The Tairea (I) was a 1924 passenger ship of the British shipping company British India Steam Navigation Company , which transported passengers and cargo between various ports in India and Japan . During the Second World War , the Tairea served as the hospital ship HMHS Tairea (35) . After the end of the war, she returned to passenger traffic. In 1952, the outdated ship was sold for demolition and scrapping .
The ship
The 7934 GRT steamship Tairea was built at the Barclay, Curle and Company shipyard in the Whiteinch district of Glasgow and was launched on March 6, 1924 in Clydeholm Yard. On May 5, 1924, the 142.04 meter long and 18.34 meter wide passenger and cargo ship was completed. The Tairea had three chimneys, two masts and two propellers and was powered by two four-cylinder triple expansion steam engines. The top speed was 16 knots ; in the test drives 17.32 knots were reached.
She was one of three identical sister ships . The other two were the London registered Talamba (I) (8018 BRT) and the Takliwa (7936 BRT), which, like the Tairea itself, was registered in Glasgow. The three sister ships were the only ones in the history of the British India Steam Navigation Company to have three funnels, the last being a mock-up. This should impress the paying clientele. The ship could carry 56 passengers in the first, 80 in the second and 3,262 in the third class. The crew consisted of 175 people.
The ship entered service for Calcutta and Japan in 1924 , operated by Apcar & Company, which had been integrated into the British India Steam Navigation Company in 1912. During the Second World War , the ship served as a hospital ship under the identification HMHS Tairea (35) . In contrast to her sister ships, which were lost in 1943 and 1945, the Tairea survived the war and then returned to civilian passenger service. It was sold for demolition on April 1, 1952 for £ 123,500, and then scrapped by the British Iron and Steel Corporation in Blyth .
