RMS ''Corfu'' was a

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel de ...

and

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for 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). The ...

operated by the

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company P&O (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) was a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World ...

. Known as one of the 'Far East Sisters', she was launched in 1931 to serve the company's India and Far East Mail Service, along with her sister ship, the RMS ''Carthage''. Both ships were built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd in Glasgow, Scotland and served from 1931 until 1961 when they were scrapped in Japan.

World War II

In September 1939 ''Corfu'' was requisitioned by the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

and armed with eight 6-inch guns as part of her conversion to 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 ...

. She served as in this role as HMS ''Corfu'' until February 1944, and as a troop transport from then until the end of World War II. On 10 July 1940 she collided with in the Atlantic Ocean and was damaged and abandoned. She was reboarded later in the day and subsequently taken in tow by and the Dutch tug and reached

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, Sierra Leone on 13 July. She was beached on 19 August for repairs to her bow and re-entered service in early 1941. On 7 October 1945 ''Corfu'' docked at Southampton carrying the first 1,500 British prisoners of war to return from Japanese camps in the Far East. In 1947 she was returned to her owners. She operated from

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

to Sydney as P&O ''Corfu'' in the 1950s

References

Bibliography

External links

Cruise ships Ocean liners Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships of P&O Steamships 1931 ships Corfu Maritime incidents in July 1940 Maritime incidents in August 1940 World War II Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy {{cruise-ship-stub