from Bjørn Milde’s postcard collection

Built by : Odensestaal SK, Odense.   Completed: 1931

Tonnage: 7616 grt, 12,477 dwt

Length: 424.7 feet

Beam: 60.2 feet

Draught: 34.1 feet

Machinery: 14 cylinder Burmeister and Wain Diesel

In Admiralty Service (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) from 1941

Slemdal departed Lisbon on 11 June 1942 with a cargo of 6,321 tons of Admiralty fuel, bound for the Clyde.  The ship joined convoy HG.84, which had left Gibraltar on the 10 June.

At 01:00 hrs on the 13 June, the Slemdal was hit by a torpedo fired from U 552, and immediately started to sink.  At 01:45 hrs the order was given to abandon ship, as this was happening it was observed that the Slemdal’s foredeck was awash and the propeller was out of the water.

The survivors were picked up by HMS Marigold at 02:15 hrs, and the corvette then proceeded to attack the U Boat.

There were no casualties amongst the crew of 31 Norwegian, 2 British, 1 Danish, 1 Polish and 1 Dutch seamen.