on the lower bridge. The dead men were the 2nd mate and possibly the messboy or the 3rd mate).

Galley Boy H. Sørensen, who had been standing on the grating over the engine at the time of the explosion had been badly burnt all over his body by the steam pouring out. He was covered up and taken care of as best they could. At dawn the survivors set sail in an easterly direction. The hood was put up on the boat and this provided some shelter against the cold wind. The boat also had a warm coat and oilskins for each of them as well as water, bread, butter and canned food.

On Sept. 10 they spotted a ship and tried to cross its course so that they would be seen. By 19:00 they had all been picked up by the British D/S Burdwan (Captain C. R. Mill) in 56 25N 09 35W and given the best of care. The injured galley boy as well as some of the others, who had taken ill from sitting in the boat in wet clothes for 89 hours were given medical treatment. As this ship was headed for Capetown** they were transferred to HMS Arabis on Sept 11 (escorting a Liverpool bound convoy***) and were landed in Liverpool in the evening of the 13th. The galley boy, stoker O. Moy and the cook were taken to a hospital, while the others were accommodated at various locations.

*British records say Gro was hit amidships on the starboard side, not the port side as stated in Captain Brun's report. This perhaps makes more sense(?), since the starboard boat was blown to pieces and the survivors got away in the undamaged port boat. Captain Brun also states that the men who had been on the starboard side amidships when the torpedo hit perished in the explosion.

**Checking further, we find that A. Hague has included Burdwan in Convoy OA 211 (external link), departing Methil on Sept. 8-1940, dispersed Sept. 12 (she arrived Capetown on Oct. 3).

***The closest I can find is Convoy HX 67, which had left Halifax on Aug. 20-1940. According to A. Hague, Arabis escorted this convoy from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. (Arabis is also named among the escorts for Convoy SC 4, which departed Sydney, C.B. on Sept. 10-1940 - dates for her escort duties for this convoy are given as Sept. 23 to Sept. 26).

Måkefjell (also in Convoy SC 2), captain Øywind Meitzner, reported having collided with a German U-boat northwest of Ireland on Sept. 9, parallelled by Prien's own report that he was almost hit by a cargo ship in this convoy.

For info, U-47 was also responsible for the attacks on Britta, Lenda and Borgland - follow the links for details.

Crew List:

Survivors:
Captain
Paul Brun
1st Mate
Ingvald Dalhaug
Radio Operator
Arnulf Westad
Boatswain
Bernt Brandal
Able Seaman
Lars Rimstad
Able Seaman
Johannes Furdal
Able Seaman
Odd Gjerde
Able Seaman
Arthur B. Johannessen
Able Seaman
Magnus Isdahl
Able Seaman
William Bye
Ordinary Seaman
Aksel Olsen
Jr. Ordinary Seaman
Einar Johnsen
Deck Boy
Arild Storstad
1st Engineer
Martin Tumyr
2nd engineer
Odd Tumyr
Stoker
Martin Øren
Stoker
Oskar Moy
Stoker
Viktor Andresen
Steward
Wilhelm Wilhelmsen
Cook
Haakon Engh
Galley Boy
Herolf Sørensen
Casualties:

2nd Mate
Johan Myklebust

3rd Mate
Olaf Monsen

3rd Engineer
Gerhardt Eltervaag

Donkeyman
Johan Svåsand

Stoker
Otto Fugledal

Stoker
Odd Tjosås

Stoker
Kjell Anker Nilsen

Trimmer
Nils L. Skaare

Trimmer
Sverre Jørgensen

Trimmer
Einar Larsen

Mess Boy
Anbjørn Astad

Back to Gro on the "Ships starting with G" page.

Norway (Biørn Biørnstad & Co.) had also lost a ship by this name to WW I, originally delivered in Jan- 1895 as Alagonia to owners in Liverpool, built in Port Glasgow, 2667 gt. Had misc. British owners until 1903, when she was renamed Ros for owners in Stockholm, Sweden. Sold in Febr.-1916 to D/S A/S Avenir (Biørn Biørnstad & Co.), Oslo and renamed Gro - torpedoed and sunk by UC 47 off Start Point on Aug. 22-1917, voyage Glasgow-Rouen with coal.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Hjemmeflåten - mellom venn og fiende", Lauritz Pettersen, "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume I (Norwegian Maritime Museum) and misc. for cross checking details - (ref. My sources).

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