HMS ''Lothian'', was a former cargo ship launched in 1938, as MV ''City of Edinburgh'', which was requisitioned during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a troop transport and later converted by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

into a

headquarters ship During the Second World War, the Royal Navy commissioned several headquarters ships (sometimes referred to as Landing Ship Headquarters), which were responsible for communication between aircraft, ships and shore during amphibious operations. The ...

in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The ship is notable for a mutiny that occurred onboard whilst docked at

Balboa, Panama Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. History The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spani ...

in September 1944. The ship was returned to her original owners, Ellerman's City Line, in 1946 and scrapped in 1961.

History

Shortly after the start of the Second World War the ''City of Edinburgh'' was requisitioned by the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

for war work. In September 1943 the ship was passed to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

and converted to a Landing Ship Headquarters for operations in the Pacific - operations for which she was totally unsuited. In July 1944 the ship was recommissioned as HMS ''Lothian'' and was sent to be part of the

U.S. 7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

as part of

Force X The Force X was a squadron of the French Navy, assembled on 29 April 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, to deter Italy from striking in the Levantine Sea. It was constituted of the old battleship ''Lorraine'', of the three modern hea ...

. Leaving the Clyde on 3 August 1944, the ''Lothian'' sailed for

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and then down to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. The ship's complement had swelled to 750 (instead of the normal 450) under the command of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Arthur George Talbot. Conditions aboard were extremely poor as the ship, being unsuited for tropical climates, had poor ventilation and air-conditioning and a lack of sufficient water. After reaching

on 1 September 1944, an armed mutiny (the first in the Royal Navy since the 19th century) occurred on-board due to the atrocious conditions. A Royal Marine detachment was sent on board to quell the mutiny. 17 senior men were court-martialled and reduced in rank, whilst other mutineers were given six months' extra duties and punishment drill. However, as the mutineers could not be removed from the ship in Balboa for lack of another ship or available jails, sentences were suspended and the ship proceeded to the Pacific. ''Lothian'' joined the U.S. 7th Fleet at

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

on 29 September 1944, but the British vessel went unused by the Americans and the ''Lothian'' eventually set sail for

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, after seeing no combat. In February 1945 the ''Lothian'' became flagship to Rear Admiral Douglas Blake Fisher and operated as a control ship for merchant transports arriving to supply the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...

. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the ship was used to evacuate civilians and prisoners of the Japanese from Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1946 the ''Lothian'' was returned to the Ellerman Line and reverted to the MV ''City of Edinburgh''. She resumed her previous route and in April 1961 was sold to Hong Kong Salvage and Towage Company, renamed ''Castle Mount'' and sailed to Hong Kong for scrapping in July 1961.

Commands

References

External links

Details of HMS Lothian 1944-46
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lothian, HMS Ships built on the River Mersey World War II auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom Auxiliary ships of the Royal Navy World War II passenger ships of the United Kingdom 1938 ships