Magnus B. Småvik first encountered the Ethiopian cadet Andom in 1961 when they served together on the Norwegian vessel KNM Gor in 1961. Småvik was later offered a position as mechanics instructor in the Ethiopian Navy, presumably in part because “I was the only one of six quartermasters who could speak English”.
From the US to Ethiopia
After himself having received further mechanical training in the United States, the today Doctor of Engineering travelled to San Francisco and in December 1961 met with 35 Ethiopians who were to receive training in how to operate the machinery of the USS Orca. Småvik recalls how the ship (a sister ship of the Norwegian KNM Haakon 7) had to be painted white as it were to endure the Red Sea sun. “As far as I know, this was the only white-painted naval vessel in the world.” Following a formal ceremony where the ship was renamed HMS Ethiopia, in April 1962 the vessel with a crew of 220 set course from San Francisco across the Pacific and Indian Oceans under the Ethiopian flag. Finally reaching Ethiopia, “we stopped in Assab to take aboard the Emperor, who came with us to Massawa.”
Sailing to South Asia, East Africa, and Europe
While HMS Ethiopia was based at Massawa, Småvik recalls sailing to Abadan, Bahrain, Karachi and Bombay, later south to Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Kenya and Tanganyika, and finally even to Norway, stopping at Beirut, Istanbul, Pireus, Napoli, Malaga, Brest, Den Helder, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, Portsmouth, Valletta, Alexandria and Port Sudan. The Norwegian personnel also took the opportunity to see other parts of Ethiopia. “It was during a local holiday in the summer of 1963 that I drove to Addis. In the Christmas holiday the same year I drove to Axum and Gondar.”
Remembering
Both the Norwegian instructors and Ethiopian Navy personnel have later organised themselves and met to share fond memories. The Former Ethiopian Navy Military and Civilian Personnel Association has around 400 members and recently published the book Ethiopia – Its Sea Coast and Its Navy. During his visit to Addis Ababa in late 2009, Magnus B. Småvik was happy to see that several of the people he helped train had later started personal businesses based on the knowledge they obtained during their time in the Navy. He notes that while the Norwegian trainers’ pay was covered by the US Military Assistant Advisory Group (MAAG), Norway’s contribution was crucial. “Not many countries in the world have taken responsibility for all aspects of training the personnel of a country’s new navy.”
See also: Norway’s role in the establishment of the former Ethiopian Navy