HMAT Shropshire
The transport ship Shropshire
carrying troops to England[1] | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | |
| Name | Shropshire |
| Operator | Federal Steam Navigation Company |
| Builder | John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Yard number | 400 |
| Launched | 27 April 1911 |
| Completed | 19 September 1911 |
| Maiden voyage | 1912 |
| In service | 28 October 1911 |
| Out of service | 1923 |
| Fate | Transferred to the New Zealand Shipping Company[2] |
| New Zealand | |
| Name | Rotorua |
| Operator | New Zealand Shipping Company |
| Acquired | 1923 |
| Out of service | 11 December 1940 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk by the German U-Boat U-96 on 11 December 1940[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Passenger/cargo steamship |
| Tonnage | 11,911 tons |
| Length | 526 ft 5 in (160.45 m) |
| Beam | 61 ft 5 in (18.72 m) |
| Depth of hold | 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin screw |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
HMAT Shropshire (His Majesty's Australian Transport), originally SS Shropshire, was a 11,911-ton vessel, built by John Brown and Company in Clydebank, Glasgow, for the Federal Steam Navigation Company.[2] She was employed on passenger and meat trade between New Zealand and Great Britain, but due to the First World War, she was converted into a troopship.[3][4] She was leased by the Australian Commonwealth Government until 5 August 1917, when the British Admiralty took over control of the ship.
Time as a troopship
HMAT Shropshire undertook the following journeys as a troopship in World War I:[2][5][1]
- 20 October 1914 from Melbourne[6]
- 17/20 March 1915 from Sydney/Melbourne to Alexandria
- 20 August 1915 from Sydney
- 31 March 1916 from Fremantle to Port Suez
- 25 September 1916 from Melbourne
- 11 May 1917 from Melbourne
Later use and fate
In 1923, the ship was renamed Rotorua for the New Zealand Shipping Company.[2] On 11 December 1940, it became a casualty of World War Two, when it was torpedoed by the German U-boat submarine U-49 off St Kilda, with 104 rescued and 21 lives lost.
See also
References
- ^ a b "The transport ship SS Shropshire carrying troops to England". awm.gov.au. Australia: Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "HMAT A9 Shropshire". birtwistlewiki.com.au. Australia. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "HMAT A9 Shropshire during the Great War". The Wartime Memories Project. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "Troopships – The Forgotten Ships of WW1". sea.museum. Australian Government. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "AWM244 Shropshire – Troopship movement cards, 1914–18 War: HMAT Shropshire (A9)". awm.gov.au. Australia: Australian War Memorial. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ Lyall, Hilda (1914). "HMAT Shropshire and HMAT Wiltshire sail from Port Melbourne. Aboard the Shropshire is 1277 Gunner ..." awm.gov.au. Australia: Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 15 October 2023.