SS Félix Roussel
From Our Contribution
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 SS Felix Roussel Following her post war refit | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Félix Roussel |
| Owner | Messageries Maritimes (Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes) |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint Nazaire |
| Launched | 17 Dec 1929 |
| Completed | 1930 |
| In service | 26 Feb 1931 |
| Out of service | 1974 |
| Fate | broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean Liner |
| Tonnage | 17,084 tons |
| Length | 533 ft (171.25m) |
| Beam | 68 ft (20.8m) |
| Depth | draft 28 ft (8.53m) |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 16 knots (29.63 km/h) |
| Capacity | 1,183 to 1,502 troops or 396 passengers |
Contents
Remarks
Félix Roussel was built by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique of Saint-Nazaire. It was designed to make long ocean crossings (up to a month and a half) in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific with many stopovers. It had two square and very short stacks.
Soon after the beginning of the Second World War, she was requisitioned by the United Kingdom when she was turned back to Aden from Port Said. She then sailed to Bombay and was later manned by a mixed crew of French and British volunteers' She sailed under the Free French flag. The first trip as a troop transport took place in October 1940 when she took Australian and New Zealand troops to Egypt in a convoy.
She made numerous troop transport trips between Bombay and Egypt, and in February 1942, participated in the evacuation of Singapore, having earlier been a member of the last convoy to reach Singapore prior to its capitulation. Enroute she had sustained damage during heavy air attacks. In the evacuation, Felix Roussel carried at least 1,100 evacuated women and children, RAF personnel and some survivors from HMS Prince of Wales & HMS Repulse. The Félix Roussel continued to serve as a troop ship in the Indian Ocean until mid 1944 after which it moved to the Mediterranean theatre until the end of the war. She assisted with relocation of troops post war end until 15 Apr 1946 when she was handed back to her owners.
Post war, she resumed civilian service on the Far East run before undergoing a major refit at Dunkirk, resuming service in late 1950 and continuing until 1955 when she was sold for $3.5 million to a Swiss company (Arosa Line of Panama) and renamed the Arosa Sun for use on the Bremerhaven-Quebec route. When her owners were bankrupted she was sold to a Dutch company which converted her for use as accommodation for their workers. Eventually in 1974 she was sent to Bilbao in Spain to be scrapped.