OMONIA
| Name : | OMONIA |
| Greek name : | ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ |
| Type of Ship : | Freighter |
| LRS-Name : | OMONIA |
| Internat. call sign : | SVJT |
| Port of Registry : | Chios 104 |
| Later Names : | 1908 KEYINGHAM 1933 OMONIA |
| Later Names : | 1940 OLSA |
| Initial Flag of Registry : | Great Britain |
| Owner : | 1908 A.Meek & Sons, Goole, Great Britain 1910 Keyingham Steamship Co. Ltd, Goole, Great Britain 1912 Thompson Steam Shipping Co. Ltd, Sunderland, Great Britain 1919 Woodpulp Transport Co. Ltd, Sunderland, Great Britain 1933 E. Xenios & Christoforides Bros, Chios Island, Greece 1939 German Reich |
| Shipyard : | J.L. Thompson & Sons Ltd, North Sands, Sundeland, Great Britain |
| Hull Number : | 461 |
| Year of Construction : | 1908 |
| Launch : | 19.12.1907 |
| Commissioned : | 00.01.1908 |
| Size (GRT) : | 3.699 |
| Size (NRT) : | 2.335 |
| Lenght (m) : | 105,6 |
| Width (m) : | 15,5 |
| Depth (m) : | 6,7 |
| Engine : | Steam engine/triple expansion/3 cylinders/G. Clark Ltd, Sunderland, Great Britain |
| Output : | 329 NHP |
| Screws : | 1 |
| Speed (kn) : | 9 |
1907 built by J. L. Thompson & Sons Ltd., North Sands, Sunderland.
19.12.1907 launched as KEYINGHAM.
00.01.1908 Employment for A. Meek & Sons in Goole.
1909 sale to Keyingham SS. Co., Ltd. (V. T. Thompson & Co.) in Goole.
1912 transferred to Thompson Steam Shipping Co., Ltd. (V. T. Thompson & Co.), Sunderland.
1918 now with Thompson Steam Shipping Co., Ltd (Petersen & Co., Ltd., mgrs.), Goole.
1919 new owner Woodpulp Transport Co., Ltd. (H. Tyrer, mgrs.), London [Becker & Co.].
1933 sale to Elias Xenios & Christoforides Bros, Island of Chios [Harbour number Chios 104] and renamed OMONIA.
02.08.1939 in charter for enterprise Sami Khoury in Alexandria.
21.08.1939 left Skelletea bound for Viipuri.
01.09.1939 at the beginning of the war in Koivusaari completing the wood cargo for Egypt. Crew unrest due to voyage through war area.
01.10.1939 cargo completed at Uuras, ready for depature to Zeebrügge.
04.10.1939 entered Stockholm to get additional information at the Greek embassy about voyage to Egypt.
14.10.1939 after departure from Stockholm passing German control points voluntarily. Stopped by artillery training ship BREMSE in position 58.05 N - 18.23 E and boarded by prize crew.
16.10.1939 taken to Swinemünde harbor.
20.10.1939 move to Stettin.
02.11.1939 ship and cargo (beams and sawed timber) formally seized by Harbor Control Stettin.
25.11.1939 decision of employment by prize court Hamburg.
1940 ship moved to Hamburg.
15.02.1940 by judgement of prize court Hamburg the ship is set free, the cargo seized as prize. Against this judgment, the "Reichskommissar der Kriegsmarine" raises a protest at the prize court and the ship is kept further in Hamburg. Shipowners Leth & Co., Hamburg, are tasked to guard and care for the ship which is laid up.
14.11.1940 ship is re-named OLSA.*
15.11.1940 registered by KMD Hamburg for transport tasks. Shipowners Leth & Co., Hamburg are ship managers.*
19.11.1940 entered into the shipping register Hamburg as OLSA [DKET] for Deutsches Reich - Admiral KMD Hamburg eingetragen. (entry is declared to be faulty later* )
01.01.1941 ship-owners Leth & Co., Hamburg, get free management of the ship.
06.04.1941 war between Germany and Greece begins.
07.04.1940 by judgement of the superior prize court Berlin, ship and cargo are seized as prize in favor of Germany.
03.09.1942 Admiral KMD Hamburg orders ship-owners Leth & Co., Hamburg, to transfer the steamer, which is being repaired in a Hamburg shipyard to the ship-owners Schulte & Bruns, Emden on September 7.
09.09.1942 transfer completed.
22.05.1943 ownership transferred to Schulte & Bruns, Emden, however, no entry in the shipping register Emden.
18.06.1943 the ship is transferred as replacement ship for the lost steamer KONSUL SCHULTE to Schulte & Bruns for "Patenreederei Konsul Schulte", Emden, according to decision of Kriegsschädenamt für die Seeschiffahrt (Office of war damages for shipping)
27.01.1944 OLSA rams the minesweeper M 36 in Aalesund.
11.10.1944, 02:40 (German time), during operation "Nordlicht" (Northern Light) in Northern Norway, OLSA departs from Liinahamari (previously Petsamo - Kirkenes) in the last convoy together with steamers LUMME und KRÜCKAU and the coastal freighter NORD 32 under cover of artificial fog provided by coastal batteries and motor minesweepers. OLSA carries 106 soldiers and 1543 tons of general cargo for Northern Germany. The convoy is escorted by the 5th minesweeper flotilla and the 7th and 23rd motor minesweeper flotilla.
7:15 (German time) during an attack of 40 IL-2 aircraft of 46th ground attack aircraft regiment of the naval air forces of the Soviet Northern fleet, the ship is hit in Kjölmösund / Langfjord by a dud bomb. The dud hits the main steam pipe and leaves the ship unmanoeuvrable.
07:35 (German time) OLSA is taken in tow by M 202.
09:20 (German time) the tow is discharged from the convoy with escort by motor minesweepers R 152, R 156, R 160 und R 202.
10:15 (German time) during a new attack by 17 IL-2 aircraft of 46th regiment (see above) the ship is hit in the stern, takes water and is beached in Leirpollen Bay near Bøkfjord. No info with respect to personal losses can be found in the records.
The wreck, which has sunk in the shallow water (0 - 16 m deep), is demolished after the war up to the engine room.
1990 at least the stern remains at the location of sinking. [A]
*As at this moment the steamer HERRENWYK ex MARTTI REGNAR carried the identifier DKET and was, according to the prize court, still in Greek ownership these data may be correct for the year of 1941 in contrast to other claims and entries.
19.12.1907 launched as KEYINGHAM.
00.01.1908 Employment for A. Meek & Sons in Goole.
1909 sale to Keyingham SS. Co., Ltd. (V. T. Thompson & Co.) in Goole.
1912 transferred to Thompson Steam Shipping Co., Ltd. (V. T. Thompson & Co.), Sunderland.
1918 now with Thompson Steam Shipping Co., Ltd (Petersen & Co., Ltd., mgrs.), Goole.
1919 new owner Woodpulp Transport Co., Ltd. (H. Tyrer, mgrs.), London [Becker & Co.].
1933 sale to Elias Xenios & Christoforides Bros, Island of Chios [Harbour number Chios 104] and renamed OMONIA.
02.08.1939 in charter for enterprise Sami Khoury in Alexandria.
21.08.1939 left Skelletea bound for Viipuri.
01.09.1939 at the beginning of the war in Koivusaari completing the wood cargo for Egypt. Crew unrest due to voyage through war area.
01.10.1939 cargo completed at Uuras, ready for depature to Zeebrügge.
04.10.1939 entered Stockholm to get additional information at the Greek embassy about voyage to Egypt.
14.10.1939 after departure from Stockholm passing German control points voluntarily. Stopped by artillery training ship BREMSE in position 58.05 N - 18.23 E and boarded by prize crew.
16.10.1939 taken to Swinemünde harbor.
20.10.1939 move to Stettin.
02.11.1939 ship and cargo (beams and sawed timber) formally seized by Harbor Control Stettin.
25.11.1939 decision of employment by prize court Hamburg.
1940 ship moved to Hamburg.
15.02.1940 by judgement of prize court Hamburg the ship is set free, the cargo seized as prize. Against this judgment, the "Reichskommissar der Kriegsmarine" raises a protest at the prize court and the ship is kept further in Hamburg. Shipowners Leth & Co., Hamburg, are tasked to guard and care for the ship which is laid up.
14.11.1940 ship is re-named OLSA.*
15.11.1940 registered by KMD Hamburg for transport tasks. Shipowners Leth & Co., Hamburg are ship managers.*
19.11.1940 entered into the shipping register Hamburg as OLSA [DKET] for Deutsches Reich - Admiral KMD Hamburg eingetragen. (entry is declared to be faulty later* )
01.01.1941 ship-owners Leth & Co., Hamburg, get free management of the ship.
06.04.1941 war between Germany and Greece begins.
07.04.1940 by judgement of the superior prize court Berlin, ship and cargo are seized as prize in favor of Germany.
03.09.1942 Admiral KMD Hamburg orders ship-owners Leth & Co., Hamburg, to transfer the steamer, which is being repaired in a Hamburg shipyard to the ship-owners Schulte & Bruns, Emden on September 7.
09.09.1942 transfer completed.
22.05.1943 ownership transferred to Schulte & Bruns, Emden, however, no entry in the shipping register Emden.
18.06.1943 the ship is transferred as replacement ship for the lost steamer KONSUL SCHULTE to Schulte & Bruns for "Patenreederei Konsul Schulte", Emden, according to decision of Kriegsschädenamt für die Seeschiffahrt (Office of war damages for shipping)
27.01.1944 OLSA rams the minesweeper M 36 in Aalesund.
11.10.1944, 02:40 (German time), during operation "Nordlicht" (Northern Light) in Northern Norway, OLSA departs from Liinahamari (previously Petsamo - Kirkenes) in the last convoy together with steamers LUMME und KRÜCKAU and the coastal freighter NORD 32 under cover of artificial fog provided by coastal batteries and motor minesweepers. OLSA carries 106 soldiers and 1543 tons of general cargo for Northern Germany. The convoy is escorted by the 5th minesweeper flotilla and the 7th and 23rd motor minesweeper flotilla.
7:15 (German time) during an attack of 40 IL-2 aircraft of 46th ground attack aircraft regiment of the naval air forces of the Soviet Northern fleet, the ship is hit in Kjölmösund / Langfjord by a dud bomb. The dud hits the main steam pipe and leaves the ship unmanoeuvrable.
07:35 (German time) OLSA is taken in tow by M 202.
09:20 (German time) the tow is discharged from the convoy with escort by motor minesweepers R 152, R 156, R 160 und R 202.
10:15 (German time) during a new attack by 17 IL-2 aircraft of 46th regiment (see above) the ship is hit in the stern, takes water and is beached in Leirpollen Bay near Bøkfjord. No info with respect to personal losses can be found in the records.
The wreck, which has sunk in the shallow water (0 - 16 m deep), is demolished after the war up to the engine room.
1990 at least the stern remains at the location of sinking. [A]
*As at this moment the steamer HERRENWYK ex MARTTI REGNAR carried the identifier DKET and was, according to the prize court, still in Greek ownership these data may be correct for the year of 1941 in contrast to other claims and entries.
| Date of Loss : | 14.10.1939 |
| Place of Loss : | 58.05 N - 18.23 E, Baltic Sea |
| Kind of Loss : | Impoundment |
| Cause of Loss : | Impoundment |
| Name of Opponent : | German Reich |
1. Lloyds Register of Shipping.
2. Melissinos, Ioannis: The Navy during World War II - The total contribution of the Greek Merchant Navy (Motorsailers and Steamers) 1940-1945, volume I and II, University of Ioannina 1995 (Gr.)
3. [A] Archive Theodor Dorgeist
2. Melissinos, Ioannis: The Navy during World War II - The total contribution of the Greek Merchant Navy (Motorsailers and Steamers) 1940-1945, volume I and II, University of Ioannina 1995 (Gr.)
3. [A] Archive Theodor Dorgeist
| Inserted : | 07.01.2011 |
| Inserted by : | Dimitris Galon |
| Last Edit : | 23.11.2015 |
| Edited by : | Dimitris Galon |
| Modifications : | - 17.06.2014 T. Reich photos 1-3 inserted - 02.03.2015 T. Dorgeist service life inserted - 01.06.2015 T. Reich documents 1-6 inserted - 23.11.2015 D. Galon Service Life in English inserted |
