MV B. P. Newton (1940)

History
Norway
Name	B. P. Newton
Owner	Skibs-A/S Navalis
Operator	Tschudi & Eitzen/ Nortraship
Port of registry	Oslo
Builder	Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads AB in Malmö, Sweden
Yard number	214
Launched	13 January 1940
Maiden voyage	31 March 1942
Out of service	Night from 7th to 8th July 1943 (sunk)
Identification	Code letters: BPLG LKLV
Fate	Sunk by the German submarine U-510 while sailing in Convoy TJ-1 off Paramaribo on 7/8 July 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	DNV 1A1 tankskip for ojlejast
Type	Tanker
Tonnage	10,200 DWT 10,324 GRT
Length	512,3 ft (156,1338 m)
Beam	63,2 ft (19,2532 m)
Draught	39,0 ft (11,872 m)
Propulsion	1 MAN 8-cylinder and 2-stroke diesel engine
Speed	14,5 knots
Notes	One of "Kvarstad ships," she was one of two that escaped.

MV B. P. Newton was a Norwegian tanker built in 1940, and sunk by German submarine off South America in July 1943.

Construction

The ship was built by Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads AB in Malmö in 1940.^[1] She had a tonnage of 10,200 dwt.^[2]

Second World War

The ship was among the Kvarstad vessels which were held in arrest in Gothenburg during the German occupation of Norway from 1940. The ship's maiden voyage was with Operation Performance, an attempt by the British to release a number of Norwegian merchant ships then interned in the neutral Swedish port of Gothenburg,^[3] starting on 31 March 1942. B. P. Newton was one of the two ships that managed to escape to Britain.^[4][5]

In 1942 and 1943 the ship sailed on the Atlantic Ocean between Great Britain and America.^[1]

Sinking, and fate of crew

B. P. Newton departed from Trinidad on 3 July 1943, sailing with the convoy TJ 1. During the night between 7 and 8 July the ship was hit by a torpedo from U-510. The ship, loaded with gasoline, was set in fire. 24 of the crew members were saved, while 23 perished.^[6]

References

Citations

1. "M/T B. P. Newton". Warsailors.com. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
2. Hegland 1976: p. 420
3. "Operation Performance". Codenames. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
4. Hegland 1976: pp. 68-75
5. Voksø, Per, ed. (1984). "Tragedie i Skagerrak". Krigens Dagbok (in Norwegian). Oslo: Det Beste. p. 227. ISBN 82-7010-166-4.
6. Hegland 1976: pp. 274-276

Bibliography

• Hegland, Jon Rustung (1976). Krigsseilasen under den allierte offensiv 1942–1945. Nortraships flåte (in Norwegian). Vol. 2. Oslo: Dreyer. ISBN 82-09-01261-4.