SS City of Paris
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS City of Paris |
| Owner | City Line Ltd (G Smith & Sons), Glasgow |
| Builder | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend |
| Yard number | 1129 |
| Launched | 24 Dec 1920 |
| In service | 5 Jan 1922 |
| Out of service | 24 Feb 1956 |
| Fate | broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger Cargo Ship |
| Tonnage | 10,902 tons |
| Length | 484.7 ft (147.74m) |
| Beam | 59.3 ft (18.06m) |
| Depth | 32.6 ft (9.91m) draught 23.2 ft (7.06m) |
| Propulsion | single screw |
| Speed | 14.5 knots (26.85 km/h) |
| Capacity | 230 x 1st; 100 x 2nd class passengers |
Contents
Remarks
City of Paris was built in 1922 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, at their yards in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, for City Lines Ltd, of London. Her completion was delayed as a joiners strike caused thr ship to be completed at St Nazaire in France. Taken over by Ellerman Lines in 1935 for the Indian passenger service. She was registered in Glasgow. On 17 Oct 1933, City of Paris ran aground in the Mediterranean Sea off France′s Saraman Lighthouse. She was refloated the next day.
On 16 Sep 1939 she struck a mine laid by German Submarine U-13 and was damaged, with one person killed. However, still afloat, she was towed by two tugs to Tilbury for repairs which took a month. She was requisitioned shortly afterwards and from 1940 she was used as a troopship. In 1941 she carried artillery equipment to Ethiopia for use in the Battle of Gondar (November 1941). In early February 1942 she carried Australia's 2/14th Battalion from Bombay to Australia, arriving in Adelaide, South Australia, on 24 Mar 1942.
City of Paris was converted into a personnel ship in 1944, and used as an accommodation ship from September 1945 until 1946. She was then briefly used again as a troopship before being returned to the Ellerman Lines in 1947 and returned to commercial service before being scrapped in 1956.