SS Orcades (1937)
From SpottingWorld, the Hub for the SpottingWorld network...
For other ships of the same name, see Orcades.
 Orcades c.1937 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
RMS Orcades (1937-1939) HMT Orcades (1939-1942) |
| Owner: | Orient Steam Navigation Company (Orient Line) 1937-1939 |
| Route: |
UK-Australia 1937-1939 British troop ship 1939-1942 |
| Builder: | Vickers-Armstrong Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness, England |
| Completed: | 1937 |
| Fate: | Torpedoed and sunk 10 October 1942 by German U-172 during Second World War |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 23,456 |
| Length: | 201.2 m |
| Beam: | 25.0 m |
| Draught: | 9.1 m |
| Installed power: | Six Parsons single reduction gear turbine engines |
| Propulsion: | Twin screws |
| Capacity: | 1,068 passengers |
| Notes: | Sank 500 km WSW of the Cape of Good Hope |
RMS Orcades was a British built ocean liner that served on the UK-Australia route as a Royal Mail Ship from 1937-1939. Orcades was requistioned by the British government as a troopship in 1939.
Torpedoed and sunk by German U-172 on 10 October 1942 with the loss of 48 lives and 1,117 survivors.
The vessel's sister ship was Orion. The interior fittings of Orcades and Orion were designed by New Zealand born modernist architect Brian OʼRorke.[1]
Orcades is an ancient name[2] for the Orkney Islands.
References
- Latimer, David W (2002) Passenger ships of the 20th century: an illustrated encyclopedia, p.259, Colourpoint Books ISBN 1 898392 70 6
- National Archives of Australia
- State Library of Victoria
- U-172
Footnotes
1. Quartermain, Peter and Peter, Bruce (2006) Cruise: Identity, Design and Culture, p.39, Laurence King Publishing ISBN 1 856694 46 1
| 40px | This article about a specific cruise ship is a stub. You can help Ship Spotting World by expanding it. |
