Beam 62 ft 4 in (19.00 m) Launched 1923 | Owner Blue Funnel Line Depth 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m) Length 152 m | |
Fate Torpedoed and sunk November 4, 1940 by U-99. Tonnage 11,314 Gross Register Tonnage6,912 Net Register Tonnage | ||
The third SS Patroclus was an 11,314-ton cargo liner of the Blue Funnel Line launched in 1923. 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.
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.