Hugh Kerr Macdonald

The vessel was originally a French steam cargo ship built in 1921 for the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (hence the initials P.L.M.).Wartime Service: Following the fall of France in 1940, the ship was taken over by the British Ministry of War Transport as war booty. It was placed under the operational management of Chr. Salvesen & Co., a famous shipping company based in Leith.

On October 17, 1940, while traveling in convoy FN-311 from London to the River Tyne, the P.L.M. XIV was torpedoed and severely damaged by a German motor torpedo boat (E-boat/Schnellboot S-27).Location: The attack took place near Smith's Knoll, a sandbank off the coast of Norfolk, England.Casualties: The torpedo strike resulted in the loss of 10 crew members.Fate: Despite the heavy damage, the ship did not sink. It was successfully towed to Immingham, repaired, and returned to active service until it was eventually scrapped in 1953.

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