Allied Merchant Navy of World War II:
LINKS Page, Part Three

Australian Sites

Maritime Disasters of World War Two This encyclopedic site, created by George R. Duncan, and dedicated to all those who lost their lives at sea, details the fates of the larger naval and merchant ships from all nations. There is also a second page, More Maritime Disasters which lists many smaller ships lost during the war.

The Australian War Memorial This site gives on-line access to the Memorial's collections, exhibitions, research facilities and Biographical Databases. To search for the name of a Merchant Seaman, use the Memorial's Commemorative Roll database. Along with the Memorial's own databases, there are also links to the data bases of the National Archives of Australia.

National Archives of Australia The Archives has a huge collection of photos and documents pertaining to Australia's WWII history and is also the repository for Service Records of those who served aboard Australian Merchant vessels during the war. For further information on obtaining Service Records see the "Fact Sheet Thirty" . To find a photo, try the site's Photo Search feature.

Queensland Vindicatrix Association This site, created by Bill and Shirley Davis, is the online home of the Queensland branch of the association which like other branches around the world remembers the TS Vindicatrix National Sea Training School. As well as information of particular interest to members, Bill and Shirley have also set up a Guestbook and Links page.

Australia at War This site created by Peter Dunn concentrates on World War One and World War Two. The many topics covered include a list of Ships Sunk in Australian Waters by Japanese Submarines and a page about the Japanese "Glen" Floatplane.

Australian Merchant Seamen War Memorial This memorial commemorates the service of Australian Merchant Seamen in both World Wars and is part of Michael Southwell-Keely's extensive Australian War Memorials site. Another part of the site, which covers war memorials throughout Australia, is the Australian, British and Allied Merchant Navy Plaque, dedicated to those who brought supplies to Darwin during WWII.

The Australian Merchant Navy: Stories of the War at Sea This site created by Australian Merchant Navy veterans Ron "Steve" Wylie, the late Frank "The Chief" Snell, and Jack "Cracker" Knight, pays tribute to the often untold story of the Australian Merchant Navy's role during WWII. As well as providing detailed histories of the Australian fleets along with their own personal recollections of their service aboard Burns, Philp & Co. Ltd. vessels, the authors have included stories from Navy and Army veterans. New contributions in the form of poems, narratives and photos are welcomed. Be sure to also visit the separate International Discussion Forum which the webmasters set up in July 2002 -- Mercantile Marine.

T.S. Vindicatrix "Downunder" This site, created by former "Vindi Boy" Dave Bryson and his son Richard, is the online home of the New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory Branch of the TS. Vindicatrix Association. The purpose of the site is to bring together "Vindi Boys" from around the world and the webmasters welcome stories and photos.

World War Two Nominal Roll This site is a database containing the service records of some one million men and women who served in Australia's Defense Forces and Merchant Navy during WWII.

North Queensland at War.com This site, created by World War Two researcher Peter Nielsen, provides details about his multi-volume history of Allied shipping movements in the waters off North Queensland, Australia, during World War Two. Peter's first volume of the history, North Queensland at War, Volume One: Naval and Merchant Shipping Movements (1939-1942) was published in 2005. For more information, please visit Peter's website.

New Zealand Sites

The New Zealand National Maritime Museum This museum which is located in Auckland, has an extensive library and archive as well as a large collection of Ship Photos. The library staff are knowledgable about Merchant Navy matters and very helpful to anyone seeking information. Please refer to the Library Page for a list of the research material available and the library's hours of opening.

Archives New Zealand Although some Service records of New Zealand Merchant Seamen Veterans were lost to fire in 1952, the remaining records have now been transferred to the Archives. To first obtain a Reference Number, please go to the Maritime Safety Authority of New Zealand website and see the information on their Historical Information About Vessels and Seafarers page.

Norwegian Sites

National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet) The National Archives houses information on Norway's WWII merchant fleet which was operated by the NORTRASHIPS company. For the page containing addresses to the various archives, go to the Contacts and Locations page. For directions on how to find out where Nortraship Archives are located and how to use the Norwegian version go to Siri Lawson's Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 Index Page. The Norwegian Maritime Directorate administrate a special pension fund for all those who served on Norwegian ships during WWII. For specific information on the pension fund, please write to: postmottak@sjofartsdir.dep.no. Many thanks to Astrid Loeset Meland of the Norwegian Central Information Service (Statens Informasjonstjeneste) and Siri Lawson of Warsailors.com for these addresses.

Warsailors.com On this site Siri Lawson, who actually lives in the United States, tells the unforgetable story of her late father, Odd Conrad Holm, a veteran of the Norwegian Merchant Navy. Odd Holm was marked for life by his experiences in World War Two. As well as serving on the Nidarland, Ringulv, Nyhorn and the Thorsov, Odd also survived 16 months in horrific North African prison/labor camps. Siri has included translations of her father's letters along with fascinating photos and other documents. As well as telling her father's story, Siri has created a huge archive of information which is described on her Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 Index Page. Siri has also separated her useful Links Pages into three sections: a main Links Page with a variety of links, a Merchant Marine Links Page which focusses on the Norwegian and Allied Merchant Navies' role in WWII and a Genealogy Links Page. Siri also offers searchable forums -- a Ship Forum, a Find Old Shipmates Forum, and a Maritime Books and Market Place and Information Exchange Forum.

Icelandic Site

U-boat.Net This site created by by enthusiast Gudmundur Helgason of Hafnarfjorour, Iceland, contains a wealth of information on the U-boats and the Allied vessels which they sunk.

Dutch Sites

Auke Visser's ESSO Tankvaart Mij. Website This site created by by ex-Dutch Merchant Marine Engineer Auke Visser gives a detailed history of the Dutch ESSO ships. As well as informative fleet lists, individual ship histories and wonderful photos, Auke also has a very moving "In Memoriam" section which pays tribute to the Dutch Merchant Seamen who lost their lives while serving aboard the Dutch ESSO tankers of World War Two.

Turkish Site

American Sites

American Merchant Marine at War -- Revolution to World War II to Today (formerly US Merchant Marine and US Maritime Service -- USMM). This huge site, created by Merchant Marine Veteran Dan Horodysky and his wife Toni, of Berkeley, California, is the place to start if you are looking for U.S. Merchant Marine and Naval Armed Guard information. Use the site's Search Engine to find topics easily. The multitude of topics covered include: Shipmate Search with information on how to obtain service records and ship histories; Ships Sunk or Damaged in WWII, Names of Mariners Killed in WWII and Mariners who were taken Prisoner of War. Toni and Dan also host other webpages -- some of these are: The Sinking of the SS Lehigh by Sam Hakam; Captain George Duffy's POW Page which features Captain Duffy's newspaper articles; and author-historian Bruce Felknor's American Merchant Marine Page. Toni and Dan also provide information on A Careless Word -- A Needless Sinking by Captain Arthur R. Moore.

American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV) National Headquarters This page which is part of the AMM at War website has information of interest to veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine and the U.S. Navy Armed Guard. Other chapters of AMMV include:

The AMMV Juan de Fuca Chapter is headed by former Merchant Marine Veteran Harold F. "Bud" Schmidt who also has a personal homepage. For information on videos which Bud recommends, please click here.

The AMMV Southern Oregon Chapter can be contacted at the e-mail address of its Editor, Monty Montgomery: montykat@harborside.com

Matty's Merchant Marine Info Site Merchant Marine Veteran Matty Loughran is Historian of the North Atlantic Chapter AMMV. As well as assisting American veterans and their families to obtain service records, Matty also helps Canadian citizens who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Matty can be reached at: 17 Lakeview Court, Riverhead, N.Y. 11901-1858 ph 631-722-5014 or at his e-mail address of mattmerchmarine@webtv.net

SS Stephen Hopkins Chapter American Merchant Marine Veterans This site which is also part of the AMM at War website, is of particular interst to veterans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Service Officer Charles C. Smith is especially interested in seeing that Merchant Marine Veterans receive the health care and monetary benefits to which they are entitled and he considers it a great priviledge to help any veteran with his claim.

US Naval Armed Guard and WWII Merchant Marine This huge site was created by Naval Armed Guard veteran Thomas R. Bowerman in order to document the role of the US Naval Armed Guard and US Merchant Marine in World War Two. The site has many features including a Message Board and News Page. There are many photographs and in order to make it easier to navigate the site Tom has provided a helpful search engine. Be sure to visit AMMV Louis (Louie) V. Cafiero's pages which include a tribute to his cousin William "Billy" McKeon, a Naval Armed Guard gunner who survived the sinkings of the SS Kaimoku and SS Bushranger. Don't miss Louie's photos of Liberty Ship John W. Brown taken during her visit to Jacksonville, Florida in June 2002. To see Louie's tribute to his friend James (Jimmie) Muldrow, ex-POW and Naval Armed Guard gunner, Please Click Here.

American Veteran Search This site, created by Rich Palmeri and Jack Gentile, is dedicated to all US Veterans of all branches and all eras. To access the searchable data base for the US Merchant Marine section, click on "Message Center" on the welcome page.

National Liberty Ship Memorial: SS Jeremiah O'Brien This is the official homepage for the Liberty Ship and veteran of the Normandy Landings, SS Jeremiah O'Brien. She was built in June 1943 in the shipyard at Portland, Maine and today is berthed in San Francisco where she serves as a living museum. The Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS John W. Brown are the only two surviving Liberty Ships.

The S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien Video Page This site, maintained by Ross Bertran of Communication Direct, showcases Ross' video documentary "Homecoming", which he made about the Jeremiah O'Brien's nostalgic visit to Portland, Maine, in 1994. Ross has included interesting video clips from the film.

Project Liberty Ship This site is dedicated to preserving the memory of the SS John W. Brown, and all the other Liberty Ships.

The SS Lane Victory Homepage This is the official website of the WWII Victory Ship, SS Lane Victory, a distinguished veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. She is now berthed in San Pedro, California, where she has been preserved as a "living memorial from the Merchant Marine Veterans to the people of the world."

Another Merchant Marine Page This site contains a variety of information including an article by Theron P. Snell on how to research a specific U.S. merchant ship and a first-hand account by Captain Charles A. Jarvis of Gallant Ship Award recipient, Adoniram Judson.

US Merchant Marine Veterans Information Site This site, which is maintained by Bill Humm, whose father, Richard served on Liberty Ships during the war, contains many facts and figures on the history of the US Merchant Marine.

Death of Convoy PQ-17 This article tells the tragic story of the doomed convoy which was abandoned by its British escorts while en route to Archangel in July 1942.

Herbert E. Thiel, K.I.A. This page, written in memory of United States Army Private Herbert E. Thiel, tells the tragic and little-known story of the sinking of the British troopship HMT Rohna. She was carrying American troops to India when she was sunk by a German glider bomb off the coast of Algeria on November 26, 1943. Over 1100 lives were lost.

Floyd S. Crumpler Memorial Page This page, in memory of Merchant Marine veteran, Floyd S. Crumpler, is written by his daughter, Gloria Vester. Floyd survived the sinking of the Liberty Ship H.G. Blasdel when she was torpedoed off the coast of France on June 29th, 1944.

In Hell There is a Place Called Death's Railway. Former US Merchant Marine Stanley Willner's harrowing account of his days as a POW of the Japanese in Singapore and Thailand.

Shipwrecks and Other Maritime Disasters This site created by Robert Frump is a homepage for contemporary maritime literature, journalism, writing and research. Be sure to read the articles written by Merchant Marine Veteran, Bob Cusick:     Cold Comfort, in which Bob describes how he survived the 1983 sinking of Marine Electric; his essay The Merchant Marine and US Armed Guard in WWII , his memoir After the War in which Bob describes his wartime experiences and post-war life and The Torpedoing ot the Lake Osweya in which Bob describes the tragic wartime losses of Lake Osweya and USAT Merrimack. Robert Frump provides an in-depth analysis of The Wreck of the Marine Electric and he has also written the book Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death and Survival in the Merchant Marine which describes the Marine Electric disaster and aftermath. To listen to Bob Cusick's June 14, 2002 Radio interview "Surviving Disaster on the High Seas", please go to New Hampshire Public Radio: The Front Porch. To read Tony Germanotta's article about Bob Cusick -- "Survivor's Story Made Shipping Safer" -- which was published in the Virginian-Pilot of February 12, 2003, please go to High Beam Research. Dec. 2004: The new History Channel documentary "Ship of Doom" (Deep Sea Detectves series) which is based on Robert Frump's book "Until the Sea Shall Free Them", is now available from the The History Channel.

The Merchant-Marine.com Homepage Former WWII Merchant Marine Veteran Vern Hurst has designed this site to be of use to all veterans. Vern has included many useful links.

USS England This site created by Dennis O'Brien offers all kinds of information about USS England DE-635, the remarkable American destroyer which sank 6 Japanese submarines in May 1944, and about the post-war USS England DLG/CG-22 which served throughout the Cold War, Vietnam and Desert Storm.

United States Naval Academy Museum This world-famous museum is located in Annapolis, Maryland.

Great Lakes Vessels Online Image Database This database which is part of Bowling Green State University is an excellent source of information on all the ships which frequented the Great Lakes region.

Kilroy Was Here: Unknown Stories and Forgotten Places This site, created by Patrick A. Tillery, features the personal stories of those who served in both World War Two and the Korean War. Be sure to view Patrick's huge selection of links which are listed on his Links Directory page.

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