SS Patroclus (1923)

The third SS Patroclus was a 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 GS U-99 (1940) 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.