SS Egerland

SS Egerland was a supply tanker ordered from Deutsche Werft Finkenwerder for the Panama Transport Company as SS North America in July 1940, but after the start of the war it was decided to transfer ownership to the Texas Oil Company.[1]

SS Egerland starting her last voyage
History
Name:
  • North America
  • Egerland
Owner:

July 1940 - March 1941 Panamanian Government

March 1941 - 5 June 1941 Texas Oil Company
Port of registry: Panama
Builder: Deutsche Werft Finkenwerder
Yard number: 233
Launched: 24 April 1940
Fate: Scuttled 5 June 1941
General characteristics
Type: Tanker
Tonnage: 10040
Length: 159.1 m (522 ft 0 in)
Beam: 20.4 m (66 ft 11 in)
Height: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
Installed power: 1 x MAN diesel engine
Propulsion: screw
Speed: 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Crew: 93

Crew

The crew of the SS Egerland had a complement of 93 men. This was formed from

Early history

By July 1940, SS North Africa had completed sea trials in the Baltic Sea.[2] In early 1941, SS Egerland sailed to Tallinn where the ship refuelled with Russian oil. While in Tallinn the crew had to stay onboard while in port as Russians had confiscated all the crews landing permits. SS North Africa then sailed to the Kiel naval port where it took on additional crew, who were Kriegsmarine sailors.[2]

In March 1941 SS North Africa was renamed to SS Egerland, left Keil, sailed through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal to Wilhelmshaven.[2] Two days on the 19 March 1941, the ship sailed to the Hook of Holland while in a convoy that consisted of two whalers, one acting in the capacity as a patrol boat, the other as a submarine chaser. Two days later it sailed for Cherbourg again in convoy with three minesweepers. Upon arrival in Cherbourg it was bombed and it used up all its anti-aircraft ammunition which consisted of 2000 2cm shells. She subsequently sailed to Saint-Nazaire and reached her destination on 25 March 1941. During that leg of her journey the ship was attacked by a British submarine while close to Brest and two torpedoes passed within 50 yards of the ship.[2]

First and last cruise

On the 25 March the Egerland sailed from Saint-Nazaire on a bearing that would intersect with the Azores. On leaving Saint-Nazaire the ship was escorted by two corvettes for 36 hours and then air cover was subsequently provided by Heinkels for another 12 hours.[2] Once the ship reached the 30th meridian west, it sailed south until by the 7 May it had reached 10° N, 31° W.[2] On the day of 8 May the ship rendezvoused with the tanker MV Brake[3] and took over the Brakes patrol. The Brakes supply of torpedoes were transferred to the Egerland.[2]

Refuelling

On the night of the same day the Egerland sighted a U-boat U-107.[2] On the 9 May at 0730 the Egerland started to refuel U-109 which took several hours. Günther Hessler, a Kriegsmarine Fregattenkapitän commanded the U-107 requested a large number of torpedoes be transferred as all the U-boats torpedoes has been used.[2] For the few hours while the submarine was being refuelled, the sailors were entertained on the Egerland and this included imbibing beer and cigarettes as well as watching a film.[2]

On the 11 May, the Egerland intercepted U-38 at 7° N, 30° W but the refuelling operation was interrupted when a convoy was sighted. On the day after it rendezvoused with either U-37 or U-103 as this was commanded by Victor Schütze.[2] On the morning of the 13 May at position 7° N, 31° W, the submarine was refuelled. Later on the same day and one hundred and fifty miles south, U-38 was sighted and refuelling recommenced. On the evening of the 13 May a British submarine was sighted in the area, so the captain decided to make an attempt to disguise the ship by renaming the ship Gallia-Colon in the colours of the Panamanian flag.[2] On the night of the 15/16 the Egerland refuelled and resupplied the U-106. By the 17 May, Egerland has sailed somewhere between the 6th parallel and 7th parallel north.[2] Two days later on the 19 May a patient was transferred to the Egerland from the U-105 as a result of action between the sub and a British vessel. The patient was operated on immediately.[2] On the same day the Egerland encountered the U-69 and it was subsequently resupplied and refuelled.[2]

By the following day, 20 May, the ship had sailed 200 miles south. On the 28 May Egerland rendezvoused with the submarine UA. From the diary of the Egerland it is known that the UA had apparently submerged while its exhaust was still open and sea water had ingressed and mixed with the lubricating oil. After the mixture was pumped out, the Egerland had supplied seven tons of oil.[2]

Scuttling and destruction

On the 29 May Egerland was ordered by Kriegsmarine Western Command to rendezvous with Esso Hamburg at location 7° N, 31° W by 4 or 5 June. The orders were to take on some torpedoes.[2]

On the morning of the 4 June the Egerland encountered the heavy cruiser HMS London and the destroyer HMS Brilliant. To buy some time to enable the ship to be scuttled the Egerland signalled that she was the Panamanian vessel Gallia.[4]

According to the ship diary of the heavy cruiser HMS London the ship opened fire at 1010hours using both A and B turrets at a range of 21000 yards, with a plan to force the Egerland crew to abandon ship as soon as possible. According to the diary of the destroyer HMS Brilliant the Egerland proved very difficult to sink and the gunfire on the ship hadn't any effect.[2] The heavy cruiser fired six depth charges while sailing past the Egerland but these did not sink the ship. A torpedo fired at the tanker caused extensive damage but also did not sink it. Finally a depth charge that was fired at Egerland amidships, finally sank the ship at 1530hours on 5 June 1941.[5]

References
  1. "SS Egerland". WreckSite. The Wrecksite Read. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  2. C.B. 4051(28) Report of Interrogation of Prisoners of War from German Supply Ships. N.I.D. 2 114/41, ADMIRALTY, S.W.1: NAVAL INTELLIGENCE DIVISION. September 1941.CS1 maint: location (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. "MV Brake". WreckSite. The Wrecksite Read. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. Nigel West (28 April 2010). Historical Dictionary of Naval Intelligence. Scarecrow Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8108-7377-3. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  5. Nigel West (2010). Historical Dictionary of Naval Intelligence. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8108-6760-4. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
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