Usko ex Songdal 1917

538

USKO    (II)

1939 - 1940

General Cargo Steamer,  Singledecker

Call: OFEJ

1,875 GRT, 1,070 NRT, 3,100 dwt

84.30 x 13.00 x 5.66 m

Triple Steam Engine 3 cy.

by the Shipbuilders

 1,190 IHP     9 knots

2.9.1915:

Order placed by August Leffler & Sons Nya Ab., Göteborg with Lindholmens Verkstads Ab., Göteborg.

10.9.1915:

Contract taken over by Förnyade Ångfartygsab. Viking, Göteborg.

4.3.1917:

Completed by Lindholmens Verkstads Ab., Göteborg (#431) as ANTEN for Förnyade Ångfartygsab. Viking, (J.M. Dannberg), Göteborg. (5871)

8.1.1920:   

Acquired in exchange transaction by Ab. August Leffler & Son, Göteborg.

10.4.1920:

Transferred in another exchange transaction to Rederiab. Svenska Lloyd, (H. Metcalfe), Göteborg, and renamed MONGOLIA.

9.2.1927:

Sold to A/S Songvaar, (T. Isaksen), Kristiansand, and renamed SONGDAL.

7.1935:

Sold to Skibs-A/S Songdal, (Johan Gerrard jr), Kristiansand.

1939:

Acquired by Höyrylaiva Oy Usko, (Tmi John Nurminen, Jalmari Penttilä), Rauma /Raumo (538), and renamed USKO.

1940:

Declared  a prize on 9 Apr. in Bergen, by Kommandatur für Seeverteidigung (Sea Defence Staff) in connection of the German occupation of Norway. Usko was on passage with general cargo bound for London. Left Bergen on 10 Apr. and sailed via Stavanger to Hamburg. Admiral der KMD confirmed condemnation on 22 May as a lawful prize. Assigned on 21 July to Egon Oldendorff, Lübeck by Reichsministerium SBV. Purchased by Egon Oldendorff for RM 105,600, and renamed DIETRICH OLDENDORFF.

1942:

Beached on 2 June two miles off Egerøy on the Norwegian coast, after being hit by bombs and torpedoes. Tightened and refloated the following day and towed to shipyard for repairs.

1942:

Returned on 17 Dec. to Deutsches Reich (German Govt.) and recovered on 21 Dec. by Finnish Govt. and the name reverted to USKO. Managed by the Board of Navigation and chartered back to Tmi John Nurminen. Owners registered as Suomen Valtio, (Merenkulkuhallitus), Helsinki /Helsingfors.

1944:

Sank in an Allied air attack on 17 Aug. in the Roads of Stettin. Usko had arrived on 16 Aug. in Stettin with 815 fathoms of pulpwood from Toppila, Oulu /Uleåborg and was moored to posts at Oder Wiesenseite. Heavy air attack started at 0035 hours on 17 Aug. First bomb hit the side of the ship breaking a hole in the stern hold. Second one hit the starboard side of the midshipshouse destroying the lifeboats and setting the superstructure in fire. Third one broke the stern mast and caused fatal damage in crew´s stern accommodation. Thereafter 5 incendiary bombs hit the ship and the deck cargo caught fire. Crew tried to keep the ship afloat by pumps and to extinguish fire, later with help of a fire-fighting boat, but they did not succeed. A heavy explosion shook the ship in the morning and she soon sank in shallow water with fo´c´sle, midshipshouse and poop partly visible. Four crew members had lost their lives in the air attack. Six injured men were brought to hospital and the rest 12 people were accommodated in the Finnish cargo vessel Regulus lying undamaged in the port and she brought them back to Finland.

Usko was again seized on 16 Oct. by KMD and handed the following day over to Egon Oldendorff. Raised on 23 Dec. by Marine-Bergungs- u. Seedienst and repairs ordered.

1945:

Declared on 15 Mar. as a prize by KMD, Stettin. Confirmed on 27 Apr. by Prisenhof Hamburg.

After Stettin had on 26 Apr. been occupied by Soviet troops, Usko was seized by the USSR and later broken up.

©MAP 26.3.2004 file:RaumLaiv/Usko2.doc