View source for MS Rigel

{{Short description|Norwegian cargo ship, 1924–1944}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}

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| Ship image=[[File:Rigel sinking, V-boat burning 1944.jpg|300px|Rigel and escort under attack]]
| Ship caption=''Rigel'' (left) and an escort (right) under attack 
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| Ship country= Norway
| Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Norway|civil}}
| Ship name= MS ''Rigel'' 
| Ship namesake=The star [[Rigel]]
| Ship owner=[[Bergen Steamship Company]]
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| Ship builder=[[Burmeister & Wain]], Copenhagen<ref name="videnscenter">{{cite web |url=http://www.maritime-museum.dk/videnscenter/documents/ByggelisteBogW.pdf |title=B&W ships list |work=maritime-museum.dk |year=2012 |access-date=27 August 2012 |language=da }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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| Ship yard number=326<ref name="videnscenter"/>
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| Ship acquired=August 1924<ref name="warsailors">{{cite web |url= http://www.warsailors.com/homefleetsingles/rigel.html |last=Lawson |first=Siri Holm |title=M/S Rigel |work=warsailors.com |year=2012 |access-date=27 August 2012}}</ref>
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| Ship fate=Sunk by aircraft, 27 November 1944<ref name="warsailors"/>
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| Ship type= [[Steamboat|Cargo steamer]]
| Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|3,828}}
*{{DWT|6,785}}<ref name="videnscenter"/>
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| Ship length= {{Convert|367|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="warsailors"/>
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| Ship propulsion=2 × 6-cylinder B&W diesel engines, {{Convert|2076|ihp|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="warsailors"/>
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''' 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 27 November 1944 with more than 2,500 dead, mostly POWs.

==Ship history==
''Rigel'' (3,828 tons) was originally a motorship owned by the [[Bergen Steamship Company]]. The vessel was named after the [[Rigel|brightest star]] in the [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]] constellation. The ships had been requisitioned by the [[Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany|German occupation authorities]] in Norway in 1940 to transport [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] PoWs.

According to Norwegian sources ''Rigel'', under the command of Captain Heinrich Rohde with a German crew, sailed under the German flag from [[Bjerkvik]] on 21 November 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 some smaller vessels to [[Tømmerneset]] where 948 more PoWs were loaded into the cargo holds. ''Rigel'' called next at the port of [[Bodø]].<ref>Asbjørn Jaklin, ''Historien om Nord-Norge'', Gylendal Norsk Forlag, 2004, pp. 261–263</ref>

When the ship left Bodø on 26 November Captain Rohde reported 2838 persons on board. There were 2,248 Soviet, Polish and [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|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 small [[Vorpostenboot|V-Boats]] of the [[Kriegsmarine]], was discovered by a patrol from the [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Implacable|R86|6}} on the morning of 27 November, which mistakenly identified ''Rigel'' as a troopship. The convoy was attacked by [[Supermarine Seafire]] fighters and [[Fairey Firefly]] dive-bombers from ''Implacable'', which was taking part in [[Operation Provident]].<ref>http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWD-HF1944d.htm C-inC HF War Diary 1944</ref> The attack took place between the islands of [[Rosøya]] and [[Tjøtta (island)|Tjøtta]] south of the port of [[Sandnessjøen]] in [[Nordland]] county.

After the attack the German captain grounded the badly damaged ''Rigel'' on the island of Rosøya, which probably saved the lives of the 267 survivors. The number of casualties is 2571, including seven Norwegians.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://minnehallen.no/skip_2/rigel-ms | title=MS. Rigel | work=Minnehallen (The Memorial Hall) |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>

Also heavily damaged and grounded was the [[collier (ship)|collier]] ''Korsnes'', built in 1936 for the Bergen company Kr. Jebsen. There were six casualties on this ship, which was salvaged in 1946 and continued in use until 1965.<ref>[[:no:DS «Korsnes» (1936)]]</ref>

=== Memorial ===
The wreck remained half-sunk until 1969, when it was demolished and the remains of the dead buried in the [[Tjøtta International War Cemetery]] on the island of [[Tjøtta (island)|Tjøtta]]. The cemetery was consecrated in 1970, in memory of those killed on the ''Rigel''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fad/Selected-topics/kirke/internasjonalt_kirkesamarbeid/The-War-Graves-Service.html?id=445108 |title=The War Graves Service |work=[[Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs]] |year=2012 |access-date=27 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115084300/http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fad/Selected-topics/kirke/internasjonalt_kirkesamarbeid/The-War-Graves-Service.html?id=445108 |archive-date=15 January 2010 }}</ref> 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 (band)|Pearls Before Swine]] on their album ''[[The Use of Ashes]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21qh8sK8ELA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/21qh8sK8ELA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Pearls Before Swine – The Riegal – Tom Rapp Cover|via=YouTube|access-date=16 December 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

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. Three weeks later, having told his story, Schultz died. The video contains some underwater footage of the wreck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrk.no/nordland/2500-dode-da-rigel-gikk-ned-1.8073179|title=2500 døde da Rigel gikk ned|author=NRK|date=15 April 2012|work=NRK|access-date=16 December 2014}}</ref> 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 while trying to reach land, he said.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrk.no/nordland/fylkesleksikon/index.php/D%C3%B8dsskipet_%E2%80%9DRigel%E2%80%9D|title=Dødsskipet "Rigel"|access-date=16 December 2014}}</ref>

==References==
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{{November 1944 shipwrecks}}

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[[Category:1924 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Burmeister & Wain]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Norway]]
[[Category:Troop ships of Germany]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1944]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in Norway]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by British aircraft]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea]]