SS Phryné :

The French steam merchant ship “Phryné” was the first French ship that was lost in World War II. Phryné was constructed in 1938 in Rouen. On 24 September 1939, Phryné was on a voyage from United Kingdom to France but she hit a mine from a German Submarine. She was 3.5 nautical miles, 6.5 km off the Aldeburgh Lightship. No one on board the SS Phryné was lost.

Type: cargo ship
Tonnage: 2,660 GRT
Length: 322 ft 6 in
Beam: 43 ft 8 in
Depth: 21 ft 4 in
I stumbled across the SS Phryné in 2018 during my extensive research while working on “Phryné Isn’t French” …
Remarkably, my character was in Rouen and Paris from 1938-1946.
However, Phryné Truffaut did not hit any mine and did not sink. She bravely sailed on!