Vardø (ship, 1938)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Vardø was a Norwegian cargo ship that was requisitioned by the German occupation forces in 1940 and sunk by Soviet coastal artillery near Petsamo in May 1942 .

Construction and technical data

The Vardø in 1938 from the Moss Værft & Dokk in Moss for Vester Aalen Dampskibsselskab in Stokmarknes built. She was 65.3 m long and 10.55 m wide, had a draft of 4.2 m and was measured at 860 GRT and 419 NRT. Its load capacity was 1405 tdw. A 4-stroke, 7-cylinder diesel engine from MAN developed 765 hp and gave a top speed of 11.5 knots .

history

The ship, like its two sister ships Senja and Andenes , was used in coastal freight traffic on the Hurtigruten between Oslo and Kirkenes . After the outbreak of the Second World War , the Vardø also sailed between Norway and the British Isles. B. also in February 1940 in convoy ON 14 .

After the German occupation of Norway , the ship was confiscated by the occupying forces in September 1940 and used as a supply ship in the Narvik - Finnmark area. It continued to sail with a Norwegian crew .

On May 23, 1942, the Vardø was attacked in the Varangerfjord near Kirkenes by the Soviet submarine M-171 , but without being hit. Only three days later, on the journey with diesel fuel and gasoline from Kirkenes to Petsamo , she was then shot on fire and sunk, albeit by shelling Soviet coastal artillery . The entire team was able to save itself.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ More precisely: 765 bhp.
  2. ↑ http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/on14norw.html
  3. ↑ http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4985.html

Web links

literature

  • Reidar Stavseth: På Nordnorsk kjøl - Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab gjennom 75 år. Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab, 1956 (norweg.)