HMS Menestheus

HMS Menestheus in 1945 as an amenities ship
History
United Kingdom
NameMenestheus
NamesakeMenestheus
OwnerOcean SS Co Ltd
Operator
Port of registryUnited Kingdom Liverpool
BuilderCaledon Sb & Eng Co, Dundee
Yard number326
Launched6 August 1929
CompletedDecember 1929
Commissionedinto Royal Navy, 1940
Decommissionedreturned to owners, 1946
Identification
FateBurnt out in 1953, then scrapped
General characteristics
Type
Tonnage7,771 GRT, 4,818 NRT, 9,140 DWT
Length560.0 ft (170.7 m)
Beam59.4 ft (18.1 m)
Depth29.2 ft (8.9 m)
Decks2
Installed power1,295 NHP
Propulsion
  • 2 × screws
  • 2 × four-stroke diesel engines
Speed15.5 knots (28.7 km/h)
Crew81 (as cargo ship)
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Notessister ships: Agamemnon, Deucalion, Memnon, Ajax

HMS Menestheus was originally the Blue Funnel Line refrigerated cargo ship Menestheus. She was built in 1929, and traded between the UK and the Far East. She was an auxiliary minelayer from 1940 to 1943. In 1945, during the Second World War, she was converted into an amenities ship. She was scrapped in 1953 after being gutted by fire.

She was the first of three Blue Funnel Line ships to be named after Menestheus, the legendary king of Athens during the Trojan War. She was the only Royal Navy ship to be called Menestheus.