 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2020) |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Automedon |
| Namesake | Automedon |
| Owner | Ocean Steamship Co Ltd |
| Operator | Alfred Holt & Co |
| Port of registry | Liverpool |
| Builder | Palmers Sb and Iron Co, Jarrow |
| Yard number | 920 |
| Launched | 4 December 1921 |
| Completed | March 1922 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | scuttled 11 November 1940 2°34′N 70°56′E / 2.567°N 70.933°E |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | refrigerated cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 459.4 ft (140.0 m) |
| Beam | 58.4 ft (17.8 m) |
| Draught | 26 ft 2 in (7.98 m) |
| Depth | 32.6 ft (9.9 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 6,000 SHP |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.5 knots (27 km/h) |
| Capacity | 111,000 cubic feet (3,143 m3) |
| Sensors and processing systems | From 1934: wireless direction finding |
| Notes | One of a class of 11 sister ships |
SS Automedon was a Blue Funnel Line refrigerated cargo steamship. She was launched in 1921 on the River Tyne as one of a class of 11 ships to replace many of Blue Funnel's losses in the First World War.
A converted German auxiliary cruiser and merchant raider Atlantis captured and scuttled Automedon in 1940 in the Indian Ocean.[1] Her capture is notable because she was carrying top secret documents addressed to the British Far East Command. Their capture may have influenced Japan's decision to enter the Second World War.
Automedon was Achilles' charioteer in Homer's Iliad. This was the first of three Blue Funnel Line ships to be named after him. The second was a motor ship launched in 1949 and scrapped in 1972.[2] The third was a motor ship launched in 1948 as Cyclops, renamed Automedon in 1975 and scrapped in 1977.[3]
- ^ "The Cruise of the German Raider Atlantis, 1940 - 1941". U.S. Naval Institute. 1 December 1949. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ "Automedon". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Cyclops". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 29 December 2020.