Kollskegg
Norwegian Motor tanker
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| Name | Kollskegg | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 9,858 tons | ||
| Completed | 1940 - Eriksbergs Mekaniske Verkstads A/B, Gothenburg | ||
| Owner | Odd Berg, Oslo | ||
| Homeport | Oslo | ||
| Date of attack | 6 Apr 1942 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-754 (Hans Oestermann) | ||
| Position | 34° 58'N, 68° 38'W - Grid CA 9986 | ||
| Complement | 42 (4 dead and 38 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Willemstad, Curaçao (29 Mar) - Halifax - UK | ||
| Cargo | 8000 tons of crude oil and 6300 tons of fuel oil | ||
| History | Completed in January 1940 On 19 June 1940 the Kollskegg (Master Ole Sørensen) left the convoy HGF-34, after U-48 (Rösing) torpedoed two ships in the convoy and continued alone at full speed. The master was severely reprimanded on arrival at Falmouth with 15,000 tons of oil for going against orders. The next day, she was ordered to Southampton, but it was not possible to unload the cargo for several weeks, due to the complete chaos in the harbour, because many vessels arrived with refugees from France. On 21 July 1940 the Kollskegg was in the westbound convoy CW-7, which was attacked several times by a total of nearly 80 aircraft. The tanker was attacked by twelve aircraft and hit by five bombs. Three of them fell through the ship without detonating, two caused serious damage and set her on fire. A British gunner was killed and seven men were injured, four of them seriously. The crew was taken to Portland by a destroyer and the vessel towed to Dunnose, Isle of Wight and beached there. On 23 July the burned vessel was taken to a dock at Southampton for repairs. In September the ship left for South Bank, arriving four days later and went straight into dock, while the crew lived ashore until the Kollskegg returned to service in June 1941. | ||
| Notes on event | At 20.58 hours on 6 April 1942 the Kollskegg (Master Leif Søyland) was hit on the starboard side amidships by two torpedoes from U-754 about 350 miles northwest of the Bermudas and stopped for a short time, but then continued, heading at full speed towards Hampton Roads. At 02.18 hours on 7 April, the tanker was hit by another torpedo in the engine room and sank within 4 minutes in 35°20N/70°03W. Four crew members were lost. 38 survivors abandoned ship in three lifeboats. The 30 occupants of two boats, including the master, were rescued by Bushranger after 21 hours and landed at Nassau, Bahamas on 11 April. In the evening on the 7 April, the third boat got in contact with two lifeboats from Koll, which had been sunk by U-571 (Möhlmann) on 6 April. The boats stayed together for a while, but the near gale force wind separated them again. The eight survivors in the remaining lifeboat from Kollskegg were picked up by HMCS Niagara (I 57) (LtCdr R.F. Harris, RCNR) on 14 April and landed at Halifax two days later. | ||
| More info | |||
| On board | We have details of 42 people who were on board. | ||
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