HMS ''Royal Scotsman'', originally the MV ''Royal Scotsman'', was an LSI of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

that served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A former passenger ferry, she saw action in the Mediterranean during the invasions of North Africa (

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

), Sicily and Italy. The ship was later purchased in 1967 by the Church of Scientology, re- registered to

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

and renamed to the MV ''Royal Scotman'' (due to a transcription error) and then MV ''Apollo''. It served as the headquarters of the Church of Scientology, the founding flagship of the Sea Org, and the personal residence of L. Ron Hubbard until 1975.

Construction

The ship was built by

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

, at

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, for the Burns and Laird Lines as Yard No. 964. Launched on 11 March 1936, the ship was completed on 29 May 1936, and entered service as MV ''Royal Scotsman'' as a passenger and cattle ferry in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

, operating between Belfast and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Operational history

At 09:30 on 5 May 1940 ''Royal Scotsman'' left Gourock to transport Force HQ and the 3rd Independent Company to Bodø in Norway as part of "Scissorsforce", which was tasked with preventing the Germans from occupying Bodø, Mo and Mosjøen. They arrived off Bodø on 8th May but rough sea and poor visibility made a landing impossible, and the ship lay off until the weather improved, finally berthing at 22:00 on 9th May. Owing to the danger of air attack, disembarkation and unloading were carried out as quickly as possible and were completed by 02:00 on 10 May, when the ''Royal Scotsman'' departed. ''Royal Scotsman'' was then requisitioned by the Admiralty in October 1940, and in January 1941 she prepared for operational service. Most of the ship's company were the original merchant crew who had joined the Navy under T124X engagements (which meant that they could not be transferred to a combat ship), while the captain and some specialist officers were from the

or Reservists. Initially deployed in home waters, in August 1941, she embarked troops at the Clyde for "Operation Grey", a planned occupation of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. After sailing to Scapa Flow to join military convoy WS-8C, the operation was cancelled, and ''Royal Scotsman'' returned to the Clyde. On 17 September 1941, she joined military convoy WS-11X in the Clyde, to transport military personnel to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, as reinforcements for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

(" Operation Halberd"), returning to the UK, in October, to train with Combined Operations personnel. From January 1942, she took part in extensive exercises for amphibious operations, and on 26 October, sailed to Gibraltar, as part of military convoy KMF-1 for the invasion of North Africa, in "

". In the early hours of 8 November, she landed men of the American

1st Ranger Battalion The 1st Ranger Battalion, currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is the first of three ranger battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment (United States), 75th Ranger Regiment. It ...

to capture the port of

Arzew Arzew or Arzeu (, ) is a seaport, port city in Algeria, 25 miles (40 km) from Oran. It is the capital of Arzew District, Oran Province. History Antiquity Like the rest of the Maghreb, the site of modern-day Arzew was originally in ...

, and then was deployed to transport troops and equipment in the western Mediterranean, operating with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, 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 o ...

, and the Dutch ships and . In May 1943, she took part in landings on the Italian island of

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...

(" Operation Corkscrew"), then on 10 July, landed troops on the beach codenamed "Bark South" during the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

. In September, she sailed to Tripoli, to embark troops, and joined military convoy TSF-1 to land troops at Salerno, on 9 September. In November 1943, she returned to the UK. There is no record of her being deployed in any further operations, though whether the ship was damaged or only used for training purposes is unknown. In February 1945, she was decommissioned and returned to her original owners in March.

Scientology

She remained in service with Burns & Laird, until 1967, when she was purchased by the Church of Scientology and renamed ''Apollo'', to serve as flagship of the Sea Org, as well as the residence of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and his family. (Coincidentally, ''Apollo'' was of a similar ship type to the , an amphibious cargo ship which Hubbard served on from December 1943 to September 1944.) She cruised mostly 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa. ''Apollo'' served as the headquarters of the Church of Scientology until the church established its headquarters in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

, in 1975.

After Scientology and fate

After the Sea Org moved to Clearwater, the ship sat dormant until it was eventually sold in 1977 to Consolidated-Andy Inc., a shipbreaking firm in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

. Though initially planned to be turned it into a floating restaurant, the ship was sold again in 1978 to Zanzibar Shipping who rechristened it the ''Arctic Star''. The ship remained docked at port until September 16, 1980, when a train operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company jumped its tracks and struck the ship, sinking it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Scotsman 1936 ships Troop ships of the Royal Navy World War II naval ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Belfast Ships built by Harland and Wolff Scientology