D/S Stalheim
Updated July 25-2012

To Stalheim on the "Ships starting with S" page.

Crew List


Source: Sverre Johansen's postcard collection.

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

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

Misc. War Voyages:

Follow the convoy links provided for more info; other Norwegian ships also took part.

Prior to the outbreak of WW II this ship had been sailing mostly between Norway and the U.S./Canada, and was in Montreal when the war started in Sept.-1939. She proceeded for Norway with her cargo but was stopped by the British and taken to the Orkneys for a contrabande check. After a few days she continued to Moss, Norway, then to Drammen before heading to the U.K. After a few more voyages Norway-U.K. she started carrying fruit between Palestine and Norway from early 1940.

She's listed among the ships in Convoy HGF 21 from Gibraltar to the U.K. at the beginning of March-1940. Later that month she shows up in Convoy OB 115, which left Liverpool on March 23 and joined up with Convoy OA 115 on March 25, the combined convoy forming Convoy OG 23, which arrived Gibraltar on the 31st. Her destination is not given, but according to the archive document, she arrived Jaffa on Apr. 7, having started out from Clyde March 23. OG 23 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.

When war broke out in Norway on Apr. 9-1940 she was still in Tel Aviv (outskirts of Jaffa) loading oranges for Oslo, but was instead ordered to proceed to Liverpool with the cargo. Going back to the archive document, we see that she left Jaffa for Gibraltar on Apr. 13, and on Apr. 26 we find her in station 34 of Convoy HGF 28 from Gibraltar, arriving Liverpool on May 5. She was 1 of 5 Norwegian ships in that convoy, the others being Sevilla, Kosmos II, Bur and Einar Jarl.

The following month she's listed, together with Samuel Bakke, in Convoy OB 160, leaving Liverpool on June 2, dispersed on the 5th - ref. link provided within the Voyage Record. Again, her destination is not given, but from the archive document we learn that she arrived Sydney, C.B. on June 15. Having made a voyage to Caraquet, N.B. and on to Halifax, she headed back to the U.K. on June 25 in Convoy HX 53, leaving again at the end of July in order to return across the North Atlantic, but did not get very far, as follows:

Final Fate - 1940:

Stalheim had arrived Port Talbot on July 23-1940. With a cargo of coal for Cardiff(?) and St. John, N.B. she left again on July 31, intending to stop at Barry to have degaussing installed, but didn't make it that far. Just a few minutes after departure, about 100 meters from land, she struck a mine which, according to this message on my Ship Forum, was a German laid aerial magnetic mine (position 51 34 37N 03 49 40W). 5 were killed, 13 seriously injured, only 3 escaped unharmed. The captain was knocked unconscious and found himself in a hospital when he woke up the next morning (he was there for 3 weeks).

According to a survivor's story the 5 who died had all been in the engine room. He adds that various types of vessels came out to assist in the rescue operations. (The same survivor says she had a complement of 22(?), 14 of whom + the pilot were admitted to a hospital).

Jan-Olof, Sweden has told me that "Lloyd's War Losses, Vol I British, Allied and Neutral Merchant Vessels Sunk or Destroyed by War Causes", 1989 reprint says she was on a voyage from Port Talbot for Barry and St. John, N.B. with a cargo of 1876 tons of anthracite. Position is given as half a mile W.S.W. from South Pier, Port Talbot. Another visitor to my site says that “Men of the Mumbles Head” states she burnt fiercely and sank within 3 minutes. Mumbles Lifeboat crew was mustered but cancelled when they heard an RAF rescue launch had picked up 17 survivors of the crew of 20. "Shipwreck Index of the British Isles" says it was a magnetic mine.

Crew List:

Survivors
Captain Holger Jensen	1st Mate Leif Ludviksen	2nd Mate Jørgen Iversen	Able Seaman Lion Zabari (Palestinian)	Able Seaman John Hagstrøm	Ordinary Seaman Walter Martinsen
Ordinary Seaman Thorbjørn Berg	Ordinary Seaman Kåre Forsland	Ordinary Seaman Dagfinn Karlsen	1st Engineer Karl Olsen	Stoker Arthur Gabrielsen	Trimmer Tor Lund
Steward Trygve Hansen	Cook Johannes Johansen	Mess Boy Magnus Indrevold*	Pilot Bert Gunn (British)	* See this Guestbook message and crew list for Ariadne.
Casualties
† 2nd Engineer Albin Andersen*	† 3rd Engineer Georg Hill Olsen	† Donkeyman Ragnvald Hansen	† Stoker Anker B. Bernhardsen	† Stoker Jørgen Andreassen

Related external link:
Stavern Memorial commemorations

External links related to Swedish Taberg:
The Swedish Taberg is also included on the Memorial for Seamen, Stavern website, but only the
2 Norwegians who died are commemorated. The text says that she was 300 n. miles west of Gibraltar on her way from Glasgow to Huelva at the time. As can be seen, John Hagstrøm is listed.

Guglielmo Marconi

Back to Stalheim on the "Ships starting with S" page.

This company also had a ship named Stalheim post war. This was the former D/S Carmelfjell, which was sold in 1950 to A/S Standard (manager J. B. Stang, Oslo) and renamed Stalheim. Sold in 1958 to K/S A/S Motore & Co. (manager Nils Hugo Sand, Oslo). Renamed Seawake in 1959. Sold in 1960 to F. Meotto, Italy, and renamed Giudecca. Sold in 1962 to captain Salvatore Lofaro, Torre del Greco, Italy, and renamed Rosario Lofaro.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, "Sjøforklaringer fra 2. verdenskrig", Volume II, Norwegian Maritime Museum - (ref. My sources) and misc. E-mails from visitors to my site.