John P Pedersen

Collection H.Larsson-Fedde

Built by: Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle.   Completed: 1930

Owner: A/S Havtank

Tonnage: 6128 grt, 9945 dwt

Length: 420.8 feet

Beam: 58.5 feet

Draught: 31.2 feet

Machinery: 6 cylinder diesel engine by Wallsend Slipway, Newcastle

Speed: 12 knots

In Admiralty Service( Royal Fleet Auxiliary) from 1940

Background Data:  Dozens of Norwegian ships in Allied or neutral waters on 09 April 1940 when Germany invaded Norway were requisitioned by the Royal Norwegian Government-in-Exile and the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (abbreviated to Nortraship following a suggestion from the British Post Office) was set up in London at the end of that month. Other offices and sub-offices were subsequently opened in various other parts of the world. These ships were made available for Convoy work and a number of Norwegian tankers were requisitioned by the Admiralty for use as freighting tankers, although some served as Fleet Oilers..

Career Data:

30 May 1930    launched by Swan, Hunter & Wigham, Richardson, Low Walker as Yard Nr 1431 named JOHN P PEDERSEN for A/S Havtank ( Helmer Staubo & Co, Managers) Oslo

September 1930  completed

1940  requisitioned by the Admiralty, name unchanged

13 June 1940 sailed Gibraltar in convoy HG 34F to the Solent arriving 23 June 1940

7 August 1940 arrived Trinidad where she had gun platforms, degaussing cable and bridge protection fitted.

19 September 1940  sailed Trinidad

22 September 1940  arrived Curacao where a gun was fitted

20 December 1940 sailed Trinidad independently to Gibraltar arriving 3 January 1941

25 March 1941 arrived New York

20 April 1941 sailed New York

28 April 1941arrived Curacao to load cargo and sailed later that same day with 9100 tons of Army oil fuel for the Clyde via Halifax .

7 May 1941 arrived Halifax

10 May 1941 sailed Halifax in Convoy HX 126 .

20 May 1941 convoy ordered to disperse.

20 May 1941 torpedoed by U-94 ( Korvettan Kapitan Herbert Kuppisch) some 160 miles south of Greenland and the survivors abandoned ship in the 2 lifeboats.. The submarine then surfaced and fired 2 more torpedoes and the tanker sank 20 minutes after the initial attack in position 57.00 N 41.00 W with the loss of 1 of her crew.

23 May 1941 16 men were picked up from one of the boats by the Convoy Rescue Ship HONTESTROOM and were taken to Reykjavik, but 21 others in the 2nd boat were never seen again. Of the full crew of 20 Norwegian, 4 Swedish, 2 Latvian, 2 Dutch and 8 British seamen, 22 perished.