Bellona II

The steel steamship Bellona was launched from the Kiel shipyard of Deutche Werke (Yard No 172) on 3rd November 1923. She measured 231.9′ x 34.2′ x 12.2′ and her tonnage was 840 gross tons, 330 net tons. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by Deutche Werke delivering 165 nominal horse power.

She was delivered to Det Forende Dampskibs-Selskab, Copenhagen (DFDS) on 7th January 1924 and immediately began her career crossing back and forth across the North sea to the eastern seaboard of the UK and other North Sea ports. On 18th December 1924 she stranded at Tornby near the north tip of Denmark but was successfully refloated to re-enter service.

At the outbreak of World War Two she was operating on the route from Esberg to Glasgow and Manchester. When the Germans invaded Denmark on 9th August 1940 she was in Glasgow and was immediately requisitioned by the Admiralty who assigned her to the Ellerman Wilson Line who managed her wartime service. At this time her name was changed to Bellona II.

On 8th October 1940 she was en route from Hull to Reykjavik with a cargo of ice. She had a crew of thirty men aboard commanded by Captain Thyge Neilsen plus a team of seven men to work the cargo. At around 8pm that evening she was around 4 1/2 miles east south east of Gourdon she was attacked by a German aircraft. The Bellona II suffered a direct hit which started a serious fire aboard. Six crewmen and three of the cargo workers were killed in the explosion and resulting fire.

The local lifeboat Margaret Dawson and her crew received an emergency call only minutes later at 8:15 and raced to the scene. She took ten men off the burning ship and then picked up another eight from a Dutch vessel that had reached the scene before them and took them safely back to shore The Bellona II drifted for some time towards the shore and beached in Strathlethan Bay.

Although no details are available it is certain the wreck was heavily salvaged or even removed later.