Terje Viken
British Whale factory ship
Name | Terje Viken | ||
Type: | Whale factory ship | ||
Tonnage | 20,638 tons (one of the largest ships sunk). | ||
Completed | 1936 - Deschimag Werk Weser, Bremen | ||
Owner | United Whalers Ltd (Krogh-Hansen & Bugge), London | ||
Homeport | London | ||
Date of attack | 7 Mar 1941 | Nationality: British | |
Fate | Sunk by U-99 (Otto Kretschmer) | ||
Position | 60° 00'N, 12° 50'W - Grid AM 1225 | ||
Complement | 107 (2 dead and 105 survivors). | ||
Convoy | OB-293 | ||
Route | Glasgow - Curaçao | ||
Cargo | Ballast | ||
History | Completed in September 1936 | ||
Notes on event | At 05.05 hours on 7 March 1941, Terje Viken (Master O. Borchgrevink) in convoy OB-293 was hit by two torpedoes southeast of Iceland. This must have been U-47 (Prien), which is reported missing since this attack. At 05.50 hours, the ship was missed by a spread of three torpedoes from U-70 (Matz), but at the same time U-99 fired a torpedo that hit on the port side and the crew abandoned ship. Later a part of the crew reboarded the ship and tried to save her, but she capsized at 18.55 hours. On 14 March, the wreck was scuttled by gunfire of a British salvage tug. Two crew members were lost. The master, 99 crew members and five gunners were picked up by HMS Hurricane (H 06) (LtCdr H.C. Simms, RN) and landed at Greenock. At the time of her loss, the Terje Viken had been the largest whaling factory ship in the world. | ||
On board | We have details of 4 people who were on board. |
Attack entries for Terje Viken
Date | U-boat | Commander | Loss type | Tons | Nat. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 Mar 1941 | U-47 | KrvKpt. Günther Prien | Damaged | 20,638 | |
7 Mar 1941 | U-99 | KrvKpt. Otto Kretschmer | Sunk | 20,638 |
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