Athene
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Athene | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 4.681 tons | ||
| Completed | 1928 - Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Owner | Jørgen Bang, Kristiansand | ||
| Homeport | Kristiansand | ||
| Date of attack | 10 Jun, 1942 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-559 (Hans Heidtmann) | ||
| Position | 31.12N, 28.10E - Grid CP 7179 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 31 (14 dead and 17 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | AT-49 | ||
| Route | Haifa (7 Jun) - Port Said - Alexandria - Tobruk | ||
| Cargo | 6000 tons of aviation fuel | ||
| History | On 9 Apr, 1940, the Athene (Master Johan Arnt Dahl) arrived in Ålesund, Norway from South America, on the day of the invasion of Norway. On 14 April, she managed to get out of Norway and arrived safely in Britain. On 13 Mar, 1941, she was lying in the Clyde alongside the Trevarrack and took damage, when the British ship was damaged by bombs from a German aircraft. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 04.56 hours on 10 June 1942, U-559 fired a spread of three torpedoes at the convoy AT-49 between Alexandria and Mersa Matruh, reported one hit on a tanker and one on a freighter and observed that the tanker burned for 24 hours and the freighter was towed away with the stern deeper in the water. The ships hit were Athene and Brambleleaf. The Athene (Master Tharald Tharaldsen) was struck by one torpedo on the port side at the #7 tank between the poop and amidships, caught fire and sank after two days. 14 crew members were lost and 17 survivors were picked up after about 30 minutes by the escorts, though some were very badly burned and were taken to a hospital. | ||
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