Revision 7/20/2008 2:27 AM
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Kingston Ceylonite
 Va Beach, VA |
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Year Built 1935 Date Sunk 15 June 1942 Previous Name None Depth 60 feet Gross Tonnage 448 Dimensions 160’ x 26’ x 14’ Vessel Type Armed Trawler Power Steam Turbine Builder Cook, Wellington & Gemmell, Ltd. Beverly England Official Designation None Owner Her Majest’s Navy Location 27131.3 Home Port England Location 41218.1 Cause of Sinking Mined by U-701 Location -
In Brief
U-Boat Commander Horst Degen mined an area within 10 miles of Cape Henry (at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay) on 12 June 1942. On the 15th both the tanker Robert C. Tuttle (sunk) and the Esso Augusta (damaged) fell prey to the charges he left behind.
The Kingston Ceylonite, one of twenty-odd trawlers (fitted with depth charge racks, 4 inch deck guns etc) sent by Britain to help fortify our coastal defenses, was escorting a second group of ships through the US mine fields and struck one of Commander Degens "forget me nots" and sank within 2 minutes.
Today the Kingston Ceylonite is little more than junk at 60’ and home to tautog and sea bass, with an occasional lobster to fill the plate.
Source "Shipwrecks of Virginia" Gary Gentile 1992