SS Cameronia (1919)

''Cameronia'' was a British ocean liner which was built in 1920 by William Beardmore & Co Ltd, Dalmuir for the Anchor Line. She was requisitioned for use as a troopship in the Second World War, surviving a torpedo attack. In 1953 she was requisitioned by the Ministry of Troop Transport (MoTT) and renamed ''Empire Clyde''. She was scrapped in 1957.

Description

The ship was built by William Beardmore & Co Ltd, Dalmuir, as yard number 584. She was launched on 23 December 1919, and completed in September 1920.

The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a and . She was propelled by six Beardmore-built steam turbines, double reduction geared, driving twin screw propellers. which could propel her at .

History

Pre war

''Cameronia'' was built for the Anchor Line, which was owned by Cunard Line. She was a sister ship to . Although she was launched in December 1919, a strike delayed her final completion. In April 1921, ''Cameronia'' was towed to Cherbourg, France for final fitting out. She had accommodation for 265 1st class, 370 2nd class and 1,100 3rd class passengers. ''Cameronia'' departed Glasgow on 11 May 1921 on her maiden voyage to Liverpool and New York. ''Cameronia'' was placed under the management of the Henderson Brothers Ltd. Her port of registry was Glasgow. Her UK official number was 144242 and until 1933 her code letters were KHSQ.

In October 1925, ''Cameronia'' rescued the crew of a United States Coast Guard cutter that had caught fire. She was in collision with the Norwegian steamship the following month. Her steering gear failed on a voyage in January 1926 and she returned to Glasgow for repairs. In August 1926, a collision with Cunard's was avoided by .

''Cameronia'' underwent a refit in 1928 to correct her tendency to pitch heavily. In 1929 another refit saw her accommodation refitted to cabin/ tourist class. She now had accommodation for 290 cabin class, 431 tourist class and 698 3rd class passengers. In 1934, ''Cameronia's'' code letters were superseded by the call sign GDXS. She was laid up on the Clyde in December 1934. In 1935, the Anchor Line went into liquidation, and ''Cameronia'' was one of the assets purchased by Anchor Line (1935) Ltd. She remained laid up until the autumn of 1935, when she entered service as a troopship. In spring 1936, she was again refitted and returned to use as an ocean liner. ''Cameronia'' participated in the 1937 Spithead Naval Review, where she was used as a floating grandstand.

Second World War

War was declared in September 1939. ''Cameronia'' departed Glasgow on 5 September. During the voyage to New York, she rescued some of the survivors from , and was the first British ship to enter New York after war had been declared. ''Cameronia'' returned to the United Kingdom as part of Convoy HXF 1, which departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 19 September 1939 and arrived at Liverpool on 29 September. ''Cameronia'' was bound for Glasgow. She made eleven unescorted round trips from Glasgow – New York in the period to December 1940, when she was requisitioned for use as a troopship. On 29 January 1941, ''Cameronia'' joined Convoy WS 5B at Freetown, Sierra Leone, sailing with the convoy to the Suez Canal, where she arrived on 3 March. ''Cameronia'' was a member of Convoy GA 10, which arrived at Alexandria, Egypt on 6 April 1941. On 23 March 1942, ''Cameronia'' departed the United Kingdom as a member of Convoy WS17, bound for Freetown. She departed Freetown on 11 April as part of Convoy WS17B bound for Cape Town, South Africa, arriving on 23 April. On 27 April, ''Cameronia'' departed Cape Town as part of Convoy WS 17 bound for Mombasa, Kenya, where she arrived on 8 May. On 10 May ''Cameronia'' departed Mombasa as part of Convoy WS 17BZ, arriving at Bombay, India on 19 May. On 29–30 May 1941, she and the Glen Line's ''Glengyle'' evacuated 6,000 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders from Sphakia at the end of the Battle of Crete.

''Cameronia'' served in the Mediterranean as a Landing Ship, Infantry during the war, taking part in the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942. On 22 December 1942, ''Cameronia'' was hit by a torpedo dropped by a Junkers Ju 88 of III ''Gruppe'', KG 26 off Algiers, Algeria. A hole was blown in ''Cameronia's'' side and 17 people were killed. also claimed to have damaged her. ''Cameronia'' managed to reach the port of Bougie, Algeria, from where she was escorted at to Algiers. She then sailed to Gibraltar where temporary repairs were carried out. ''Cameronia'' then sailed to Glasgow for permanent repairs. Repairs were completed in June 1943 and ''Cameronia'' was then returned to service. On 29 August 1943, ''Cameronia'' departed Gibraltar as part of Convoy MKF 22, which had departed from Port Said, Egypt on 19 August and arrived at the Clyde on 9 September. On 6 December 1943, ''Cameronia'' departed Oran, Algeria with members of the 21st General Hospital. They were landed at Naples, Italy on 21 December. ''Cameronia'' was the largest troopship that took part in Operation Overlord in June 1944. She served until the end of the war, when she was laid up.

Post war

In 1947, ''Cameronia'' was returned to service on trooping duties to Palestine. In 1948, she was refitted by Barclay, Curle & Co Ltd, Elderslie, giving her accommodation for 1,266 passengers in a single class. She was used to transport people emigrating to Australia. In 1953, ''Cameronia'' was sold to the Ministry of Transport and was renamed ''Empire Clyde'', remaining under the management of Anchor Line. She served until 1957, arriving on 22 October at Newport, Monmouthshire for scrapping.

In popular culture

The ''Cameronia'' is mentioned in the fourth season of the British television drama ''Downton Abbey'', when a central character, Robert, Earl of Grantham, books passage on the ship on a last-minute trip to New York to aid his brother-in-law, Harold Levinson (played by Paul Giamatti) when the millionaire playboy gets caught up in the Teapot Dome Scandal.Series 4 Episode 7

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameronia (1919)
1919 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde
Empire ships
Maritime incidents in 1925
Maritime incidents in 1926
Ocean liners of the United Kingdom
Steamships of the United Kingdom
Troop ships