Født: Sør-Audnedal - 16 april 1921
Bosted: Sprangereid - Lindesnes kommune.
Død: 26 september 1943
Toralf Robertsen omkom 26. september 1943 da D/S ”Christian Michelsen”, på vei fra New York til Bizerte, sank i Middelhavet etter en eksplosjon.
Kildene forteller:
Krigsseilerregisteret skriver:September 1943:
D/S ”Christian Michelsen” avgikk New York 1/9 for Bizerta i konvoi med ammunisjon og annet krigsmateriell. Torpedert 26 august 1943 av tysk ubåt U 410 (oberleutnant Horst Arno Fenski) ca 80 n.m. west av Bizerta. 47 personer omkom.
www.uboat.net skriver:
At 19.00 hours on 26 Sep 1943, the german, type VIIC u-boat U-410, commanded by Oberleutnant Horst Arno Fenski , holder of the german Knights Cross, attacked convoy UGS-17 30 miles east of Bona and reported the sinking of an ammunition ship and the probable sinking of another vessel.
However, only the S/S ”Christian Michelsen” (Master Jens Lassen Ugland) was hit and blew up, sinking in less than one minute. 47 men died, 35 of them Norwegian, including the master. Three men miraculously survived and were picked up from their raft by one of the escort vessels, which took them to a hospital in Bizerta. The master, Jens Lassen Ugland, had already experienced another sinking when his former ship, the Mosfruit had been sunk by U-458 (Diggins) on 30 Jun 1942.
Minnehallen i Stavern skriver:D/S ”Christian Michelsen” var på reise fra New York til Bizerta med ammunisjon og krigsmateriell til styrkene i Nord-Afrika. Hun ble torpedert 26. september 1943 av tysk U-410 (Oberleutnant zur See Horst-Arno Fenski) i posisjon 80 n. mil vest av Bizerta. Skipet sprang praktisk talt i småbiter og forsvant i havet på mindre enn et minutt. Tre mann akterut klarte å hoppe i sjøen og ble reddet av eskortefartøy og brakt til sykehus i Bizerta. Hele 47 mann omkom.
De som omkom ombord på D/S ”Christian Michelsen”: Sigurd Johannes Fløisand - Donkymann, Harry Bugge Axnes - Kokk, Ingolf Totland - Kokk, Martin Kristoffersen - Stuert, Hans Kristoffer Frydenberg - Skytter Offiser, Leif Arvid Rosvold - Fyrbøter, Asbjørn Pedersen - Fyrbøter, Trygve M Larsen - Fyrbøter, Birger Hannås - Fyrbøter, Kristian Magnus Solberg - Fyrbøter, Leif Georg Andersen - Fyrbøter, Aage Brun Bentsen - Donkymann, Johan Birger Halvorsen - Maskinassistent, Reidar Meier Sandstrak - 2. Maskinist, Olav Bertram Axelsen - 1. Maskinist, Oskar Helfred Henriksen - Maskinmester, Norner B Reiersen - Matros, Henry Eugen Erlandsen - Matros, Petter Krohn Pedersen - Matros, Reidar Kvam Nilsen - Matros, Per Seim - Matros, Per Solli - Matros, Ludvig Olausen - Matros, Fritz Ebbe Moen - Matros, Fredrik Lundberg - Matros, Norvald Frank Fluvåg - Matros, Toralf Robertsen - Matros, Jens K Hagh - Matros, Martin Sletta - Båtsmann, Mikal Monsen - Tømmermann, Fritz Paul Nilsen - Telegrafist, Knut Sandøy - 3. Styrmann, Joachim Vågenes - 2. Styrmann, Karl Lorang - , Jens Lassen Ugland - Skipsfører, William Grime. (England) - Skytter/Gunner. RN.www.warsailors.com skriver:
Final Fate - 1943:
S/S ”Christian Michelsen” left New York again on Sept. 2-1943, bound for Bizerta via Hampton Roads for convoy, joining Convoy UGS 17, which left Hampton Roads on Sept. 6 and also included Egda, Glarona, Marie Bakke and Thorsholm (Tautra joined from Algiers later, while Vigsnes joined from Bone. UGS 17 had Port Said as its final destination - ref. link provided within the Voyage Record above). Christian Michelsen had a cargo of ammunition and other war materials.
On Sept. 26 she was torpedoed by U-410 (Fenski) and practically blown to bits, sinking in less than a minute, 37 12N 08 26E. 47 died (all named in the crew list below). 3 miraculously survived and were picked up by one of the escort vessels, then taken to a hospital in Bizerta the next morning.
The survivors were Gunner Ole A. Olsen, Able Seaman Einar Melby and Ordinary Seaman Knut Egil Berg. Able Seaman Henry Erlandsen had also gotten off the ship, but was injured and trapped among debris. He died shortly after Einar Melbye had gotten him free and pulled him on to some timber. Einar Melby clung to debris for about an hour before he was picked up, while the other 2 had found a raft. Melby and Erlandsen had been on duty by the aft guns, Olsen and Berg had been asleep in their cabins when the torpedo hit.
Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" lists S/S ”Christian Michelsen” as American*, adding she had a cargo of 10 000 tons ammunition and oil. Charles Hocking gives the position as 30 miles east of Bona, saying she sank after an internal explosion, with 37 crew and 1 passenger killed. "Lloyd's War Losses" gives her cargo as 3000 tons of bombs, 4000 tons of ammunition, 3000 tons of oil and mail.
Kilder: Krigsseilerregisteret, Minnehallen i Stavern, www.uboat.net og www.warsailors.com
Flåtetilhørighet
Tilhørte Uteflåten.
Registernummer London: 33374
Registernummer New York: 6519
Utmerkelser
Krigsmedaljen
Krigsmedaljen utdeles til norske eller utenlandske militære som på en fortjenstfull måte har deltatt i krig for Norge og til norske og utenlandske sivile som under krig har ydet Norges forsvar tjenester. Krigsmedaljen utdeles post mortem til alle nordmenn og utlendinger som har kjempet i de norske styrker og Handelsflåten og falt for Norges sak. (Wikipedia)
Robertsen, ble tildelt Krigsmedaljen Dato for tildeling ukjent