MS Oslofjord (1937)
{{short description|Ocean liner sunk after hitting a mine off the River Tyne }}
{{for|other ships named "Oslofjord"|Oslofjord (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Expand German|Oslofjord (Schiff, 1938)|date=October 2022}}
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{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Oslofjord1938-01.jpg | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = |Ship country=Norway |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Norway|civil}} | Ship name = Oslofjord | Ship owner = | Ship operator = Norwegian America Line | Ship registry = Oslo | Ship route = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau, Bremen | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = 15 May 1936 | Ship launched = 29 December 1937 | Ship completed = | Ship christened = | Ship acquired = May 1938 | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship identification = | Ship fate = Sunk 1941 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = | Ship tonnage = 18,673 GRT | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|179.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|22|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = {{convert|10.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship sail plan = | Ship power = 2 x MAN diesel engines | Ship propulsion = | Ship speed = | Ship capacity = 860 passengers | Ship crew = | Ship notes = }} |
MS Oslofjord was an ocean liner built in 1938 by A/G Weser Shipbuilders, Bremen, Germany, for Norwegian America Line. She was of 18,673 gross register tons and could carry 860 passengers. She would have an uneventful career until 1939 were two separate incidents happened. One from 27 April 1939, where she collided with an American pilot boat, and another where she struck a mine sinking her.
Career
=Early years=
The 18,673 GRT motor ship was built on 15 May 1936, and launched on 29 December 1937, at Bremer Schiffswerft AG Weser, was 171.75 meters long, 22.37 meters wide, and five decks high. 860 passengers (152 in cabin class, 307 in tourist class, and 401 in third class) and 310 crew members were taken on board.
The Oslofjord was powered by four seven-cylinder diesel engines from Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG, which acted on two propellers. The transfer to the owners took place in May 1938. The shipping company Den Norske Amerikalinje was founded in 1910 to establish a passenger service between Norway and the United States. Their ships served the Oslo – Kristiansand – Stavanger – Bergen – New York route.{{cite book |title=Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994 |url=https://archive.org/details/pictorialencyclo0000mill |url-access=registration |last=Miller |first=William H. Jr. |year=1995 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-486-28137-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialencyclo0000mill/page/92 92] }}
On 27 April 1939, Oslofjord collided with the American {{convert|160|ft|m|1|adj=on}} pilot boat {{ship||Sandy Hook|pilot boat|2}} in the North Atlantic Ocean west of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, off the Ambrose Lightship at {{coord|40|27.556|N|073|49.490|W|name=Sandy Hook}}. Sandy Hook sank in {{convert|100|ft|m|0}} of water, and Oslofjord rescued all 26 crew members and harbor pilots on board Sandy Hook.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty Reports |date=28 April 1939 |page=29 |issue=48291 |column=C }}{{Cite web |url=https://njscuba.net/sites/site_sandy_hook_pilot.php |title=njscuba.net Sandy Hook - Pilot Boat |access-date=21 February 2020 |archive-date=21 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221223820/https://njscuba.net/sites/site_sandy_hook_pilot.php |url-status=dead }}
=World War II=
During World War II, Oslofjord sank after just two years of service on the night of 21–22 January 1941 after hitting a mine in the North Sea off the coast of England of the River Tyne on 1 December 1940.{{cite web |last=Lawson |first =Siri Holm |url=http://warsailors.com/singleships/oslofjord.html |title=M/S Oslofjord |access-date=24 January 2010 |work=Warsailors.com }} Her wreck lies in {{convert|15|m|ft|0}} of water at {{coord|55|0.17|N|1|23.72|W|display=inline,title}}.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=oslf2 Norway-Heritage: Oslofjord (2)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20131113114835/http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/NorwegianAmerica.html#anchor993858#anchor993858 Simplon Postcards: Oslofjord (2)]
{{April 1939 shipwrecks}}
{{December 1940 shipwrecks}}
{{January 1941 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
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Category:Passenger ships of Norway
Category:Norwegian America Line
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea
Category:Maritime incidents in 1939
Category:Maritime incidents in December 1940
Category:Maritime incidents in January 1941
Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)
Category:Wreck diving sites in England
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