MS Rigel

Rigel (left) and Korsnes (right) under attack
History
Norway
Name	MS Rigel
Namesake	The star Rigel
Owner	Bergen Steamship Company
Builder	Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen
Yard number	326
Acquired	August 1924
Fate	Sunk by aircraft, 27 November 1944
General characteristics
Type	Cargo steamer
Tonnage	3,828 GRT 6,785 DWT
Length	367 ft 6 in (112.01 m)
Beam	51 ft 6 in (15.70 m)
Depth	22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Propulsion	2 × 6-cylinder B&W diesel engines, 2,076 ihp (1,548 kW)
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)

MS Rigel was a Norwegian vessel built in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1924. The ship was used as a German prisoner of war (PoW) transport during World War II, and was sunk by British Fleet Air Arm aircraft off Norway on 27th November 1944 with heavy loss of life.

Ship history

The Rigel (3,828 tons) and Korsnes were originally steamers owned by the Bergen Steamship Company. The Rigel was named after the brightest star in the Orion constellation. The ships had been requisitioned by the German occupation authorities in Norway in 1940 to transport Allied PoWs.

According to Norwegian sources Rigel, under the command of Captain Heinrich Rhode with a German crew, sailed under the German flag from Bjerkvik on November 21st 1944 carrying 951 PoWs and 114 guards. At Narvik a further 349 PoWs were loaded plus 95 German deserters and 8 Norwegian prisoners arrested by the German police. The ship then proceeded in convoy with Korsnes and some smaller vessels to Tømmerneset where 948 more PoWs were loaded into the cargo holds. Rigel called next at the port of Bodø.

When the ship left Bodø on 26th November Captain Rhode reported 2838 persons on board. There were 2248 Soviet, Polish and Serbian prisoners of war with the 95 German deserters and 8 Norwegian prisoners. In addition there were 455 German soldiers and the normal ship's crew of 29 plus three coastal pilots. One of the pilots and one woman crew member were Norwegians.

Sinking

The convoy escorted by two German naval vessels was observed by a patrol from the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable on the morning of the 27th, which identified Rigel as a troopship. With many soldiers on the deck the vessel probably looked like a troopship to the attackers. The convoy was attacked by Supermarine Seafire fighters and Fairey Firefly dive-bombers from Implacable, which was taking part in Operation Provident. The attack took place between the islands of Rosøya and Tjøtta south of the port of Sandnessjøen in Nordland county.

After the attack the German captain grounded Rigel on the island of Rosøya, which probably saved the lives of the 267 survivors. The number of casualties is 2571 including seven Norwegians. Survivors, as recently as in a 2005 documentary, claimed the British aircraft killed several of the prisoners by firing on them in the lifeboats.

Memorial

The wreck remained half-sunk until 1969, when it was demolished and the remains of the dead buried in the war cemetery on the island of Tjøtta. The cemetery was consecrated in 1970, in memory of those killed on the Rigel. All the graves are anonymous, but a memorial stone in the form of a cross has been erected on the site.

Also in 1970, a song ("Riegal") based on the story of the Rigel was released by the American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine on their album The Use of Ashes.

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK produced a short news video in 2004 to mark the 60th anniversary of the disaster, with an interview with one of the survivors, 83-year-old Asbjørn Schultz. It contains some underwater footage of the wreck. In a radio broadcast in 1966 Schultz said that the convoy had come under attack at about 11.00 by about 40 aircraft. Many prisoners escaped from the ship only to drown in the sea while trying to reach land.