SS Oranje
From Our Contribution
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 Dutch hospital ship Oranje off the W A coast in August 1941. AWM photo 302809 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Oranje |
| Owner | Netherlands Lines (Nederlandsche Stoomvaart Maatschapij) |
| Builder | N.V.Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw-Maatschappij, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Yard number | 270 |
| Launched | 8 Sep 1938 |
| Completed | 15 Jul 1939 |
| In service | 16 Jul 1939 |
| Out of service | 30 Mar 1979 |
| Fate | Destroyed by fire |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger Liner / Cruise ship |
| Tonnage | 24,377 tons |
| Length | 672.4 ft (204.9m) |
| Beam | 83.6 ft (25.5m) |
| Propulsion | 3 x 12 cylinder diesels 37,500 HP, twin screw |
| Speed | 22 - 26 knots (41 - 48kmh) |
| Capacity | 740 passengers |
Contents
Remarks
Operated from 1939 by the Netherland Line, the Oranje was launched by HRH Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands and the new modern Dutch liner was proudly named “Oranje” in honour of the Royal House of Orange on September 8, 1938. Primary use pre war was the Netherlands to Dutch East Indies route. With the advent of WW2 she was initially laid up at Surabaya until February 1941.
"In February 1941 the Captain was ordered to sail for Sydney and place his ship at the disposal of the Australian Navy. The Dutch Government advised the Australian Government that they would bear the full cost of Oranje’s conversion as a hospital ship, and even though she would be sailing under Australian command the Oranje remained crewed by a Dutch crew and she continued to sail under the Dutch flag. She arrived in Sydney and headed for Cockatoo Island dockyard, where she would be converted into a hospital ship.
Upon completion, she was ready to commence her new duties, and on July 30, 1941 she was ready for her five-year service as an Australian hospital ship. During her conversion, she was painted all white, but a wide green band was painted around her hull with three huge Red Crosses on each side of the ship, as well as Red Crosses on her funnel." [1]
She was the largest hospital ship operated from Australia, and she made 41 voyages from Australia and New Zealand. Handed back to her owners in 1946, she was operated again by them from 1947 until 1964 when they sold her to the Lauro Lines who renamed her Angelina Lauro. They operated her as a cruise ship, and was later chartered to the Costa Lines from 1977 - 1979.
She was destroyed by fire on 30 Mar 1979, and subsequently sank on 24 September 1979 in the Pacific Ocean while under tow to shipbreakers in Taiwan.
Patients carried
Suez to Fremantle via Labang 21 November - 5 December 1941
Egypt to Adelaide 14? May 1942 to 26 May 1942
- William John Eric Johnson
- ↑ https://ssmaritime.com/oranje.htm accessed 5 Dec 2019