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D/S Polyana
Updated Sept. 22-2010

To Polyana on the "Ships starting with P" page.

Crew List

A picture is available on this external page (click in it to enlarge).

Owner: Rederi A/S Hauk
Manager: Bucha Godager & Co., Oslo
Tonnage:
2267 gt, 3975 tdwt.
Signal Letters: LDMK

Delivered in Aug.-1919 from Collingwood Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Collingwood, Toronto as Canadian Signaller for Marmne Merchant Ltd., Montreal. Later Emperor of Halifax from 1925. Purchased by Nils Røgenæs, Haugesund in Aug.-1929 and renamed Skjoldheim. Sold in Nov. that same year to E. Gerrard & H. I. Ramsland, Kristiansand S. From Febr.-1940 (sold 1939?) she had the name Polyana for Bucha Godager & Co., Oslo.

Captain: Karl Jacobsen

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

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

  Voyage Record
From Sept.-1940 to Apr.-1941:  

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

Follow the convoy links provided for more information on each.

Errors may exist, and some voyages are missing.

Departure From To Arrival Convoy Remarks
1940 Sept. 2 Sydney, C.B. Liverpool* Sept. 18 SC 3 Earlier voyages:
archive document
See also narrative below.
*Stopped at Clyde
Oct. 13 Liverpool* OB 228 *From Glasgow, Oct. 13.
Dispersed Oct. 17
See also OB 228
(external link)
Oct. 21 Clyde OB 232 For Pugwash.
Dispersed 56 30N 26 50W, Oct. 26.
Convoy available at OB 232
(external link)
Arrived Pugwash, Nov. 8,
see archive document
(also, missing voyages).
Dec. 8 Sydney, C.B. Liverpool* Dec. 23 SC 15 *Arrived Greenock
1941 Jan. 1 Clyde Methil Jan. 5 WN 63 Convoy available at WN convoys
(external link)
Missing movements, archive doc.
Febr. 4 Yarmouth Humber Febr. 6 FN 399 Convoy available at FN convoys
(external link)
Again, see archive document
(also, missing movements).
March 29 Methil Loch Ewe March 31 EN 93/1 Convoy available at EN convoys
(external link)
Later arr. Oban, Apr. 3
Apr. 7 Oban OG 58 For Freetown.
A. Hague says:
Lost Convoy Apr. 14.
Sunk - See "Final Fate" below
Convoy will be added.
See ships in OG convoys


 Some Convoy Voyages: 
For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see the document received from the National Archives of Norway and A. Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the convoy links provided for further details; several Norwegian ships took part.

According to the archive document, Polyana arrived Caibarien (from Baltimore) on Apr. 10-1940, the day after the German invasion of Norway. It'll also be noticed that she had quite a long stay in New York that summer.

With a cargo of phosphates for Glasgow, she was scheduled for the slow Sydney (C.B.)-U.K. Convoy SC 2 on Aug. 25-1940 (Gro and others were sunk - follow the links for details), but instead joined the next convoy on Sept. 2, SC 3, from which the Norwegian Lotos was sunk, among others. Polyana arrived Glasgow on Sept. 21.

The following month, A. Hague has included her, together with Astra, Brask, Chr. Knudsen, Dokka (sunk - follow link for more info), Gudrun, Noreg and Topdalsfjord, in Convoy OB 228 (the page shows some reports only - see also the external link provided in the record above, as well as the link further down on this page). This convoy started out in Liverpool on Oct. 13 and dispersed on the 17th, but it does not look like she remained with this convoy for very long (if she joined at all?), because she's also listed as bound from Glasgow for Pugwash in ballast in station 82 of Convoy OB 232, originating in Liverpool on Oct. 21, dispersed on the 26th (also available via link in the table above). Heien, Lysaker IV, Måkefjell, Rimfakse, Siak, Skiensfjord (Commodore Vessel) and Tyr are also named. Going back to the archive document, we learn that Polyana had left Glasgow on Oct. 13, sailed from Clyde on Oct. 22, and arrived Pugwash Nov. 8. Having made a voyage to Parrsboro and on to Sydney, C.B., she headed back to the U.K. on Dec. 8 in the slow Convoy SC 15, cargo of lumber for Great Yarmouth.

She was damaged during an air attack in Great Yarmouth on Jan. 25-1941. On my page Warsailor Stories (first story on that page) I've included the personal story of the brother of the mate/radio operator on Polyana at the time of this attack, Sverre Remø. He was wounded and had to go to hospital, which as it turned out, saved his life. It's the story of 5 brothers and a sister who served outside of Norway during the war; the brothers on 17 different ships altogether. Another sister was involved in "illegal" activities in Norway, as was the father (there's also a link to the original, Norwegian version of the story).

Her subsequent movements are shown on the archive document (as can be seen, she had a long stay i Hull that spring; perhaps she was repaired there?).

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

Related external link:
Ships hit from OB 228

 Final Fate -1941: 

Polyana had left Sunderland with a cargo of coal on March 22-1941. Via Methil Roads and Loch Ewe, she arrived Oban on Apr. 3, leaving again on Apr. 7 for Freetown in the Gibraltar bound Convoy OG 58 (originated in Liverpool Apr. 6, arrived Gibraltar Apr. 21), and was estimated to arrive Freetown on April 30. According to "Nortraships flåte", which does not mention the identity of the convoy, the southbound section was detached on April 14 in position 44 41N 22 43W, and that's the last time Polyana was seen (as reported by the Norwegian D/S Brisk in the same convoy). A. Hague says she lost touch with the convoy that day. OG 58 will be added to an individual page in my Convoys section in due course, in the meantime, the ships sailing in it are named on the page listing ships in all OG convoys. In addition to Brisk already mentioned, the Norwegian Bruse Jarl, Marga, Marita, Nesttun, Senta, Star and Torfinn Jarl are also listed.

She was later found to have been torpedoed and sunk by U-103 (Schütze) in the very early hours of April. 25 (about half an hour after midnight, having been attacked by 2 torpedoes just before midnight on the 24th, Central European Time), position 12 45N 28 21W. All 25 on board perished, including 2 British, 1 Danish, 1 Tunisian, 1 Spanish and 1 Maltese.

For info, U-103 was also responsible for the attacks on Nina Borthen (1940) and Benjamin Franklin (1941) - follow the links for details.

Some sources, including Jürgen Rohwer, say Polyana had been in Convoy OG 60, but this does not add up - Convoy OG 60 departed Liverpool on April 26-1941 (arrival Gibraltar May 10), while OG 58 departed Liverpool on April 6, initially with 47 ships, some of which detached to head south, as mentioned.

Crew List - No survivors:

Lars Klovning had previously served on Gard (until Sept.-1940).
Aksel Larsen had previously served on Alfred Olsen.

Casualties

Captain
Karl Jacobsen

1st Mate
Rolf Hanssen

2nd Mate
Kristoffer Hillesland

Radio Operator
Michael Doswell*
(British)

Boatswain
Aksel Larsen

Able Seaman
Harald Olaussen

Able Seaman
Oliver Røste

Able Seaman
Olaf Ose

Ordinary Seaman
Erling Hagedal

Ordinary Seaman
Lars Klovning

Ordinary Seaman
Ragnvald Rannekleiv

Deck Boy
Henry Gutherless
(British)

1st Engineer
Gunerius Olsen

2nd Engineer
Hugo Trondsen

3rd Engineer
Sverre Andersen

Donkeyman
Hans Gjerstad

Stoker
Henry Eriksen

Stoker
John Xiberras
(Tunisian)

Stoker
Werner Ingebrethsen

Stoker
Leon Minavro (Minarro?)
(Spanish?)

Stoker
Maurizo Zammit*
(Maltese)

Stoker
Bernhard M.
Tollefsen Helle

Steward
Olav Tønne

Cook
Jan Didrik Dahl

Mess Boy
Frode Hansen
(Danish)

* Billy McGee, England has told me that Radio Officer Michael Doswell (age 22 - date given as Apr. 23-1941) and Fireman Maurizo Zammit (age 27, from Gozo, Malta - date given as Apr. 22) are commemorated at Tower Hill (both these links are external). I cannot find the deck boy. The Norwegians are commemorated at the memorial for seamen in Stavern, Norway - link below.

Back to Polyana on the "Ships starting with P" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Våre gamle skip", Leif M. Bjørkelund & E. H. Kongshavn, "The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum. and misc. (ref. My sources).

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