Protesilaus
| Name | Protesilaus | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 9,577 tons | ||
| Completed | 1910 - R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd, Hebburn-on-Tyne | ||
| Owner | Alfred Holt & Co, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 21 Jan 1940 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | A total loss by U-28 (Günter Kuhnke) | ||
| Position | 51.31N, 04.04W - Grid AM 9863 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | ? men (0 dead and ? survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Liverpool - Barry | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | Completed in January 1910 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 09.36 hours on 21 Jan, 1940, the Protesilaus (Master Alfred Henry Dennistoun Shand) struck a mine laid on 5 Dec, 1939 by U-28 in the Bristol Channel off Rotherslade southwest of Swansea. The badly damaged vessel was towed to the Swansea Bay and beached. The crew was rescued by the British M/S trawler HMS Paramount (FY 954) (Skipper C.E. Blowers) and landed at Swansea. The Protesilaus was later refloated and towed to Greenock but declared a total loss. In September 1940, she was taken in tow by the British tugs Empire Henchman and HMS Abeille XXII to Scapa Flow for use as a blockship, but on 13 September the ship sprung a leak and had to be sunk by gunfire about 5 miles northwest of the Skerryvore Lighthouse, Argyllshire. | ||
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