KYTHERA
| Name : | KYTHERA |
| Greek name : | ΚΥΘΗΡΑ |
| Type of Ship : | Freighter |
| LRS-Name : | KYTHERA |
| Internat. call sign : | SZKN |
| Port of Registry : | Piraeus 760 |
| Later Names : | 1902 AURORA 1915 GROVE 1925 REINUNGA 1934 KYTHERA |
| Initial Flag of Registry : | Norway |
| Owner : | 1902 A/S Aurora (M. Oppen & Co.), Larvik, Norway 1915 Halfdan Kuhnle, Bergen, Norway 1925 D/S A/S Rein (Stener S. Müller), Bergen, Norway 1934 Polychronis Th. Katrakis, Piraeus, Greece |
| Shipyard : | Fevigs Jernskibsbyg, Fevig, Norway |
| Hull Number : | 36 |
| Year of Construction : | 1902 |
| Launch : | 20.03.1902 |
| Commissioned : | 00.06.1902 |
| Size (GRT) : | 1.070 |
| Size (NRT) : | 649 |
| Lenght (m) : | 68,6 |
| Width (m) : | 10,4 |
| Depth (m) : | 5,2 |
| Engine : | Steam engine/3 Cylinders/Richradsons Westgarth & Co. Ltd., Hartlepool, Great Britain |
| Output : | 117 NHP |
| Screws : | 1 |
| Speed (kn) : | 9 |
1902 built by shipyard „Fevigs Jernskibsbyg“, Fevig, Norway, as freighter AURORA for „A/S Aurora“ (M. Oppen & Co.), Larvik, Norway.
1915 sold to Halfdan Kuhnle, Bergen, Norway and renamed GROVE.
1925 purchased by „D/S A/S Rein“ (Stener S. Müller), Bergen, Norway, and renamed REINUNGA. From 1926 to 1931, the steamer served as grain carrier between Buffalo and Montreal on the "Great Lakes".
1934 sold to Polychronis Th. Katrakis, Piraeus, Greece, for 15.000 ₤ and renamed KYTHERA, the name of the owner's birthplace.
22.10.1940 commandeered by Greek government (office Δ.Θ.Μ.Γ΄) at Thessaloniki. [A]
00.04.1941 chartered by the British government and operated as a transport ship during operation “DEMON“.
20.04.1941 with captain Paris I. Roussos in command entered Souda Bay from Piraeus with women and children on board.
16.05.1941 while alongside steamer ARAYBANK taking cargo from her, both ships were attacked by German Luftwaffe aircraft with bombs and damaged. On ARAYBANK, a fire started which expanded to KYTHERA. During the next days, both ships were gutted by fire and KYTHERA sank in shallow water. [B][D][E]
A salvage of KYTHERA does not appear in German sources. Presumably, the ship was scrapped during the war.
1915 sold to Halfdan Kuhnle, Bergen, Norway and renamed GROVE.
1925 purchased by „D/S A/S Rein“ (Stener S. Müller), Bergen, Norway, and renamed REINUNGA. From 1926 to 1931, the steamer served as grain carrier between Buffalo and Montreal on the "Great Lakes".
1934 sold to Polychronis Th. Katrakis, Piraeus, Greece, for 15.000 ₤ and renamed KYTHERA, the name of the owner's birthplace.
22.10.1940 commandeered by Greek government (office Δ.Θ.Μ.Γ΄) at Thessaloniki. [A]
00.04.1941 chartered by the British government and operated as a transport ship during operation “DEMON“.
20.04.1941 with captain Paris I. Roussos in command entered Souda Bay from Piraeus with women and children on board.
16.05.1941 while alongside steamer ARAYBANK taking cargo from her, both ships were attacked by German Luftwaffe aircraft with bombs and damaged. On ARAYBANK, a fire started which expanded to KYTHERA. During the next days, both ships were gutted by fire and KYTHERA sank in shallow water. [B][D][E]
A salvage of KYTHERA does not appear in German sources. Presumably, the ship was scrapped during the war.
| Date of Loss : | 16.05.1941 |
| Cargo : | 4.500 bags of rice taken over by the damaged ARAYBANK [B] |
| Place of Loss : | Suda Bay, Crete, Greece [A][B][C][D][E][F] |
| Kind of Loss : | Air attack |
| Cause of Loss : | Air attack |
| Fate of Crew : | No losses [B] |
1. Lloyds Register of Shipping
2. [A] Melissinos, Ioannis: The Navy during World War II - The total contribution of the Greek Merchant Navy (Motorsailers and Steamers) 1940-1945, volume I and II, University of Ioannina 1995 (Gr.)
3. [B] Dounis, Christos: The wrecks of the Greek Waters 1900-1950, volume I, Finatec, Athens 2000 (Gr.)
4. [C] Babouris, Epaminondas: The Greek Merchand Navy in last war, Athens 1949 (Gr.)
5. [D] War Diary Suda – TNA ADM 199/810
6. [E] Mediterannean War Diary – TNA ADM 199/415
7. [F] Alliierte Schiffsverluste durch deutsche und italienische Luftangriffe in griechischen Gewässern im April 1941, zusammengestellt von Gerhard Hümmelchen.
2. [A] Melissinos, Ioannis: The Navy during World War II - The total contribution of the Greek Merchant Navy (Motorsailers and Steamers) 1940-1945, volume I and II, University of Ioannina 1995 (Gr.)
3. [B] Dounis, Christos: The wrecks of the Greek Waters 1900-1950, volume I, Finatec, Athens 2000 (Gr.)
4. [C] Babouris, Epaminondas: The Greek Merchand Navy in last war, Athens 1949 (Gr.)
5. [D] War Diary Suda – TNA ADM 199/810
6. [E] Mediterannean War Diary – TNA ADM 199/415
7. [F] Alliierte Schiffsverluste durch deutsche und italienische Luftangriffe in griechischen Gewässern im April 1941, zusammengestellt von Gerhard Hümmelchen.
| Inserted : | 10.03.2015 |
| Inserted by : | Dimitris Galon |
| Last Edit : | 20.01.2016 |
| Edited by : | Dimitris Galon |
| Modifications : | - 11.03.2015 D. Galon greek life service inserted - 29.05.2015 T. Reich photo 1 and documents 1-5 inserted - 20.01.2016 D. Galon Service Life inserted |
