SS ''City of Paris'' was a steam passenger ship launched in 1920 and completed in 1922 for the

Ellerman Lines Ellerman Lines was a United Kingdom, UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller sh ...

. She was requisitioned for service by the British government 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 ...

History

''City of Paris'' was built in 1922 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, at their yards in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

, for Ellerman Lines Ltd, of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She was registered in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. On 17 October 1933, ''City of Paris'' ran aground in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

off

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

′s Saraman Lighthouse. She was refloated the next day. On 16 September 1939, whilst carrying 139 people during

World War II 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 ...

, the ship struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

that had been laid by the German

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

on 4 September. She was damaged, with one person being killed, but managed to make it to port for repairs. In May, 1940, Ellerman Lines offered her, the SS ''City of Simla'', and the SS ''City of Benares'', for use as an evacuation ship. On September 10, 1940 she set sail with a large batch of CORB children, and she reached Cape Town successfully. Due to the tragic sinking of the ''City of Benares'', she never carried evacuee children again. In 1941 she carried artillery equipment to Ethiopia for use in the

Battle of Gondar The Battle of Gondar or Capture of Gondar was the last stand of the Italian forces in Italian East Africa during the Second World War. The battle took place in November 1941, during the East African Campaign. Gondar was the main town of Amhara in ...

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80003923 Imperial War Museum: Bingham, Humphrey Francis (Oral History) Reel 3, about 20 minutes in (November 1941). In early February 1942 she carried the 2/14th Battalion of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

from Bombay to Australia, arriving in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, on 24 March 1942. ''City of Paris'' was converted into a personnel ship in 1944, and used as an

accommodation ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

from September 1945 until 1946. She was then briefly used again as a troopship before being returned to the Ellerman Lines. She was returned to commercial service in 1947 and scrapped in 1956.

References

1920 ships Maritime incidents in 1933 Maritime incidents in September 1939 Ships attacked by German U-boats Ships built by Swan Hunter Ships of the Ellerman Lines Steamships of the United Kingdom World War II passenger ships of the United Kingdom {{WWII-stub