MV ''Georgic'' was the last ship built for the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

before its merger with the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

. Built at

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 ...

shipyard in

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 ...

, she was the running mate and younger sister of . Like ''Britannic'', ''Georgic'' was a

motorship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

, and not a steamer, fitted with a

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

powerplant. At the time of her launch in 1931, she was the largest British motorship. After a successful career as a liner in the 1930s, ''Georgic'' was requisitioned as a

troopship 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 to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

in 1940. She was severely damaged and partially sunk in 1941 by a German bombing raid whilst docked at

Port Tewfik The Suez Port (also called Port Tawfiq) is an Egyptian port located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea at southern entrance of the Suez Canal, serving the canal and the city of Suez. It is owned and operated by the Ministry of ...

in Egypt. After being refloated and extensively rebuilt, she returned to service as a troopship in 1944, and continued in service for both military and civilian uses until 1956, when she was withdrawn from service and scrapped.

Background

In the late-1920s, White Star Line had planned to build two new liners to replace their aging fleet, both of which were to be

s rather than traditional

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s: a long superliner known as , and a smaller more economic liner of a similar design known as ''Britannic''. Work started on ''Britannic'' in 1927 and she was launched in 1929, work started on ''Oceanic'' in 1928, and the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid, however financial problems meant that work on ''Oceanic'' was delayed in September 1929 and the project was eventually abandoned the following year. Instead White Star decided to prioritize the construction of a more economical sister ship to ''Britannic''. White Star Line had initially considered naming the sister ship ''Germanic'', but it was instead decided that she would be known as ''Georgic''. She would be the second White Star ship to bear the name ''Georgic''; an earlier had served the company between 1895 and 1916.

Design and construction

In design the ''Georgic'' was essentially a slightly larger version of her earlier sister ship ''Britannic'', having a

gross ton Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

nage of 27,759, compared with ''Britannic''s 26,943. ''Georgic'' differed in appearance from ''Britannic'' in that the forward part of her superstructure and bridge was rounded instead of straight, and the front part of her

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

deck was covered. Like ''Britannic'', ''Georgic'' had two short stumpy

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

s, the forward one of which was a dummy which housed the radio room and the engineers smoke room. Georgic postcard

''Georgic''s powerplant was identical to that of her sister, consisting of two 10

cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...

four stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directi ...

, double acting

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s, designed by

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

. At the time these were the largest and most powerful engines of their type constructed; they were coupled to two propellers, and could produce 20,000

brake horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

; these could propel the ship at a design service speed of , although she often averaged 18.5 knots in service. ''Georgic''s interiors were decorated in the then popular

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style, which differed from those of ''Britannic'' which were decorated in various period styles which had been popular in the 1920s. ''Georgic''s passenger capacities were given as 479 Cabin class, 557 Tourist class and 506 Third class. In addition to passenger accommodation, ''Georgic'' also had some refrigerated cargo capacity in two of her holds. Her hull was divided into eight holds by twelve main bulkheads. Construction began on 9 July 1929, and she was launched on 12 November 1931, and, after fitting out, commenced her sea trials on 4 June 1932, after which she was ready for service.

Early career

''Georgic'' started her maiden voyage on 25 June 1932. She was built for the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

–

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

route and ran in tandem with ''Britannic''. On 2 April 1933, she replaced the aging on the

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

–New York route for a brief time while that vessel was overhauled. Although not the largest or fastest liners of their time, ''Georgic'' and ''Britannic'' proved popular, and were in the early-1930s the two most profitable ships in White Star Line's fleet, partly due to their lower running costs and more affordable ticket prices compared to the traditional steamships. They helped keep the company afloat financially during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. On 10 May 1934 White Star Line merged with its old rival the

and the ship became part of the fleet of the newly amalgamated Cunard-White Star Line, both ships however retained their White Star livery and houseflag, but with the addition of the Cunard houseflag. The following year ''Georgic'' and ''Britannic'' were transferred to the London−

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

−Southampton−New York route, and ''Georgic'' commenced service on this route on 3 May 1935, making ''Georgic'' the largest ship to sail up the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

and use the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Se ...

. She continued to serve this route until the outbreak of

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 ...

in 1939. On the outbreak of war, ''Georgic'' was not immediately commandeered, but was instead transferred back to the Liverpool to New York route in September 1939, and made five round trips before being requisitioned for trooping duties on 11 March 1940.

Wartime career

In April 1940, ''Georgic'' was hastily converted into a

with the capacity for 3,000 troops. In May that year she assisted in the evacuation of British troops from the failed Norwegian Campaign, from the port of

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

, and in June assisted in

Operation Aerial Operation Aerial was the evacuation of Allied military forces and civilians from ports in western France. The operation took place from 15 to 25 June 1940 during the Second World War. The embarkation followed the Allied military collapse in th ...

, evacuating troops from the French ports of Brest and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

, at the latter, the troopship was bombed and sunk on 17 June with the loss of at least 2,888 lives. Between July and September 1940, she sailed to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and then to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

to transport Canadian soldiers. ''Georgic'' then made a variety of journeys from Liverpool and Glasgow to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

via the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

, along with journeys between Liverpool, New York and Canada. Between May 1940 and July 1941, ''Georgic'' transported around 25,000 troops, mostly to the Middle East.

Bombing

On 22 May 1941, ''Georgic'' left Glasgow under the command of Captain A.G. Greig with the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division bound for

in the

Gulf of Suez The Gulf of Suez (; formerly , ', "Sea of Calm") is a gulf at the northern end of the Red Sea, to the west of the Sinai Peninsula. Situated to the east of the Sinai Peninsula is the smaller Gulf of Aqaba. The gulf was formed within a relative ...

via the Cape. She was part of a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

which had to be left almost unprotected due to the hunt for the , but arrived safely on 7 July and the troops on board were disembarked. One week later on 14 July 1941, while she was anchored off Port Tewfik waiting to embark 800 Italian detainees, German aircraft, sweeping the waterway for targets, spotted her and proceeded to attack. After several misses, the ship was hit by two bombs; the first one glanced off the side and exploded in the water, causing considerable damage to the ship's hull near the No.4 hold, causing heavy flooding, the second one hit the aft end of the boat deck, penetrated five decks, and exploded in a lift shaft, causing extensive damage to the No.5 hold, this started a fire which ignited fuel oil from ruptured fuel tanks; the fire ignited ammunition stored in the aft holds causing an explosion, which engulfed the entire rear end of the ship in flames. Despite the heavy damage, the ship's engineers were still able to start the engines, and Captain Greig was able to manoeuvre the blazing ship onto a reef in the middle of Suez Bay in order to beach it, so it would not block the busy channel, while doing this ''Georgic'' collided with another ship, HMS ''Glenearn'', which resulted in ''Georgic''s

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

being badly twisted. By this stage the flames had spread to the upper decks. As she started to sink, the order was soon given to abandon ship, and all on board managed to escape via the lifeboats. The ''Georgic'' slowly settled by the stern onto the shallow reef and was left to burn out over the next two days, by which time the ship was half submerged, the engine room flooded, and the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

, gutted by the fire, was a blackened, twisted shell.

Salvage and rebuilding

On 14 September, the damage to ''Georgic'' was assessed and it was decided that the ship was salvageable, as the basic hull structure and machinery were still mostly intact. ''Georgic'' then underwent a lengthy salvage and refurbishment operation which took a total of three years, which the historian Richard De Kerbrech described as "one of the greatest feats in the history of salvage". During October the ship had its holes and openings temporarily plugged and then the water was pumped out to refloat the vessel. In December, ''Georgic'', now afloat and at an anchorage, had its temporary plugs replaced by more permanent cement boxes to make the vessel seaworthy. As ''Georgic'' had no power, light or accommodation, she had to be towed as an abandoned hulk; as no tugs were available, two British cargo ships, ''Clan Campbell'' and ''City of Sydney'' were allocated to the task. Beginning on 29 December, they first towed ''Georgic'' to

Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...

taking 13 days. Here ''Georgic'' underwent further repairs lasting eight weeks to make her seaworthy for the longer voyage to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. On 5 March 1942, ''Georgic'' left Port Sudan under tow of the Harrison Line's liner ''Recorder'' and the tug , which later proved to be too small for the task and had to slip after one day. On the eighth day they were joined by another tug, ''Pauline Moller'' and the British steamer ''Haresfield'', who together successfully brought ''Georgic'' into Karachi on 31 March. Here it was decided that ''Georgic'' would undergo essential repairs which did not require

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

ing: Taking eight months to complete with limited resources, her engines and generators were restored to working order, her stem was straightened, and some crew accommodation was rebuilt on board. In December 1942, ''Georgic'' left Karachi under her own power for

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, her engines managing a speed of . At Bombay she was dry docked and the damage to her hull repaired, her machinery was also given a further overhaul. ''Georgic'' then left Bombay for the UK on 20 January 1943, arriving at Liverpool on 1 March, having completed the entire journey unescorted at an average speed of . A survey of the ship was then carried out by 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, Tra ...

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 Transpor ...

(MoWT), and a decision was made to send the ship back to

in Belfast to be completely rebuilt into a troopship. During the rebuild, over 5,000 tons of fire gutted steel were removed from ''Georgic'', and her upper decks and superstructure were completely rebuilt, she emerged from her rebuild after 19 months in December 1944 with a considerably changed appearance: Her forward funnel and mainmast were removed, and the foremast shortened to a stump. Following the rebuild, ''Georgic'' became a government owned ship, with her ownership transferred to the Ministry of War Transport, Cunard-White Star managed the ship on their behalf.

Later career

On 17 December 1944 ''Georgic'' resumed service as a troop transport between Italy, the Middle East and India. After the war ended in 1945, she spent the next three years repatriating troops, civilians and prisoners of war. By 1948, with trooping requirements falling off, and the need for more ships to cater for the demand for emigrants to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, the Ministry of Transport decided to restore ''Georgic'' for civilian service, with the requirement that she could be converted again for trooping duties if the need arose. In September 1948 ''Georgic'' was sent to the Palmers yard on the

Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England * River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia Peopl ...

to be refitted as an emigrant ship with a single-class accommodation of 1,962. ''Georgic'' had her White Star colours restored in the refit, however she was by now very much a utilitarian vessel, as her interiors were not restored to their pre-war luxury standards. Between January 1949 and October 1953 ''Georgic'' was operated on the UK-Australia emigrant service, operated by Cunard, but chartered by the Australian government. During the summer high seasons from 1950 to 1954, Cunard also chartered ''Georgic'' from the MoT for some journeys from Liverpool or Southampton to New York in concert with her sister ''Britannic'' to meet additional demand. ''Georgic'' was chartered for six round transatlantic voyages during 1950, and seven round voyages per season during 1951–54. From November 1953 to April 1955, ''Georgic'' was again used for trooping duties as she was commissioned to carry Commonwealth troops returning from the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, although in between this she made her last seven round voyages from Southampton to New York chartered by Cunard during the 1954 high season. In January 1955 the MoT announced that ''Georgic'' would be withdrawn from service and put up for sale by August of that year: By this stage ''Georgic''s war-scarred machinery was proving troublesome. The MoT did offer to transfer ownership of ''Georgic'' back to Cunard, but they declined. However she was withdrawn from sale when she was chartered by the Australian government for one more season on the emigrant run. She made her last voyage to Australia in August that year. ''Georgic'' final voyage was from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

to Liverpool in November 1955, carrying 800 troops. On her arrival on 19 November she was withdrawn from service. The ship was finally laid up at Kames Bay,

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute (; or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent island of the larger County of ...

, pending disposal, and then sold for scrap in January 1956. The following month ''Georgic'' arrived at

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 ...

for breaking up. Scrapping of the ''Georgic'' was completed by late 1956.

References

External links

The Great Ocean Liners: RMS ''Georgic''
* *

- Postcards of ''Georgic''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgic (1931) Ships built in Belfast Ships of the White Star Line 1931 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff Maritime incidents in July 1941 Ships sunk by German aircraft Ministry of War Transport ships