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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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Bridge & Crew Pages
Read about SAL reunions,
in the past and upcoming.

Captain J N G Anderberg on the Gripsholm in 1926. |
| During Midsummer of 1937, Drottningholm, Gripsholm, and Kungsholm, were all docked in Göteborg, a unique event. The photo shows the three captains at that time, Sigfrid Ericsson, Helge Ellsén, and Melcher Renström. |
The Commanders

Gripsholm leaving for the West Indies, 1961
Photo:Björn Wallde
See more photos of Pier 97 here.
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J N G Anderberg | Gripsholm |
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Evert Borg | Kungsholm |
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Carl-Otto Claesson | Drottningholm |
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Helge Ellsén | Gripsholm |
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Sigfrid Ericsson | Drottningholm |
| Lars-Erik Granqvist | Gripsholm | |
| Bertil Grönberg | Gripsholm/Kungsholm | |
| Axel E Håkansson | Stockholm | |
| Hazze Nilsson | Gripsholm/Kungsholm | |
| Rolf Nordell | Gripsholm | |
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Gunnar Nordensson | Stockholm |
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John Nordlander | Kungsholm |
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Sjunne Olsson | |
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Carl-Eric Olterman | Gripsholm/Kungsholm |
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Melcher Renström | |
| Kjell Smitterberg | Gripsholm/Kungsholm | |
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Per-Erik Sjölin | Gripsholm/Kungsholm |
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Henry Sölje | Gripsholm/Kungsholm |
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Carl-Otto Wijkmark | Gripsholm/Kungsholm |
Organisationen ombord 1959

From the Dawe collection

SAL-Nytt, April 1957

Mr Bengt Johansson, former employee at the SAL Crew Office in Göteborg, 1957-1975,
will answer questions about former crew members.
You can phone Mr Johansson at +46 31 44 14 66, (inom Sverige 031/44 14 66),
weekdays 18.00-21.00 hours, Central European Time.
The SAL crew is back on board - now on the passenger list.
Göran Börjesson, assistant bar steward on Gripsholm 1968 and assistant cabin steward
on Kungsholm 1969, celebrating his 50th birthday 1999 with his wife on a two week cruise
on Victoria, ex Kungsholm, now named Mona-Lisa. Here with Victoria's captain Chris Sample.
Göran and his wife were invited back on board with fellow shipmates
when Victoria later called at Copenhagen. Victoria's captain (name to be added) on the left
and Chief purser Zak Coombs on the far right. Roland Arvidsson holding the life saver.
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The Gripsholm crew off Grenada tanning in the crew's leisure area. Contributed by Carl-Gustaf Edhardt, Assistant Deck Steward on the Gripsholm 1965-1967.
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| Former crew member Gunnar Hallert has contributed these photos from a crew show in Kungsholm's auditorium on the South Seas Cruise 1965. |
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Soccer Champions
Kungsholm's soccer team won the Atlantic Cup in 1958.
Back row: Tore Westberg, Roy Enesten, Curt Dawe
Front row: Pasquale Mirrabella and Rolf Horstman
SAL-Nytt, Aug, 1959.


The Kungsholm Soccer Team 1970. See their names below.
From the Dawe collection.

Officers' and crew pages
Captain Carl-Otto Claesson's pages
Chief Purser Hugo Billen's page
Engineer Magnus Baecklund's page
Chief Purser Curt Dawe's pages
Seaman Benny Doverhagen's pages
Chief Purser Evert Eriksson's page
Quartermaster Roy Johansson's pages
Chief Purser Carl-Gustav Kruse's pages
Stewardess Lois "Lulu" MacNeil's page
Återbesök på Kungsholm, av Sven Hovne
Kungsholms sista resa, av Sven-Olof Svensson

Gripsholm Fireman Gunnar Olsbrand in Barbados.
Members of the Gripsholm crew, ready to meet King Neptune during the crossing of the equator. Do you know the names and date? salship@yahoo.com |
![]() Fireman Gunnar Olsbrand talking with crew member. Do you know her name and the year? salship@yahoo.com Sven Fürst, Cashier on the Gripsholm 1966-1968, has sent the following reply: "The year was either 1966 or 1967, the girl was working in the Ferdinand Lundquist shop, unfortunately I forgot her name, she worked there with Marianne Johansson." |
Articles from Gripsholmsposten, the crew's newsletter
A newsletter by the crew, for the crew.
A message from the Captain on the cover page:
As this is the last issue for this cruise season,
In Memory... Lennart Håkanson, 2nd Purser, Chief Purser, and Catering Inspector for SAL, from the mid-1960's and during the 1970's, died in Gothenburg on November 8, 2008. Kalle Winberg, Orchestra Leader on the SAL ships, died on November 8, 2008. Captain Torkel Tistrand, well known to all SAL employees as manager of the Sea Personnel Deparment, died in Göteborg in May. Chief Purser Carl-Gustav Kruse passed away in his home in Båstad in October. Chief Purser Poul V. Lange died in Göteborg during the autumn of 1999.
More than 100 web pages developed and maintained by Lars Hemingstam ©1998-2010 Regardless of which ship we sailed on or which year - the memories we share are the same!
I want to thank everyone for the great work you have done...
When we leave New York on June 7th, it will be an
(extra-)ordinary Atlantic sailing.
Homeward bound! And remember,
our motto still is: Gripsholm's service. Service with a smile!
Henry Sölje
Commander
2009
2008
2000
First Officer Sven Brorsson died in his home in Helsingborg in March, only a few weeks after having signed the guest book of this site. Sven Brorsson served on the SAL fleet from 1966 to 1975.
1999
Carl-Gustav Kruse served on both the Gripsholm and the Kungsholm.
Poul V. Lange was Purser on the Gripsholm and the Kungsholm. Sea burial has taken place.
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| Recommended Books | |||||||||||
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M/S Kungsholms inredning Första M/S Kungsholm, Amerikalinjens stora passagerarfartyg, byggdes på 1920-talet. Det gick mellan Göteborg och New York. Arkitekten Carl Bergsten fick uppdraget att hålla i den påkostade inredningen som skulle visa för världen vad svenska konstnärer kunde åstadkomma. Under andra världskriget togs fartyget i beslag av amerikanarna för att användas i trupptransporten till Europa. Inredningen revs då ner och förstördes. Anne-Marie Ericsson har letat i arkiv och museer efter beskrivningar, ritningar och gamla fotografier för att försöka rekonstruera denna makalösa uppvisning i svensk inredningskonst. |
Amerikabåtarna Christer Winberg, professor i historia vid Göteborgs universitet, har skrivit en bok om SAL som bygger på bevarat samtida material från Svenska Amerika Linien på Landsarkivet och Sjöfartsmuseet i Göteborg. Det omfattar exempelvis reserapporter, minnesberättelser och personligt färgade reseskildringar. Författaren har också samlat in eget material genom intervjuer med f.d. anställda.
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Andrea Dorias undergång I Andrea Dorias undergång berättar Britt-Marie Mattsson den fascinerande berättelsen om kollisionen, den heroiska räddningsaktionen och det rättsliga efterspelet till den mycket uppmärksammade olyckan - sin tids Titanic. Mattssons far var vid tiden för olyckan informationschef vid Svenska Amerika Linien. Britt-Marie Mattsson har träffat flera av de överlevande och intervjuat dem för denna bok. Hon har bland annat talat med vittnen som ger information som kan kasta nytt ljus över vad som egentligen orsakade den fruktansvärda kollisionen. Boken är rikligt illustrerad i svartvitt. | ||||||||
A book about the Kungsholm of 1953. |
Journalist Per Fält has recommended |
"Såna" på Amerikabåtarna SAL har skildrats i böcker, dokumentär-filmer, journalfilmer och tidningsartiklar. Oftast är det glamouren som uppmärk-sammats men en grupp har alltid saknats i beskrivningarna: homosexuella män. Såna på Amerikabåtarna är en välskriven, lättläst och underhållande studie av en värld som gått i glömska. | |||||||||
De Flytande Palatsen From the very inception of the line in 1915, the ships of the Line attracted much attention on both sidesof the Atlantic. Not only did they represent the bonds between the old country and the new, they also represented new concepts in service, decor, and furnishings as well as in art and handicraft. Published in 1987. This book can be found on Amazon.
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Huset Broström Huset Broström för tankarna till Forsythesagan och Onedinlinjen. Inget svenskt företag har upplevt så stor dramatik som just Broströms. Detta är den dramtiska berättelsen "inifrån Huset", om det som skedde i det som syntes ske. Utgiven 1980. | ||||||||||
Out of the Fog is an American edition of a Swedish book by Algot Mattsson, who was the information officer for SAL, the owner of Stockholm, the ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. The book describes the collision from the perspectives of both ships as well as the heroic rescue of hundreds. Testimony given at the hearing is also included as is a legal opinion by the American editors, one of whom was directly involved with the case. |
Detta är en berättelse om den dramatiska färden över Atlanten, från de hårda och riskfyllda överfarten med små lastskutor i mitten av 1800-talet, till lyxresorna med Amerikalinjens sista skepp. Utgiven 1982 | ||||||||||