HMS Menestheus (M93)

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. When the Second World War in 1945, she was undergoing conversion 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''.

Five sister ships

Between 1929 and 1931 Blue Funnel Line had a class of five cargo ships built to the same design by four different UK shipyards. ''Menestheus'' was the second of the five. Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company built her in Dundee as yard number 326, launching her in August 1929 and completing her that September.

The first of the class was ''Agamemnon'', built by Workman, Clark and Company in Belfast. She was launched on 25 April 1929, and completed that September. The others were , launched by R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company in Hebburn in July 1930; ''Memnon'', launched by Caledon in Dundee in October 1930; and ''Ajax'', launched by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Greenock in December 1930.

''Menestheus'' as built

''Menestheus'' registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were , and .

''Menestheus'' was a twin-screw motor ship. She had two eight-cylinder Burmeister & Wain four-stroke single-acting diesel engines. Between them, her twin engines were rated at 1,295 NHP. The engines were supercharged on the Büchi and Rateau systems, which increased their bhp from 6,600 to 8,600. This gave ''Agamemnon'' a speed of .

Blue Funnel Line registered ''Menestheus'' at Liverpool. Her UK official number was 161134, and until 1933 her code letters were LFHV. By 1930 she also had the wireless telegraph call sign GBDT. Her navigation equipment included wireless direction finding by 1933, and an echo sounding device by 1937.

Naval service

After the UK entered the Second World War the Admiralty requisitioned ''Menestheus''. She was converted into an auxiliary minelayer, and was commissioned on 22 June 1940 with the pennant number M93. She was armed with three QF 4-inch naval gun Mk V guns, two QF 2-pounder naval guns and 12 Oerlikon 20 mm cannons.

In 1940 she joined the 1st Minelaying Squadron at Kyle of Lochalsh (port ZA), along with four other auxiliary minesweepers, including her sister ship ''Agamemnon'', plus an escort of Royal Navy destroyers.

From late November 1940, ''Menestheus'' and other members of the 1st Minelaying Squadron laid mines in the Northern Barrage. In February 1941 ''Menestheus'' was damaged by a drifting British mine, and ''Agamemnon'' towed her back to Kyle of Lochalsh. The 1st Minelaying Squadron completed laying the Northern Barrage in late September 1943, and that was disbanded that October.

In 1944 ''Menestheus'' sailed to Vancouver, British Columbia for conversion into an amenities ship for the British Pacific Fleet. Conversion included installation of a cinema and canteen, to be staffed by mercantile crews of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and a bar, supplied by its own shipboard brewery. The ship's superstructure was greatly enlarged for these new facilities, and a second funnel was added for the brewery. George Adlam & Sons of Bristol supplied the brewery plant. It was claimed to be "the World's only floating brewery". ''Menestheus'' Davy Jones's locker, Davy Jones' Bar sold English mild ale at 9£sd, d per pint. The ship was repainted white for service in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific.

Fate

In 1946 ''Menestheus'' left Port of Yokohama, Yokohama to return to the UK for decommissioning. She was returned to her owners in 1948. By 1953 her navigation equipment included Marine radar, radar.

Early in 1953 ''Menestheus'' sailed from Port of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, bound for Port of Osaka, Osaka. She passed through the Panama Canal, and on 5 April she cleared Balboa, Panama.

On 16 April she was at position , off the Mexican island of Punta Eugenia in the Pacific, when an auxiliary generator in her engine room exploded, causing a fire that forced her crew to abandon her. The Pacific Far East Line ship rescued her crew.

The next day, ''Menestheus'' was still burning from stem to stern, and Angle of list, listing by ten degrees. But her Master mariner, Master and Chief mate, Chief Officer managed to secure a tow line to her rudder. She was towed stern first to Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur, and on 20 April she was re-boarded. The fire had completely gutted her, yet the ship's cat was found alive, and the animal made a full recovery.

The ship was towed to Port of Long Beach, Long Beach, where she arrived on 5 May, and an inquiry into the explosion and fire was held. In June 1953 she arrived in Port of Baltimore, Baltimore, where she was scrapped.

References

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External links

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1929 ships
1953 fires
Maritime incidents in 1953
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Minelayers of the Royal Navy
Ship fires
Ships built in Dundee
World War II minelayers of the United Kingdom