ss CATHAY

● Built by Barclay Curle & Company Glasgow,
● Yard No 602
● Engines by ShipbuildersPort of Registry: Glasgow
● Propulsion: Two four cylinder quadruple expansion steam engines, 13437ihp, twin screws, 16 knots.
● Launched: Friday, 31 October 1924
● Built: 1925
● Ship Type: Passenger Liner
● Ship's Role: UK/Australia service
● Tonnage: 15104 gross; 8696 net; 11220 dwt
● Length: 546ft 10in overall; 522ft 3in bp
● Breadth: 70ft 3in
● Draught: 30ft 2in
● Owner History:
● Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company
● Status: Bombed & Sunk - 12/11/1942

● 1923: Ordered.
● 31/10/1924: Launched for The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, London, by Lady Inchcape, wife of P&O’s Chairman. (On the same day her sister COMORIN was launched from the same yard by Mrs Alexander Shaw, one of Lady Inchcape’s daughters).
● 12/03/1925: Ran trials and delivered. She could carry 203 First Class and 103 Second Class passengers.
● Unlike her sisters CHITRAL and COMORIN, she was not later fitted with exhaust turbines to boost her speed even though she lacked the reserves needed for the mail service.
● She was noted for the completeness of her ventilating system and decoration, supervised by her lady sponsor and another of her daughters, the Hon. Elsie Mackay.
● Her second funnel was a dummy.
● 27/03/1925: Maiden voyage to Australia, the advent of the ‘C’s enabling the resumption of a fortnightly service.
● 1932: Began making calls at Bombay. She also made the occasional run on the Far Eastern route, with the introduction of the Strath’s on the Australian service.
● 11/1933: Remeasured: tonnages now 15225 gross, 8746 net.
● 14/12/1933: Lost a screw while trying to make up time between Colombo and Fremantle, and had to wait in Australia while a new one was brought out in STRATHNAVER.
● 25/08/1939: Requisitioned by the Admiralty for service as an armed merchant cruiser, and converted at Bombay. Her second (dummy) funnel was removed and eight 6~inch and two 3~inch guns were fitted. She served between Bombay and Durban.
● 07/1941: Took on board 900 survivors of the RAF troopship ANSELM torpedoed off the West African coast, who had initially been rescued by the survey ship HMS CHALLENGER but which became grossly overloaded.
● 05/02/1942: Returned to P&O and refitted as a troopship by Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Brooklyn.
● 30/04/1942: Entered service as a troopship.
● 07/11/1942: Disembarked troops west of Algiers during the North African landings.
● 11/11/1942: Bombed from 1330 hours by German aircraft whilst discharging troops at Bougie. She was finally abandoned at 1900 hours and about 2200 hours a delayed action bomb exploded in the galley, starting a serious fire.
● 12/11/1942: An ammunition explosion at 0700 hours blew off her stern, and by 1000 hours she had sunk on her starboard side, completely gutted. Part of her crew were billeted on the British India ship KARANJA until she too was bombed, and were then taken off by P&O’s STRATHNAVER.