SS ''Queen of Bermuda'' was a British

turbo-electric A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine (steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts. Tu ...

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

that belonged to Furness, Withy & Co Ltd. Its

Furness Bermuda Line Furness Bermuda Line was a United Kingdom, UK shipping line that operated in the 20th century. It was part of Furness Withy, Furness, Withy and ran passenger liners between Port of New York and New Jersey, New York and the British Overseas Territo ...

subsidiary operated her between

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

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

before and after 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 ...

. During the war she served as first an

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

and then as a

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

Building

Furness, Withy ordered ''Queen of Bermuda'' to replace the liner , which had been destroyed by fire in June 1931 after barely three and a half years' service. ''Queen of Bermuda'' was the

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

of '' Monarch of Bermuda'' which had been launched in March 1931 and entered service that December.

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

built ''Queen of Bermuda'' at its shipyard in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

. She was launched on 2 September 1932 and completed in February 1933. She was long, had a beam of and draught of . She was assessed as and . She had capacity for refrigerated cargo, and as built she had berths for 700 first class and 31 second class passengers. The ship had eight

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

s with a combined heating surface of . The boilers supplied steam at 400 lb_f/in² to two steam turbines. The turbines drove electric generators that powered electric motors to drive her four screws, giving her a speed of . As built, she had three funnels.

Liner, auxiliary cruiser and troop ship

In 1933 ''Queen of Bermuda'' joined ''Monarch of Bermuda'' on scheduled services between New York and

Hamilton, Bermuda The City of Hamilton, in Pembroke Parish, is the territorial capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination. Its population of 854 (2016) is one of the sm ...

. A round trip took six days. Just before the Second World War, on 29 August 1939 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 ...

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. Her primary armament was seven

BL 6-inch Mk XII naval gun The BL 6-inch Mark XII naval gun was a British 45 calibre naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on light cruisers and secondary armament on dreadnought battleships commissioned in the period 1914–1926, and remained in service on man ...

s. Her secondary armament included two

QF 3-inch 20 cwt The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships i ...

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

guns. She was commissioned on 28 October as HMS ''Queen of Bermuda'' with the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

F73. As a cruiser she served on patrol duty and as a convoy escort, mostly in the North and South Atlantic. In March 1941 she visited

Deception Island Deception Island is an island in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbor, which is occasionally troubled by the underlying active volcano. This island is the caldera of an act ...

and destroyed shore facilities there to prevent their use by German merchant cruisers. In 1943 she served with the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...

in the Indian Ocean and made one visit to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

In May 1943 the Admiralty returned the ship to Furness, Withy and 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 ...

had her refitted as a troop ship. For the next two years she carried troops between Britain,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

in Egypt and

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

in Italy, and in 1945 she made one visit to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. In 1946 she repatriated Italian prisoners of war from Liverpool to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and UK military personnel from the Far East to Britain. She operated between Liverpool, Bombay and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Post-war civilian service

In 1947 the UK Government released the ship for return to civilian service. Furness, Withy had her overhauled and refitted and her third funnel was reinstated. As refitted she had berths for 733 passengers, all first class. The Queen of Bermuda departing the island in December 1952 or January 1953

The Queen of Bermuda departing the island in December 1952 or January 1953

In February 1949 she returned to her pre-war route between New York and Hamilton. Her sister ''Monarch of Bermuda'' did not join her as she had been damaged by fire in a shipyard in 1947 and Furness, Withy had sold her. In 1951 a new Furness, Withy ship, the ''

Ocean Monarch ''Ocean Monarch'' is the name of a number of ships. * , a barque that caught fire in 1848 with the loss of nearly 180 lives * , Russell and Co., Port Glasgow. * , a Furness, Withy ship * , a Shaw, Savill & Albion ship * ''Ocean Monarch'' (1955), t ...

'', joined ''Queen of Bermuda'' on the route.

1961 Refit

In October 1961

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

started work to modify ''Queen of Bermuda''. She was lengthened, all three funnels were removed and one modern funnel was installed amidships. This gave the ship the distinction of being the only ocean liner to have sailed with one, two and three funnels. As rebuilt she was now assessed as . Her

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s began on 23 February 1962 and returned to her regular route on 7 April.

End of Service

In November 1966 Furness, Withy ceased its Furness Bermuda Line operation. New owners bought ''Ocean Monarch'' for further passenger service but ''Queen of Bermuda'' was sold for scrap. On 6 December that year she arrived in

Faslane His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

in Scotland to be broken up.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen of Bermuda, SS 1932 ships World War II Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Ships built by Vickers Armstrong Steamships of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the United Kingdom