SS Tasman
From Our Contribution
 Tasman in Port Melbourne 23 June 1943 | |
 Dutch Hospital ship SS Tasman 1943 - Trove https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138043030/view | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Tasman |
| Owner | Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij |
| Builder | Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd, Hull |
| Launched | 1921 |
| Completed | 1921 |
| In service | 1921 |
| Out of service | 1957 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap in 1958 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger ship / Hospital ship |
| Tonnage | 4,922 tons |
| Length | 392 ft 0 in (119.5 m) |
| Beam | 49 ft 2 in (15.0 m) |
| Depth | Draught 26 ft 0 in (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin screw |
| Speed | 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Capacity | 96 passengers, 250 patients |
Remarks
Steam ship built in 1921 and owned by Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM). SS Tasman sailed under the Dutch flag and was based in Batavia. Following the outbreak of WW2 it was one of 21 KPM ships that sought refuge in Australia. Initially it was placed under US Army control and used as a troopship following its conversion in Sydney. She transported both Australian and American troops to Port Moresby, Milne Bay and Oro Bay in New Guinea. She was used to resupply Milne Bay and on three occasions was driven off by larger Japanese vessels.
In February 1943 it was converted to a hospital ship in Melbourne where over four months it was fitted out to transport up to 250 patients plus the Dutch and Javanese crew.
During the campaigns it served in the south west Pacific area and afterwards transported repatriated prisoners of war from the Japanese prison camps at Santo Tomas, Philippines. In June 1945 she was refitted before being returned in December 1945 to the Dutch Government who then returned her to KPM on 1 Jul 1947. She was sold and broken up for scrap in 1958.