SS Ponzano explained

-- commercial vessels --> Ship Owner: MacAndrews Line Ship Launched: 21 December 1927 Ship Fate: Sunk 1939 Ship Type: Cargo ship

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

51.4833°N 26°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: MacAndrews & Co. . The Ships List . The Fleets . 2013-09-20.
2. Web site: Ponzano [+1939] ]. WreckSite . 2013-09-20.
3. Web site: The Mining of HMS Blanche, S.S. Ponzano and S.S. Matra . Carlson . Andy . 2013-09-20.