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SS Ponzano

Coordinates: 51°29′N 1°25′E / 51.483°N 1.417°E / 51.483; 1.417
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SS Ponzano
History
OwnerMacAndrews Line
Launched21 December 1927
FateSunk 1939
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage1,346 GRT

MS Ponzano was a British cargo ship. It was one of the first British merchant vessels to be sunk during the Second World War. Ponzano, 1,346 tons,[1] was built in 1928 for the MacAndrews Line service between Britain and Spain.

On 13 November 1939, Ponzano hit a mine and sank off North Foreland.[2] Its crew was rescued by two Norwegian fishing boats.

The ship's fate[3] was blamed on a wrongly decoded radio signal, which delayed minesweeping trawlers from passing on a warning about the extent of mines laid by the Germans.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "MacAndrews & Co". The Fleets. The Ships List. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Ponzano [+1939]". WreckSite. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  3. ^ Carlson, Andy. "The Mining of HMS Blanche, S.S. Ponzano and S.S. Matra". Retrieved 20 September 2013.

51°29′N 1°25′E / 51.483°N 1.417°E / 51.483; 1.417