Christian Michelsen
Norwegian Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of Karl Morten Bårdsen
| Name | Christian Michelsen | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant (Liberty) | ||
| Tonnage | 7,176 tons | ||
| Completed | 1943 - Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc, Baltimore MD | ||
| Owner | Nortraship | ||
| Homeport | Oslo | ||
| Date of attack | 26 Sep 1943 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-410 (Horst-Arno Fenski) | ||
| Position | 37° 12'N, 8° 26'E - Grid CJ 7794 | ||
| Complement | 50 (47 dead and 3 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | UGS-17 | ||
| Route | New York (2 Sep) - Hampton Roads - Bizerta - Parma, Sicily | ||
| Cargo | 3000 tons of oil drums, mail and 7000 tons of ammunition, including 3000 tons of aircraft bombs | ||
| History | Launched as John M.T. Finney for US Maritime Commission, completed on 31 May 1943 as Christian Michelsen for the Norwegian Government on bareboat charter. | ||
| Notes on event | At 19.00 hours on 26 Sep 1943, U-410 attacked convoy UGS-17 30 miles east of Bona and reported the sinking of an ammunition ship and the probable sinking of another vessel. However, only the Christian Michelsen (Master Jens Lassen Ugland) was hit and blew up, sinking in less than one minute. 47 men died, 35 of them Norwegian, including the master. Three men miraculously survived and were picked up from their raft by one of the escort vessels, which took them to a hospital in Bizerta. The master, Jens Lassen Ugland, had already experienced another sinking when his former ship, the Mosfruit had been sunk by U-458 (Diggins) on 30 Jun 1942. | ||
| More info | |||
| On board | We have details of 50 people who were on board. | ||
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