15.
Desember 1944 krysser en tysk konvoi på seks skip med Ferndale
i ledelsen over Sognefjorden i ly av nattens mørke. Det
tyske Luftwaffe hadde ingen ressurser å sette inn til sikring
av luftrommet, og dette tvang de tyske konvoiene til å seile bare
om natten. Sent på kvelden har konvoien nådd Krakhellesundet,
men sterk strøm har misledet kapteinen på Ferndale og Seglsteinen
dukker plutselig opp. For Ferndale er alt håp ute, og skipet treffer
hardt på skjæret. De andre skipene i konvoien klarer å
manøvrere unna Seglsteinen og konvoien fortsetter uten Ferndale
til Ålesund by. Det tyske fartøyet V5305 og slepebåten
Fairplay X blir ved Ferndale og venter på hjelp. Senere ankommer
bergingsbåten Parat, og her blir Parat og Ferndale liggende sammen
frem til klokken tolv på dagen den 16 desember 1944 da nitten
allierte Mosquito fly angriper skipene med kanoner og raketter. Angrepet
varer kun noen få minutter, men dette er mer enn nok tid til å
sette Ferndale og Parat i brann. Under angrepet går kun et Mosquito
fly tapt. Mannskapene på Ferndale og Parat forsøker å
slukke brannen, men hyppige eksplosjoner i ammunisjonslasten gjør
det tunge arbeidet nyttesløst. En time senere ankommer åtte
nye Mosquito`er og angriper på nytt. Igjen treffer tyske båten
V5305 et av flyene som kræsjer rett i fjellveggen nær Seglsteinen.
Men både Ferndale og Parat har nå fått mer en de kan
tåle og skipene synker raskt etter angrepet. Og i dag ligger begge
vrakene ved Seglsteinen på en dybde av åtte til femti meter.
Letteste måten å komme til Krakhellesundet på er å
ta ferja fra Rutledal til Krakhella, siden det er ikke langt fra ferjekaia
og ut til Seglsteinen hvor vrakene ligger. Ferndale står på
kjølen på sørvest siden av Seglsteinen med baugen
som grunneste del på seks meters dyp. Grunneste del av Ferndale
er temmelig brutt ned, og først på tyve meters dyp begynner
det å se ut som et skip. Parat ligger mye dypere, og på
førti meters dyp kan man fra akterskipet på Ferndale se
ned på vraket av Parat. En båt er nødvendig for å
besøke disse vrakene...
15. December 1944 a German convoy of six
ships crosses the Sognefjorden under cover of the dark night with
Ferndale in the lead. The German Luftwaffe had no resources to
spare to secure the air space, and this forced the German convoys
to sail only during the night. Late in the night the convoy have
reached Krakhellesundet, but strong current has mislead the captain
on Ferndale and Seglsteinen suddenly appears. All hope is lost
for Ferndale, and the ship hits the reef hard. The other ships
in the convoy manage to maneuver away form Seglsteinen and continues
to Ålesund city without Ferndale. The german ship V5305
and the tugboat Fairplay X stays with Ferndale and awaits help.
Later the rescue vessel Parat arrives, and Parat and Ferndale
lies here until noon on the 16th of December 1944 when nineteen
allied Mosquito planes attacks the ships with cannons and rockets.
The attack only last for a few minutes, but this is more than
enough to set Ferndale and Parat to fire. Under the attack only
one plane is lost. The crews on Ferndale and Parat tries to put
out the fire, but rapid explosions in the cargo of ammunition
makes the hard work unsuccessful. One our later another eight
new Mosquito's arrives and attacks the ships again. Again the
German ship V5305 hits one of the planes which smashes straight
in the mountain wall near Seglsteinen. But both Ferndale and Parat
has received more then they can handle and the ships sinks rapidly
after the attack. And today both ships lies next to Seglsteinen
on a depth of eight to fifty meters. The easiest way to get to
Krakhellesundet is to take the ferry from Rutledal to Krakhella,
since its not far from the ferry pier and out to Seglsteinen where
the wrecks lies. Ferndale is pretty much broken down, and first
on a depth of twenty meters she starts ti look like a ship. Parat
lies much deeper, and on a depth of forty meters from the stern
of Ferndale you can look down on the wreck of Parat. A boat is
needed to visit these wrecks...
Name: |
Former names: |
Material: |
Dimensions: |
Ferndale |
|
Steel |
382,7x 53,4x ?
f. |
| |
|
|
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| Brt \ Nrt: |
Built: |
Homeport: |
Cargo: |
| 4302 \ 2450 |
Hamburg ( D ) 1925 |
( D ) |
Ammunition |
Information provided
by www.warsailors.com
;
Seized by Kriegsmarine in 1940. Captain Karl Wagner. Bombed by allied
aircraft on Dec. 16-1944 and sunk at Krakhellesund. The rescue ship
D/S Parat also sank in this attack. According to the text under the
link "Den farlige kysten" below Ferndale had run aground
on Seglstenen in the dark the day before, a big rock in the narrow
channel they were passing through. Other ships in the convoy were
the German D/S Wilhelms and the tug Fairplay X. Wilhelms was ordered
by Marine Vermittlung at Bergenhus to continue to Ålesund with
2 of the escorts, while the 3rd escort vessel V 5305 Jäger (ex.
Norwegian Hval VI, see my list Hval whalers) and Fairplay X were ordered
to stay with Ferndale. An examination of Ferndale showed that diver
assistance was needed and the rescue vessel Parat was ordered to come
to Krakhellesund. The next day, Dec. 16 an aircraft was spotted above
them and the alarm sounded. 45 minutes later 19 Mosquito's from Banff
Strike Wing attacked, leaving Ferndale and Parat on fire. One of the
aircraft was shot down, both pilots died. About an hour later another
6 Mosquito's attacked, also from Banff Strike Wing (these aircraft
were actually on anti U-boat patrol in the Fedje area, until they
spotted the smoke from the burning ships). One of them, Mosquito S
from 235 Squadron, got a direct hit from Jäger and crashed in
the mountainside. Both pilots, one of whom was a young Australian
of Norwegian descent, died (there's a picture of him in this article,
which is written by Halvor Sperbund). He had taken off in his aircraft
from his mother's country, Scotland, to meet his death 2 hours later
in his father's country, Norway. There's no mention of casualties
on Ferndale or Parat.
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