Norvana
Norvana under her former name York
| Name | Norvana | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2.677 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - Saginaw Shipbuilding Co, Saginaw MI | ||
| Owner | North Atlantic & Gulf SS Co, New York | ||
| Homeport | New York | ||
| Date of attack | 19 Jan, 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-123 (Reinhard Hardegen) | ||
| Position | Grid CA 7668 - See estimated map location (36.08N75.32W) * | ||
| Complement | 29 (29 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Nuevitas, Cuba (14 Jan) - Philadelphia | ||
| Cargo | 3980 tons of ore | ||
| History | Laid down as Lake Eaglerock, completed as Lake Gatun for US Shipping Board, Washington DC. 1926 sold to Stanley Hillier Inc and apparently sold for scrapping to Ford Motor Co, River Rouge MI in 1927, but withdrawn by US Shipping Board. 1929 transferred to Merchants & Miners Transportation Co, Baltimore MD and renamed York. 1941 sold to North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Co, New York and renamed Norvana. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 05.16 hours on 19 Jan, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed Norvana (Master Ernest Jefferson Thompson) was hit just after the stack by one torpedo from U-123 south of Cape Hatteras after a first torpedo fired at 04.41 hours had missed. The explosion sent pieces of the ship into the air, some of them hitting the U-boat in a distance of 450 metres and caused the ship to sink within one minute, leaving no survivors among the eight officers and 21 crewmen on board. The US Navy later found an empty lifeboat from the Norvana off Wimble Shoals. | ||
* Estimated position shown here is based on positions of losses in a roughly the same German grid code. It may be a bit off but should give a good idea as to where the attack took place.
If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us.