View source for RMS Strathaird

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=RMS Strathaird.jpg
|Ship caption=RMS ''Strathaird'', in her original form with three funnels, passing under [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name=*RMS ''Strathaird''
*TSS ''Strathaird''
|Ship namesake= [[Strathaird]] in the Isle of [[Skye]], Scotland
|Ship country= [[United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship owner= [[File:P&O-house flag.svg|border|20px]] [[Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company|P&O Steam Navigation Co]]<ref name=LR>{{cite book |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/37/37b0833.pdf |year=1937 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |location=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] |access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref>
|Ship operator= [[File:P&O-house flag.svg|border|20px]] P&O Steam Navigation Co
|Ship route= [[Port of Tilbury|Tilbury]] — [[Port of Brisbane|Brisbane]]<ref name=TB>{{harvnb|Talbot-Booth|1942|p=397}}</ref>
|Ship ordered= 14 January 1930<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.poheritage.com/Upload/Mimsy/Media/factsheet/94606STRATHNAVER-1931pdf.pdf |title=Strathnaver (1931) |work=poheritage.com |access-date=5 October 2019}}</ref>
|Ship builder= [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering|Vickers-Armstrong]], [[Barrow-in-Furness|Barrow]]<ref name=LR/>
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=664 
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=23 April 1930<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.poheritage.com/Upload/Mimsy/Media/factsheet/94606STRATHNAVER-1931pdf.pdf |title=Strathnaver (1931) |work=poheritage.com |access-date=5 October 2019}}</ref>
|Ship launched=18 July 1931<ref name=SSM>{{cite web |url= http://www.ssmaritime.com/strathaird.htm |last=Goossens |first=Reuben |title=RMS Strathaird |work=P&O Line |publisher=SS Maritime |date=2011–2012 |access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref>
|Ship completed=January 1932<ref name=LR/>
|Ship christened=18 July 1931 <small>by Lady Margaret Shaw</small>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage= 12 February 1932<ref name=SSM/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship registry= {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} [[Port of London|London]]<ref name=LR/>
|Ship identification=*UK [[official number]] 162670<ref name=LR/>
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]] GRSX<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.poheritage.com/Upload/Mimsy/Media/factsheet/94606STRATHNAVER-1931pdf.pdf |title=Strathnaver (1931) |work=poheritage.com |access-date=5 October 2019}}</ref>
*{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Romeo}}{{ICS|Sierra}}{{ICS|Xray}}
|Ship homeport= Tilbury
|Ship fate= Scrapped in Hong Kong, July 1961
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class="Strath" class [[ocean liner]]
|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|22284}}<ref name=LR/>
*12,675 tonnage under deck<ref name=LR/>
*{{NRT|13,365}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{convert|638.7|ft}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship beam= {{convert|80.2|ft}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship height= 
|Ship draught= {{convert|29|ft|2|in|1}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship depth= {{convert|33.1|ft}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship power=*6,315 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]<ref name=LR/>
*28,000 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shp]]<ref name=ST>{{cite web |url= http://www.simonstown.com/archives/stdc_aa_02-011.htm |title=R.M.S. Strathnaver in Simon's Town |work=Simon's Town Archives |access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref>
|Ship propulsion=*[[turbo-electric transmission]];
*twin [[Propeller (marine)|screw]]<ref name=LR/>
|Ship speed=*{{convert|22|kn}}{{sfn|Harnack|1938|p=560}}
*or {{convert|23|kn}}<ref name=TB/>
|Ship capacity=*''as built:''
*498 1st class, 668 tourist class<ref name=SSM/>
*''after 1947 refit:''
*573 1st class, 496 tourist class<ref name=SSM/>
*''after 1954 refit:'' 1,252 tourist class<ref name=SSM/>
|Ship crew= 490<ref name=SSM/>
|Ship notes= [[sister ship]]: {{RMS|Strathnaver}}<ref name=LR/>
}}
|}

'''RMS ''Strathaird''''', later '''TSS ''Strathaird''''', was an [[ocean liner]] of the [[Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company]] (P&O).

She was the second of five [[sister ship]]s in what came to be called the "Strath" class. All previous P&O steamships had black-painted hulls and funnels but ''Strathaird'' and her sisters were painted with white hulls and buff funnels,{{sfn|Talbot-Booth|1942|p=534}}{{sfn|Harnack|1938|p=559}} which earned them the nickname "The Beautiful White Sisters"<ref name=TB/> or just "The White Sisters". ''Strathaird'' and her sister ship {{RMS|Strathnaver}} were [[Royal Mail Ship]]s that worked P&O's regular liner route between [[Port of Tilbury|Tilbury]] in [[Essex]], England and [[Port of Brisbane|Brisbane]] in [[Queensland]], Australia.<ref name=TB/> In 1935, they were joined by the third ship of the class, {{RMS|Strathmore}}.<ref name=LR/>

''Strathaird'' remained in service for almost 30 years, being scrapped in 1961.

==Building== 
The [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering|Vickers-Armstrong shipyard]] at [[Barrow-in-Furness]] built all five "Strath" class liners.<ref name=LR/> ''Strathaird'' was launched on 18 July 1931,<ref name=SSM/> completed in January 1932,<ref name=LR/> and left Tilbury on her maiden voyage on 12 February 1932.<ref name=SSM/>

In 1929, P&O had introduced its first large [[turbo-electric transmission|turbo-electric]] liner, {{RMS|Viceroy of India}}. The company chose the same propulsion system for ''Strathnaver'' and ''Strathaird'', but the "Straths" were slightly larger ships, their turbo-electric equipment was much more powerful<ref name=LR/> and they were about {{convert|3|kn|km/h}} faster than ''Viceroy of India''.

''Strathaird'' was very similar to ''Strathnaver''. Each had four [[water-tube boilers]] and two auxiliary boilers.<ref name=LR/> The boilers had a combined heating surface of {{convert|56000|sqft|0}} and supplied steam at 425 [[Pounds per square inch|lb<sub>f</sub>/in<sup>2</sup>]] to two [[turbo generator]]s.<ref name=LR/> These supplied current to two electric motors with a combined rating of 6,315 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]<ref name=LR/> or 28,000 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shp]].<ref name=ST/> [[British Thomson-Houston]] of [[Rugby, Warwickshire]] built the turbo-generators and motors.<ref name=LR/> The motors drove a pair of inward-rotating<ref name=ST/> [[Propeller (marine)|screw propellers]].<ref name=LR/> Like ''Strathnaver'', ''Strathaird'' had three funnels but only the middle one served as a smoke stack: the first and third funnels were dummies.<ref name=TB/>

''Strathaird'' and ''Strathnaver'' were each equipped with [[direction finding]] equipment, an [[echo sounding]] device and a [[gyrocompass]]<ref name=LR/> As built, ''Strathaird'' had accommodation for 498 first class and 668 tourist class passengers.<ref name=SSM/>

==Service==
[[File:StateLibQld 1 250796 Cruise ship Strathaird leaving port, Hamilton, Brisbane.jpg|thumb|left|[[Stern]] view of RMS ''Strathaird'' in her original form, leaving [[Hamilton, Queensland|Hamilton]] on the [[Brisbane River]]]]
[[File:C1950 PO Liner Strathaird.jpg|thumb|left|RMS ''Strathaird'' in [[Fremantle Harbour]] in about 1950, with only one funnel after her 1947 refit]]
''Strathaird'' joined ''Strathnaver'' on the [[Port of Tilbury|Tilbury]] — [[Port of Brisbane|Brisbane]] route ''via'' the [[Suez Canal]]. However, in December 1932, ''Strathaird'' became the first P&O ship to work a cruise, when she took a five-day excursion from Sydney to [[Norfolk Island]]. Later in the 1930s, she made occasional cruises from UK ports.<ref name=TB/>

In 1939<ref name=SSM/> or 1940,<ref name=ST/> the two sisters were requisitioned as [[Troopship|troop ships]]. ''Strathaird'' made two [[Convoy#World War II|convoy]] voyages taking troops from Australasia to the [[Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre|Middle East Theatre]] of the Second World War and then went to [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]] for a refit. This was interrupted in June 1940 when ''Strathaird'' was ordered to take part in [[Operation Aerial]] to evacuate British and Allied personnel from western France. ''Strathaird'' evacuated 6,000 civilians and troops from the port of [[Brest, France|Brest]].<ref name=SSM/> In 1941, she supported the transfer of the first unit of Foresters from British Honduras (Belize) to Trinidad before transporting 114 Foresters to Greenock, Scotland.{{clarify|date=June 2021}} She remained a troop ship until the end of 1946 when she was returned to P&O.<ref name=SSM/>

P&O had Vickers-Armstrong refit and overhaul ''Strathaird'', starting in 1947 and completing work in January 1948. Her capacity for first class passengers was increased to 573 and her tourist class accommodation was reduced to 496.<ref name=SSM/> This reduced her total passenger capacity from 1,166 to 1,069. Her dummy first and third funnels were removed,<ref name=SSM/> which made ''Strathaird'' look more like her later sisters ''Stratheden'', ''Strathallan'' and ''Strathmore''.

In 1954, P&O had ''Strathaird'' refitted again.<ref name=SSM/> First class was abolished and all accommodation was made tourist class, which increased total passenger capacity from 1,069 to 1,252.<ref name=SSM/> ''Strathaird'' made her first departure from Tilbury in her new form on 8 April 1954.<ref name=SSM/>

At the beginning of the 1960s, ''Strathnaver'' and ''Strathaird'' were almost three decades old and no longer reliable enough for mail and passenger service, so P&O replaced both ships with {{SS|Canberra}}.<ref name=SSM/> P&O sold ''Strathnaver'' and ''Strathaird'' for scrap to Shun Fung Ironworks of Hong Kong.<ref name=ST/><ref name=SSM/> ''Strathaird'' left Tilbury on 17 June 1961 for Hong Kong, where she became the first of the "Strath" class liners to be scrapped.<ref name=SSM/> ''Strathnaver'' followed her to the breakers in 1962.<ref name=ST/>

==Notable passengers==
[[File:KischMelbourne1934.JPG|thumb|left|[[Egon Kisch]] aboard ''Strathaird'' in [[Port of Melbourne|Melbourne]], November 1934.]]

===Egon Kisch===
{{main|Attempted exclusion of Egon Kisch from Australia}}
In November 1934, the [[History of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)|Czechoslovak]] Communist writer, journalist and opponent of Nazism [[Egon Kisch]] sailed on ''Strathaird'' to Australia to speak at a conference organised by the communist [[Movement Against War and Fascism]] to mark the [[1934 Centenary of Melbourne|Centenary of Melbourne]]. When the ship called at [[Fremantle Harbour]] on 6 November, Federal authorities boarded her, told Kisch that he would be excluded from Australia under the [[Immigration Restriction Act 1901]], and placed him in the custody of ''Strathaird''{{'}}s [[Sea captain|master]], Captain Carter.

On 12 November, ''Strathaird'' reached [[Port of Melbourne|Melbourne]], where a barrister for the Communist [[International Labor Defense]] organisation boarded her and served Captain Carter with a writ of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' to allow Kisch ashore to make his case for entry to the country. Australian authorities still did not allow Kisch ashore, so on 13 November, as ''Strathaird'' was leaving Melbourne, he leapt from the deck and landed on [[Station Pier]], breaking his right leg. [[Victoria Police]] detained him and put him back aboard, but as ''Strathaird'' continued to [[Port Jackson|Sydney Harbour]] Kisch's supporters took his case to the [[High Court of Australia]], which ruled his exclusion from the country to be invalid.

On 16 November, ''Strathaird'' reached Sydney Harbour, where Federal authorities tried to use the [[Immigration Restriction Act 1901#Dictation test|Immigration Restriction Act dictation test]] to exclude him. [[New South Wales Police Force|NSW police]] took Kisch into custody but released him on bail and, after further legal process, he remained in Australia speaking to public meetings until March 1935.

===Cricket teams===
''Strathaird'' carried the [[Australian cricket team in England in 1948|1948 Australian cricket team]], nicknamed "The Invincibles", to England.

In September–October 1960, ''Strathaird'' carried members of the West Indies cricket team, who had been playing league cricket in England, from [[Tilbury]] to [[Fremantle]] and took them back in February–March 1961.

===David Hill===
Australian public administrator and businessman [[David Hill (businessman)|David Hill]] migrated to Australia together with two brothers aboard the ''Strathaird'' in April 1959.

===Olivia Newton-John===
[[Olivia Newton-John]] was a passenger, when as a young girl aged 5, she traveled to Australia from England with her family.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=30133959&S=4&N=26&R=0#/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=30133959&T=P&S=4 | title=RecordSearch - National Archives of Australia }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Harnack |first=Edwin P |orig-year=1903 |year=1938 |title=All About Ships & Shipping |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |location=London |edition=7th }}
* {{Cite book |last=Talbot-Booth |first=E.C. |orig-year=1936 |year=1942 |title=Ships and the Sea |edition=Seventh |publisher=[[Sampson Low]], Marston & Co. Ltd |location=London }}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Strathaird (ship, 1932)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strathaird}}
[[Category:1931 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:Cruise ships]]
[[Category:Ocean liners of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships of P&O]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Troop ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Turbo-electric steamships]]