HM
Troopship Dorsetshire was a Bibby Line ship built in 1920 by Harland
& Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 7450grt, a length of
450ft 4in, a beam of 57ft 4in and a service speed of 12 knots.
One of a pair she was designed with higher than normal 'tween
deck clearance so that she could be converted into a troopship
if required. When launched on 22nd April 1920 she was the largest
motorship at the time and was completed as a tin ore carrying
cargo ship. In 1927 the 5 year trooping contract was renewed and
to cater for the increased demand the cargo ships Dorsetshire,
and here sister ship Shropshire, were converted into permanent
troopships by Vickers at Barrow in Furness as a result of which
her tonnage was increased to 9345grt. During this period troopships
retained their company livery. She had accommodation for 112 1st,
58 2nd, 108 families in 3rd and 1,450 troops. In September 1939
she was converted into HM Hospital Ship No. 23 with beds for 493
patients and accommodation for 59 medical staff. On 31st January
1941, during a voyage to Tobruk to evacuate troops, she was, despite
her markings, attacked outside Sollum in Libya. Although the enemy
had been advised that she was a Geneva Convention ship she was
attacked again on 1st February. On 12th July 1943 she was bombed
and received superficial damage when 13 miles from Cape Passero
while supporting the Allied invasion of Sicily which had commenced
on the 9th July. She was decommissioned on 8th March 1948 and
rebuilt by Harland & Wolff to accommodate tourists, returning
to Bibby Line in November 1949. On 11th December 1949 she sailed
from Liverpool bound for Australia with 550 passengers and back
in Bibby Line livery after 21 years. When the citizens at Adelaide
wished to send food parcels back to Britain they were refused
because of the cost of becoming a 'cargo' ship made the transit
of the Suez Canal too expensive. With her sister she was used
to repatriate Dutch civilians from Indonesia. During 1952 she
was used as a hostel ship for workmen building the Little Aden
oil refinery and on 12th May 1953 sailed from Liverpool with troops
bound for Korea. She was laid up in the following August and broken
up in 1954. |
