Født: Randesund, Oddernes - 17 august 1907
Bosted: Kristiansand - Kristiansand kommune.
Død: 02 oktober 1943
Sigurd Toralf Tønnesen var styrmann på M/T ”India”, og omkom da skipet forsvant etter at det var gått fra Talara i Sør-Amerika 3. september 1943, på vei til Sydney, New South Wales. Det ble antagelig senket av japansk ubåt 2. oktober 1943.
Kildene forteller:
Krigsseilerregistert skriver:September 1943:
Ble M/T ”India” torpedert og senket 10 september 1943 av den tyske hjelpekrysser "MICHEL" ( Kapitän zur See Günther Gumprich) og hennes torpedobåt LS-4 - ESAU - nær Påskeøya på reise fra Talara, Peru til Sydney, Australia med olje. Hele besetningen på 41 mann omkom.
Våre Falne skriver:
TØNNESSEN, SIGURD, styrmann, Kristiansand. Født 17. august 1907 i Oddernes, s. av Alfred Tønnessen, f. 1881 s. st., og Kamilla f. Nielsen, f. 1876 s. st. Gift 1932 i Oddernes med Eina Smith, f. 1908 i Kristiansand. 1 barn. Styrmanns- og skipsførerskole, radioskole. Var styrmann på M/T ”India”, og omkom da skipet forsvant etter at det var gått fra Talara i Sør-Amerika 3. september 1943, på vei til Sydney N.S.W. De ble antagelig senket av japansk u-båt 2. oktober 1943.
Minnehallen i Stavern skriver:
M/T ”India” var på reise fra Talara i Peru bestemt for Sydney, Australia. 10. september 1943 ble tankbåten skutt i senk av tysk raider(hjelpekrysseren) "Michel" vest av Påskeøya i omtrentlig posisjon 1200 S og 11400 W. En granat slo inn i tankskipet og en voldsom eksplosjon fulgte. Det ble satt ut motortorpedobåt fra den tyske raideren, men i det brennende havet var det ikke mulig for den å komme nær nok til å redde eventuelle overlevende, sier den tyske beretning. Men oppgitte klokkeslett røper at tiden mellom ildgivning og retrett bare var en halv time. På denne korte tiden kunne ikke motortorpedobåten ha undersøkt så nøye om det lå svømmende mennesker i sjøen. 41 omkom. "Michel" ble for øvrig torpedert av amerikansk ubåt utenfor Yokohama 17. oktober 1943. Over 100 mann og alle fangene omkom.De norske som omkom med M/T ”India”:
Kåre Liberg - Motormann, Martin Weisene - Lettmatros, Sigurd Tønnesen - Styrmann, Ingolf Oskar Thorbjørnsen - 2. Styrmann, Lars Kristian Tangen - Motormann, Odd Johan Stalheim - Motormann, Sverre Selboe - Motormann, Arnold Emil Samuelsen - Båtsmann, Hjalmar Simon K. Sande - Matros, Nils Rødland - Maskinassistent, Ole-Johan Røh Petersen - Matros, Anton Holm Paulsen - Skipsfører, Oddvar Sjuls Olsen - Motormann, Olaf Alfred Løsnes - Kokk, Kristian Johnny Kristensen - Matros, Hans Kjærsdalen - Matros, Johnny Albert G. Hansen - Maskinist, Arne Ingebjørn Hansen - Stuert, Hans Gundersen - Tømmermann, Karl Knutsen Fossbakk - Maskinassistent, Knut Enge - 3. Styrmann, Per Axel Carlsson - Maskinist, Rolf Bøhn - 1. Maskinist, Edvin Brandal - Matros, Frits Bjerkan - 1. Styrmann, Karl Gunnar Bentsen - Pumpemann, Thomas Alexandersen - Matros, Gunnar Johs. Andersen - Motormann, Thomas Gregory - Elektrikker (Britisk).
www.warsailors.com skriver:
Final Fate - 1943:
From Australia, M/T ”India” had proceeded to the U.S., then back to Australia, before heading to Talara, Peru in Aug.-1943, arriving there on Sept. 1 (again, see Page 2). M/T ”India” left Talara again with a cargo of oil for Sydney N.S.W. on Sept. 3 with 41 on board. No one knew until a long time after the war what had happened to her. She was shelled and set on fire by the German auxiliary cruiser Michel on Sept. 11, west of Easter Island.
M/T ”India” had departed Talara, Peru with a cargo of oil for Sydney N.S.W. on Sept. 3-1943 with a complement of 28 Norwegians and 13 of other nationalities, and was never heard from again. Since there were no survivors (and Michel's own log was later lost) not much is known about this incident, except what Michel's survivors remembered later on. Michel shadowed India all day Sept. 10 without being seen, but was still out of range by midnight, and therefore, the motor torpedo boat was launched, in case the tanker should become aware of her follower and try to get away at high speed. Not long afterwards (Sept. 11 by then) Michel was close enough to fire the first shells. In seconds she was engulfed in flames, and because of the intensity of the fire, Michel quickly withdrew, presumably from fear the fire would attract allied warships. German reports claim that the torpedo boat (Esau) approached at full speed, to see if there were any survivors that could be rescued. It had been able to identify the tanker, but it was impossible to get close enough for a rescue operation, due to the spreading flames. This claim does not appear to have been believed by the Allies. Instead, they believed that Gumprich had quickly ordered the torpedo boat back on board at 01:00 hrs on Sept. 11, then proceeded at full speed away from the tanker. The times given show that only half an hour had passed between the shelling and the retreat, not enough time for the torpedo boat to have searched the area around India for surviviors. It appears (accordng to allied sources) that the boat had only been interested in establishing the identity of the ship. No-one knew until a long time after the war what had happened to M/T ”India” and her 41 men.
WIKAPEDIA skriver:
Second raiding voyage After a refit, "Michel" sailed from Yokohama on her second cruise on 21 May 1943, now under the command of KzS Günther Gumprich, who had previously commanded the Thor. She sailed along the west coast of Australia, and crossed the Pacific Ocean to the coast of South America. "Michel" encountered and sank three allied ships over a five-month period, for a total of 27,632 GRT, before making her return to Japan. The fate of her last victim, the Norwegian tanker M/T ”India”, sunk in the southern Pacific on 11 September 1943 with a loss of all hands, would not be known until after the war's end. On 29 August, "Michel" 's lookouts had sighted what they identified as a Pensacola-class cruiser. Gumprich ordered a northern course to avoid the powerful enemy warship. The log of the American light cruiser USS Trenton shows that she had a radar contact which lasted for 15 minutes on the previous day. Trenton was patrolling between 22°05′S 172°46′W and 20°16′S 174°56′W. Had the American cruiser investigated, the M/T ”India” might have been saved.
Kilder: Krigsseilerregistert, Våre Falne, Minnehallen i Stavern, WIKIPEDIA og www.warsailors.com
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