Norness
| Name | Norness | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 9.577 tons | ||
| Completed | 1939 - Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg | ||
| Owner | Tanker Corp (Johan Rasmussen & Co), Panama | ||
| Homeport | Panama | ||
| Date of attack | 14 Jan, 1942 | Nationality:  Panaman | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-123 (Reinhard Hardegen) | ||
| Position | 40.28N, 70.50W - Grid CA 3775 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 41 (2 dead and 39 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New York - Halifax - Liverpool | ||
| Cargo | 12.222 tons of Admiralty fuel oil | ||
| History | Built for Hamburger Walfang-Kontor GmbH, Hamburg. 1939 sold to Norway, renamed Norness and registered in Panama. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 08.34 hours on 14 Jan, 1942, the unescorted Norness was hit by one of two stern torpedoes fired by U-123 about 60 miles from Montauk Point, Long Island and began listing to port. At 08.53 hours, a coup de grâce hit the tanker underneath the bridge and the ship began settling on even keel, allowing the survivors to abandon ship in the starboard lifeboat and row away from the ship. The port lifeboat had capsized during the launch due to the heavy list and threw the occupants into the cold sea, drowning two Norwegian crew members. At 09.29 hours, the vessel was hit by a third torpedo in the engine room, after a second coup de grâce at 09.10 hours proved to be a dud. Shortly thereafter, the tanker sank by the stern with the bow still visible over the surface. 30 survivors were spotted in the afternoon by a US Navy blimp, which directed the USS Ellyson (DD 454) and the US Coast Guard cutter USS Argo (WPC 100) to them, while nine men were picked up by the American fishing boat Malvina. All survivors were landed at Newport, Rhode Island. | ||
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