The information below regarding ships in the Nortraship fleet is a direct transcript of the original source 'Sjøforklaringer fra andre verdenskrig (1940 - 1945)'. The informasjon is collected from maritime inquiries held during and right after the war. The information may differ from the other quality assured information in Krigsseilerregisteret.
- Date
- January 8, 1943
- Rank
- Midt-Atlanteren, 10 dagers reise fra Trinidad
- Cause
- Torpedert
- Cargo
- Fuel Oil
- Route
- Sd. Trinidad - Gibraltar f.o.
- Crew list
- Komplett
- Missing
- 0
- Captured during WW2
- 0
- Survived
- 42
- Deceased
- 0
- Date
- January 21, 1943
- Place
- Gibraltar
- Administrator
- Major James George Douglas T.D. Consul
Minute
...
Captain THORVALD SOLHEIM appeared ...
...
The voyage was normal until 3rd January when one ship in the convoy was torpedoed about 1845 hours by enemy attack from the starboard side.
He kept on according to orders but on 8th January about 1940 hours the "ALBERT L. ELLSWORTH" was torpedoed by enemy attack from the port side. The torpedo exploded in the vicinity of No. 6 tank, setting fire to the fuel oil cargo. Another ship was torpedoed a few seconds later.
The ship's confidential papers were not destroyed but the Master has no doubt they were burnt and did not fall into the hands of the enemy.
The crew of the "ALBERT L. ELLSWORTH" were obliged to leave the ship immediately owing to the terrible fire and left the ship in lifeboats being picked up quite shortly by an escort vessel after having rescued about 20 men of the British Tanker "OTTENTIA II" who were swimming about in oily water, their ship having sunk i a very few minutes.
The Chief Officer saved the ship's Log-Book. Captain Solheim saved t he ship's Register, but all the other ship's papers and crew's effects were lost.
All the crew were very well treated by the Captain, officers and crew of the escort vessel, but Captain Solheim was transferred to another escort vessel with other Masters to endavour to effect som salvage operations which were unsuccessful.
Captain Solheim has no doubt that the "ALBERT L. ELLSWORTH" ultimately sank as she was burning furiously from stem to stern when last seen.
On arrival at Gibraltar he was taken charge of by the Norwegian Consul who informed him that the Officers and Crew of the "ALBERT L. ELLSWORTH" had been trans-shipped direct from the escort vessel to a British Transport and had already left Gibraltar for the United Kingdom.
...
Deck log (in Norwegian)
UTDRAG AV DEKKSDAGBOKEN
Trinidad den 28de desember 1942.
Kl. 0700 holdtes båtmanøver. Alt materiell iorden. Båtene og flåtene med inventar inspisert, taljer og blokker og svivler overhalt.
Nord Atlanterhavet den 6te januar 1943.
Kl. 11 livbåt-mønstring. Kanon og geværinstruksjon. Kl. 19:30 i nattmørke livbåt-mønstring.
Nord Atlanterhavet den 8de januar 1943
Kl. 19:40 torpedert, position N 27-57. W 28-50. Torpedoen traff omtrent midt mellom popp og midtskip på b.b. side. Voldsom eksplosjon. Akterskipet i flammer med engang. Forbindelse mellom bro og poppdekk brudt og helt umulig. Kaptein, 1ste styrmann, rormann og 2 utkiksmenn var på broen under torpederingen. Disse samt stuert og salong-gutt var de som befannt seg midtskips og reddet seg i giggen. Stb. motorbåt gikk tapt. 2. styrmann og 3. styrmann befannt seg akterut under torperingen, og ved deres ledelse kom livbåtene hurtigst på vannet og alle mann akterut fraborde i siste øyeblikk. Det var tykt av olje overalt og det brannt rundt båtene og i taljene under sjøsettingen. 2. maskinist og en motormann hadde vakt i maskinen. De kom seg opp. 2. maskinist var halvveis oppe men løp ned og stoppet maskinen. Han kom i vannet, men ble tatt opp av en livbåt straks etter. Skipets fører gikk sist fraborde. Det ble ikke anledning til å få med seg noe, unntatt dagboken, målebrev og kopi av siste regnskap. Da giggen satte fra, observertes i flammene at dekksplater var revet opp, og et svert hull i skutesiden med plater stående rett ut. Våre livbåter halte opp fra sjøen ca. 30 mann fra et skip som ble torpedert noen sekunder etter vårt. Flere av dem var bevistløse. Sjøen var dekket av et tykt oljelag. Kl. 21:20 var alle mann tatt ombord i H.M.S. "Havelock", hvor den beste forpleining ble gitt. Alle fra "ALBERT L. ELLSWORTH" reddet og uskadt. Skipet var på sin stasjon i konvoien da det ble torpedert. Det siste som ble sett av skipet var flammer i horisonten.
I Nord Atlanterhavet den 11te januar.
Etter anmodning fra kaptein Solheim ble han sammen med andre skipsoffiserer overført til korvett som var på vei ut for å se om der var noe å se til de torpederte skipene. Man så bare et bredt oljehav og litt vrakgods. Alle skipene var gått under.
Asbjørn Andersen, Tømmermann
G. Slatlem, 2. styrmann
Nic. Dahl, 1. styrmann
Th. Solheim, Kaptein
Crew list (42)
- Details
- Date of birth January 23, 1905 in Drammen
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Tømmermann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth November 27, 1921 in Torp
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- matros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth December 17, 1913 in Kristiansund
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Matros / skytter.
- Fate
- Reddet.
- Details
- Date of birth February 24, 1920 in Fredrikstad
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Motormann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth November 17, 1920
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Smører
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth September 13, 1922 in Halden
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Matros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth June 17, 1924 in Glasgow
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Messegutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Olav Johan Bøe
- Details
- Date of birth November 28, 1904 in Stavanger
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Motormann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth March 2, 1909 in Stavanger
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 4. maskinist
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth December 24, 1909 in Oslo
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 1.styrmann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth August 30, 1922 in Lyngdal
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Lettmatros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Thomas Ferguson
- Details
- Date of birth June 17, 1924 in Glasgow
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Byssegutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Thomas Gillespie
- Details
- Date of birth March 25, 1925 in Glasgow
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Dekksgutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth February 21, 1921 in Skedsmo
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- motormann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Rolf Hovde
- Details
- Date of birth December 21, 1913 in Kristiansund
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 3. maskinist
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth March 4, 1910 in Solum
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Motormann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth December 24, 1907 in Stavern
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Telegrafist
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth December 13, 1912 in Oslo
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 2. maskinist
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth January 9, 1912 in Ryda
- Nationality
- Sweden
- Rank
- Smører
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth February 20, 1917 in Sarpsborg
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Matros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth November 25, 1922 in Sandar
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Matros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Trygve Mathiesen
- Details
- Date of birth May 20, 1898 in Sandefjord
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 1. maskinist
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Arthur McGowan
- Details
- Date of birth April 15, 1926 in Glasgow
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Dekksgutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth September 17, 1909 in Mauranger
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 3. styrmann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Malvin Mortensen
- Details
- Date of birth November 22, 1914 in Unset
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Motormann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth November 18, 1924
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Dekksgutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- George Murrey
- Details
- Date of birth December 23, 1916
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Messegutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Osmund Maage
- Details
- Date of birth January 29, 1916 in Haugesund
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Motormann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Johannes Nygaard
- Details
- Date of birth February 10, 1922 in Stavanger
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Salonggutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Smører
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth May 5, 1920 in Skåtøy
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Pumpemann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth August 23, 1917 in Ytre Rendal
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Lettmatros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth March 4, 1920 in Kvinnherad
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Matros / Skytter
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth June 6, 1923 in Liverpool
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Rank
- Messegutt
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth March 3, 1905 in Kristiansund N
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- 2. styrmann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Torger Solberg
- Details
- Date of birth December 28, 1913 in Valestrand
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Båtsmann
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth May 6, 1907 in Andøya, Nordland
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Skipsfører
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth August 13, 1916 in Nord-Vågsøy
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Matros / skytter.
- Fate
- Reddet.
- Details
- Date of birth January 16, 1923 in Ålesund
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Lettmatros
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth December 17, 1895 in Risør
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Stuert
- Fate
- Reddet
- Details
- Date of birth November 28, 1894 in Porsgrunn
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Elektriker
- Fate
- Reddet
- Name
- Johannes Øvrebø
- Details
- Date of birth May 4, 1918 in Haugesund
- Nationality
- Norway
- Rank
- Kokk
- Fate
- Reddet
