Cyclops
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Cyclops | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 9.076 tons | ||
| Completed | 1906 - D. & W. Henderson & Co Ltd, Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Alfred Holt & Co, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 12 Jan, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-123 (Reinhard Hardegen) | ||
| Position | 41.51N, 63.48W - Grid CB 2424 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 182 (87 dead and 95 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Hong Kong - Auckland - Cristobal (2 Jan) - Halifax - UK | ||
| Cargo | 6905 tons of general cargo | ||
| History | In the First World War, Cyclops had two encounters with German U-boats from which she escaped without damage. On 11 Feb, 1917, the ship was chased unsuccessfully by U-60 (Schuster) southwest of Ireland and on 11 April the same year, she evaded a torpedo fired from U-55 west of the Isles of Scilly. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 01.49 hours on 12 Jan, 1942, the unescorted Cyclops (Master Leslie Webber Kersley) was hit by two torpedoes from U-123 and sunk about 125 miles southeast of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. The ship had 78 Chinese sailors as passengers on board, to man other British ships in Halifax and UK. 40 crew members, 46 passengers and one gunner were lost. The master, 55 crew members, six gunners and 33 passengers (including one DBS) were picked up by the HMCS Red Deer (J 255) (Lt A. Moorhouse) and landed at Halifax. This was the first ship sunk in Operation Drumbeat, the U-boat attacks off the coasts of North America. | ||
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