MS ''Elisabeth Bakk''e was a Norwegian tweendecker that participated in

Operation Rubble Operation Rubble in January 1941, was a British Blockade runner, blockade running operation during the Second World War, in which five Norwegian merchant ships escaped from Sweden during World War II, neutral Sweden to Britain through a Nazi Germa ...

. During the operation, she escaped a German blockade of Sweden on 15 March 1940 with four other ships that were also registered in Norway. The ship operated under various companies between 1937 and 1974, though she was largely owned by Knutsen OAS Shipping.

Construction

''Elisabeth Bakke'' was ordered on 1 September 1935, built in A/B Götaverken's shipyard in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The ship was delivered in March 1937. She was listed as

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

503. She and her four sister ships—all following an ''X Bakke'' naming convention—were built for the run from West Coast ports to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. However, ''Elisabeth Bakke'' was registered in

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and flew the Norwegian flag. The ship was built for the Norwegian Knutsen Line, a subsidiary of Knutsen OAS Shipping. She was classified as a tweendecker, a type of

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

Specifications

The ship was long, wide, and had a depth of . She was 5,450 gross register tons, 3,262 net register tons, and 8,540 tons deadweight. Her engine was a six-cylinder 2T DV Götaverken B&W of , capable of producing 6,900

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

and 4,779

kilowatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor of ...

. ''Elisabeth Bakke'' could travel at a maximum speed of . Her

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was LJJX and her

IMO number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is u ...

was 5101419.

Service history

World War II

''Elisabeth Bakke'' departed

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for

on 15 March 1940. She remained in the port until 9 April, when German forces invaded neighboring Norway, and remained laid-up in harbor for several months. She met up with four other Norwegian-registered vessels in

, Sweden, in early December 1940. The five ships were to take part in

, a British plan to break the German blockade of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and get merchant ships out of German hands. The group of merchant vessels departed on 30 December 1940 and anchored in

Brofjorden Brofjorden is a fjord in Lysekil Municipality, Bohuslän, Sweden. It cuts into Västra Götaland County in a southwest–northeasterly direction between the Stångenäset and Härnäset peninsulas. Situated between Gullmarn and Åbyfjorden, it is ...

due to poor visibility. They set out once more on 23 January 1941, narrowly avoiding two German battleships. Once reaching the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, the group was joined by British

warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as ...

and RAF

airplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...

.Barker, Ralph (2005). ''The Blockade Busters''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Maritime. {{ISBN, 978-1844152827. ''Elisabeth Bakke'' arrived in

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, on 25 January. Following this, ''Elisabeth Bakke'' regularly made transatlantic voyages in

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

. She also saw some minor service in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. She was returned to her original owners in October 1945 after service with

Nortraship The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship) was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping compan ...

, an organization created to monitor Norway's merchant fleet after the German invasion.

Post-war ownership

''Elisabeth Bakke'' was transferred in 1963 from the Knutsen Line to Jeanette Skinner & Co., a different subsidiary of Knutsen OAS. The ship was sold in 1970 to Mesa Industries & Shipping A/S, where she was renamed to ''Elisabeth''. She was laid up in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

, Norway, on 30 June 1971, and was sold to the Lorentzens Rederi Company of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

later that year. After that, the ship was sold to Birger Gran in January 1973 and renamed to ''Bigra''. She was eventually sold to Spanish breakers in 1974, leaving Sandefjord on 3 March and arriving in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, on 11 March.

References