HMT Queen of Bermuda
From Our Contribution
 WW 2 image | |
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Queen of Bermuda |
| Owner | Furness, Withy & Co Ltd, Barrow in Furness |
| Builder | Vickers-Armstrongs |
| Yard number | 681 |
| Launched | 2 Sep 1932 |
| Completed | 14 Feb 1933 |
| In service | 21 Feb 1933 |
| Out of service | 1966 |
| Fate | broken up 1967 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean Liner |
| Tonnage | 22,575 tons |
| Length | 553.4 ft (168.7 m) |
| Beam | 76.7 ft (23.4 m) |
| Depth | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Propulsion | four screws |
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Capacity | 700 1st class and 31 x 2nd class passengers (1933–39) |
Remarks
Built to replace a namesake that had been destroyed by fire, and designed to service the New York to Bermuda route. On 29 Aug 1939 the Admiralty requisitioned the ship for conversion into an armed merchant cruiser. One of her three funnels was removed, either as a disguise, or to improve the field of fire for her guns. She was commissioned on 28 October as HMS Queen of Bermuda serving as a patrol ship, and a convoy escort in the Atlantic ocean, before moving to join the Eastern Fleet during 1943. SAhe made only one visit to Fremantle (see below).
In May 1943 the ship was returned to Furness Withy, and she was refitted as a troop ship. For the next two years she carried troops between the UK, Gibraltar, Port Said in Egypt and Taranto in Italy, and in 1945 she made one visit to Bombay. In 1946 she repatriated Italian prisoners of war from Liverpool to Naples and UK military personnel from the Far East to Britain. She was released to civilian duty during 1947, and following an overhaul and refit she returned to her pre war route. Refitted again in 1961, her three funnels were replaced with one, and resumed her previous route until new owners sent her for scrap.
While an Armed Merchant Cruiser
- 7 × BL 6-inch Mk XII naval guns
- 2 × QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns