Født: Kristiansand - 05 november 1914
Bosted: Kristiansand - Kristiansand kommune.
Død: 06 juli 1942
William Tidemann-Andersen var 2 .maskinist på M/S "Danio", ble syk og lagt inn på hospital i New Orleans i mai 1942. Tok hyre på M/S "Bayard" for å komme til New York, og omkom 6 juli 1942 da skipet ble torpedert. Nordøst for munningen av Missisippi.
Kildene forteller:
Krigsseilerregistert skriver:Juli 1942:
M/S "Bayard" ble torpedert og sank 6 juli 1942 av tysk ubåt U 67( Korvettenkapitän Günther Müller Stöchheim ) og synker 35 n.m. syd av Mississippis utløp på reise fra New Orleans til Cristobal med stykkgods. 11 personer omkom.
www.uboat.net skriver:
At 18.57 hours on 6 July 1942 the unescorted M/S "Bayard" (Master Arvid Heiberg) was hit aft by one stern torpedo fromthe german, type IXC u-boat U-67, commanded by Korvettenkapitän Günther Müller Stöchheim, holder of the german Knights Cross, less than 15 minutes after being sighted about 45 miles south of Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The explosion destroyed the deck house, stern gun, motorboat, aerial and three vehicles stored on #5 hatch cover and killed two gunners on watch at the gun and most of the deck crew and some engine crew members who had been eating in the aft mess room.
The survivors, many of whom were injured, abandoned ship in both port lifeboats while the ship slowly developed a list to port. The master threw the confidential books overboard, carried out a search of the destroyed stern section with the chief officer to make sure that no one was left behind and then left as last man shortly before the M/S "Bayard" sank by the stern about 10 minutes after being hit.
The unarmed Hall PH-2 flying boat V-166 (USCG Air Station Biloxi, pilot Lt D.O. Reed) on an anti-submarine patrol located the boats after one hour and carried out a hazardous open sea landing in order to assist the injured survivors as soon as possible. They took all men aboard, including one man suffering from a possible broken back and severe head injuries and eight had burns of various degrees of seriousness. The overloaded aircraft managed to take off again and proceeded to New Orleans, landing in Lake Pontchartrain off the Yacht basin and transferring the survivors to USCG boats for the trip to shore and medical care in New Orleans.
Minnehallen i Stavern skriver:
M/S "Bayard" ble torpedert 6. juli 1942 av tysk U67 ( Korvettenkapitän Günther Müller Stöchheim) bare 40 n. mil av land utenfor Missisippi-deltaet. Ingen trodde at ubåter ville gå til angrep her. Bayard gikk ned etter 10 minutter. 11 mann omkom. Flere av de overlevende var såret og trengte hurtig legebehandling, noe de også fikk. Et sjøfly landet etter en times tid og brakte de sårede til New Orleans. Var på reise fra New Orleans til Cristobal med stykkgods.
De norske omkom ombord i M/S "Bayard":William Tidemann-Andersen - 2.maskinist, Norman Reme - Matros/skytter, Arnljot Geline Olafsen - Matros, Peder Andreas Johnsen - Matros, Ingvar Jansen - Tømmermann, Kveldulf Henden - Matros, Ole Heggemsnes - Båtsmann, Harald Haugland - Motormann, Kolbjørn Hansen - Sjømann, Bernhard Marton Hagen - Matros, Torbjørn Amundsen - Matros/skytter.
www.warsailors.com skriver:
Final Fate - 1942:
M/S "Bayard" had arrived New Orleans from Havana on June 30-1942, and left again in the evening of July 5 for Cristobal with 2099 tons general cargo and 13 vehicles on deck. Torpedoed (aft) the next day by U-67 (Müller-Stöckheim), listed to port and sank after 10 minutes in 29 35N 88 44W.
The deckhouse, gun, and motorboat were destroyed, as were 3 vehicles that had been on No. 5 hatch, and the radio antenna fell down. The engine was immediately stopped, and after the captain had thrown the secret code books overboard, and he and the 1st mate had checked to make sure there was no one aft who could still be alive, the boats were launched.
11 died; most of the deck crew and some of the engine crew had been in the aft mess room eating, while 2 gunners had been on duty near the gun at the time of the explosion.
The 21 survivors, many of whom were injured, were picked up by a sea plane an hour later and taken to New Orleans. Able Seaman Erling Hansen, who had been on lookout duty and had fallen down, and the Danish Saloon Boy Max Rasmussen were taken to a hospital, while the others were placed in Hotel Jung. On July 8, the captain, all the officers and another 4 survivors travelled by train to New York, while the remaining survivors stayed in New Orleans.
The maritime hearings were held in New York on July 13-1942 with Captain Heiberg, 1st Mate L. Fylling, 2nd Mate J. Due, and Able Seaman N. Simmerøy (at the helm when the torpedo hit) appearing.
Kilder: Krigsseilerregisteret, www.uboat.net, Minnehallen i Stavern og www.warsailors.com
Flåtetilhørighet
Tilhørte Uteflåten.
Registernummer London: 1406
Registernummer New York: 16745
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)
Tidemann-Andersen, ble tildelt Krigsmedaljen Dato for tildeling ukjent