Dominion monarch
 Computer animation of the Dominion Monarch
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The Dominion Monarch was a British passenger and cargo ship owned by the Shaw, Savill & Albion Steamship Company , which was commissioned in 1939 for liner services to Australia and New Zealand . After the ship was used as a troop transport during the Second World War , it returned to regular service in 1948. After a brief use as a floating hotel in Seattle which was Dominion Monarch 1962 Japanese Osaka scrapped. The Dominion Monarch was the most powerful motor ship of its time.
Planning and construction
The Dominion Monarch was laid down on July 14, 1937 under the construction number 1547 at Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson and was to be the new flagship and at the same time the largest new building of the Shaw, Savill & Albion Steamship Company. The construction costs of the 200 meter long ship amounted to 1.5 million pounds sterling .
On July 27, 1938, the Dominion Monarch was christened and launched. Godmother of the ship was Lady Eleanor Harrison, wife of British nobles Frederick Lewis (1870-1944), who also co-owner of the parent company Furness, Withy & Co. was. Due to the large number of visitors when the ship was launched, an LNER class A4 train of the London and North Eastern Railway was chartered, which was used to transport visitors between London and Wallsend . The guests of honor included the High Commissioners from Australia, South Africa , Southern Rhodesia and New Zealand.
The Dominion Monarch was the largest passenger ship built by Swan Hunter since the Mauretania , which was commissioned in 1907 . The Dominion Monarch had very large holds for a liner and could also be used as a refrigerated ship, which is why the number of passengers was limited to 521 first class, divided into 160 single cabins and 182 multi-bed cabins (including two suites). The equipment of the ship included a smoking room in Jacobean style , a cinema, a swimming pool and a separate dining room for children. All cabins and public areas of the ship were fully air-conditioned.
The Dominion Monarch was the most powerful motor ship of its time. It was powered by four William Doxford & Sons diesel engines with a total output of 32,000 kW. At full speed the ship could reach a speed of 21.5 knots, but the average cruising speed was 19.2 knots.
The Dominion Monarch was completed on January 12, 1939 and handed over to the Shaw, Savill & Albion Steamship Company in London on the evening of January 29, after the test drive on January 28 off the coast of Berwickshire. The ship's home port was Southampton . The Dominion Monarch had the unusual prefix QSMV (Quadruple Screw Motor Vessel).
period of service
Pre-war period
After being loaded at King George V Dock in London, the Dominion Monarch left Southampton on February 17, 1939 on her maiden voyage to Wellington in New Zealand, where she made stops in Tenerife , Cape Town , Durban and Fremantle on April 24 arrived. When entering the port, a minor incident occurred when she collided with the New Zealand crane ship Hikitia . However, both ships remained undamaged. As the last stop on her maiden voyage, the ship went to Napier and was then used in regular liner service to Australia and New Zealand. The Dominion Monarch was able to complete an average of three round trips per year to New Zealand and Australia.
Second World War
The Dominion Monarch was between Fremantle and Melbourne when Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. During the crossing, the ship's crew began to paint the hull of the Dominion Monarch in camouflage colors. On September 8, 1939, the ship arrived in Sydney , where it was equipped with two deck guns (one of the type BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun and an anti-aircraft gun).
On November 28, 1939, the Dominion Monarch was temporarily decommissioned to be converted as a troop transport. However, the British Admiralty found them too unsuitable for this purpose. On January 9, 1940, the ship returned to regular service. On their return trip to Great Britain, the ship carried 100 Australian soldiers, as the majority of the cabins on board were vacant due to the low demand caused by the war.
In July 1940, due to the increasing demand for troop carriers, it was decided to convert the Dominion Monarch for this purpose. After six weeks of renovation in Liverpool, the ship was put back into service. The ship's first voyage as a troop transport began on September 10, 1940 and led from Liverpool to Egypt . In order not to have to drive through the Mediterranean , the Dominion Monarch joined convoy AP 3/1, which drove via Cape Town to Suez and arrived there on October 22nd.
post war period
After seven years as a troop carrier, the Dominion Monarch was returned to its original owner in 1947. The renovation work took over a year and cost 1.5 million pounds sterling as much as the construction of the ship had originally devoured. The passenger capacity was reduced to 508 during the renovation. On December 16, 1948, the Dominion Monarch returned to civil service.
The Dominion Monarch remained the flagship of the shipping company for another seven years until it was replaced in this role by the new Southern Cross in 1955 . In April 1962, the Dominion Monarch was replaced by the Northern Star and retired on April 21 in Southampton.
Hotel ship
From June to November 1962, was Dominion Monarch at the World's Fair Century 21 Exposition along with Acapulco and Catala as a hotel ship in Seattle used, where she arrived on May 29, the 1,962th However, the ship brought in high losses, which is why the hotel was stopped earlier than planned on October 21.
scrapping
During her time as a hotel ship, the Dominion Monarch was sold to Japan for scrapping in October 1962. On November 25, 1962, the ship arrived under the transfer name Dominion Monarch Maru in Osaka, where it was scrapped.
Web links
- History of the ship on ssmaritime.com (English)
- History of the ship on cruiselinehistory.com (English)
- Video of the ship's maiden voyage from 1939 on britishpathe.com (English)
Footnotes
- ^ QSMV Dominion Monarch. 2003, accessed November 13, 2015 .
- ↑ The Times: Many new Liners , Jan. 1, 1949, p. 6
- ^ Reuben Goossens: QSMV Dominion Monarch. Retrieved June 16, 2016 .
- ↑ SEATTLE NOW & THEN: THE DOMINION MONARCH. Retrieved November 15, 2015 .