Ships hit by U-boats


Norse King

Norwegian Steam merchant



Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart

NameNorse King
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage5,701 tons
Completed1920 - J.F. Duthie & Co, Seattle WA 
OwnerOdd Godanger, Oslo 
HomeportOslo 
Date of attack29 Dec 1942Nationality:      Norwegian
 
FateSunk by U-435 (Siegfried Strelow)
Position43° 27'N, 27° 15'W - Grid BD 9878
Complement37 (37 dead - no survivors)
ConvoyONS-154 (straggler)
RouteSwansea (14 Dec) - Belfast Lough (19 Dec) - Boston 
Cargo5453 tons of coal 
History Completed in May 1920 as West Mahwah for US Shipping Board (USSB). 1937 sold to Norway and renamed Norse King
Notes on event

At 21.52 hours on 28 December 1942 the Norse King (Master Lorentz Tvedt) in station #112 of convoy ONS-154 was hit by one torpedo from U-591 (Zetzsche) and abandoned by the crew. The men were picked up by an escort, but later reboarded the ship and managed to get underway, heading for the Azores at a speed of about 6 knots. The ship was seen the last time the next morning by the Norwegian steam merchant Veni in position 43°35N/27°18W. None of her crew was ever found.

At 15.07 hours on 29 December, U-435 hit the Norse King with one torpedo and began shelling the vessel after 15.43 hours with over 100 rounds, but the ship remained afloat and had to be sunk by a coup de grâce at 16.24 hours.

 
More infoMore on this vessel 
On boardWe have details of 37 people who were on board

Attack entries for Norse King

DateU-boatCommanderLoss typeTonsNat.
28 Dec 1942U-591Kptlt. Hans-Jürgen ZetzscheDamaged5,701  
29 Dec 1942U-435Kptlt. Siegfried StrelowSunk5,701  


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