Ships hit by U-boats


Terje Viken

British Whale factory ship



NameTerje Viken
Type:Whale factory ship
Tonnage20,638 tons (one of the largest ships sunk).
Completed1936 - Deschimag Werk Weser, Bremen 
OwnerUnited Whalers Ltd (Krogh-Hansen & Bugge), London 
HomeportLondon 
Date of attack7 Mar 1941Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-99 (Otto Kretschmer)
Position60° 00'N, 12° 50'W - Grid AM 1225
Complement107 (2 dead and 105 survivors).
ConvoyOB-293
RouteGlasgow - Curaçao 
CargoBallast 
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 boardWe have details of 4 people who were on board

Attack entries for Terje Viken

DateU-boatCommanderLoss typeTonsNat.
7 Mar 1941U-47KrvKpt. Günther PrienDamaged20,638  
7 Mar 1941U-99KrvKpt. Otto KretschmerSunk20,638  


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