HS PONTOS (S-119)
Crest
The crest presents the “ARGO”, the ship built with the help of the Gods, that King Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos (area of Volos city) to Colchis, on the coast of the Black Sea, to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Ancient Greek voyagers adopted the name “Axenos Pontos” (inhospitable Sea) for the sea area currently known as Black Sea, that means and by euphemism, it became “Efxinos Pontos” (a.k.a. Black Sea). That is why the Northern coasts of Asia Minor were called Pontos. The Greek presence in Pontos region has a history of 3000 years due to the many Greek colonies in the region.
Technical Characteristics
History
The first submarine was Y-17, a Royal Navy U-class built by Vickers-Armstrong (ex-HMS UPSTART P-65). UPSTART survived the war and was loaned to the Hellenic Navy in 1945, where she was named Amfitriti. She served with the Hellenic Navy for seven years, and was returned to the Royal Navy in 1952. She was sunk as an ASDIC target off the Isle of Wight on 29 July 1959.
The second was S-09, a United States Navy Gato-class submarine (ex USS JACK / SS-259) built in 1942 by the Electric Boat Company (Groton, CT). She fought WWII in the theatre of the Pacific.