SS Patroclus (1923)

History
Name:	SS Patroclus
Owner:	Blue Funnel Line
Launched:	1923
Fate:	Torpedoed and sunk November 4, 1940 by U-99.
General characteristics
Tonnage:	11,314 Gross Register Tonnage 6,912 Net Register Tonnage[1]
Length:	498 ft 10 in (152.04 m)
Beam:	62 ft 4 in (19.00 m)
Depth:	34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
Installed power:	Steam turbine
Propulsion:	Twin screw
Speed:	15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity:	155 first class passengers

The third SS Patroclus was an 11,314-ton cargo liner of the Blue Funnel Line launched in 1923.^[2] Commissioned into the Royal Navy as the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Patroclus on 12 September 1939, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-99 on November 4, 1940.^[3]

The Patroclus was the second of a 4-ship class, comprising SS Sarpedon (1923), SS Patroclus, SS Hector (1924), and SS Antenor (1924). They were built with accommodation for 155 first-class passengers by request of the British government to provide additional passenger berths on cargo vessels on services to the Far East. The passenger accommodation in the superstructure did not impact the cargo-carrying ability of the ships, since the shipping line did not expect the passenger-carrying to turn a profit.^[2]

References

1. "A History of Alfred Hope and Company" (PDF). Rakaia.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
2. "Blue Funnel Line P.14". The Red Duster. The Merchant Navy Association.
3. HMS Patroclus, uboat.net

Coordinates: 53°43′N 14°41′W / 53.717°N 14.683°W

External links

• IWM Interview with survivor Ron Rendle