 Regina inDominion Line livery | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Route | |
| Builder | Harland & Wolff,Govan |
| Yard number | 454 |
| Laid down | 13 November 1913 |
| Launched | 19 April 1917 |
| Completed | September 1918 |
| Maiden voyage | March 1922 |
| In service | 1922 |
| Out of service | 1946 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Refit | 1920, 1926 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 575.3 ft (175.4 m) |
| Beam | 67.8 ft (20.7 m) |
| Depth | 41.2 ft (12.6 m) |
| Decks | 4 |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Capacity |
|
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Notes | sister ships:Pennland,Doric |
SSWesternland was atransatlanticocean liner that was launched asRegina inScotland in 1917, renamedWesternland in 1929 and was scrapped in 1947. She began her career as atroop ship repatriating US troops after theArmistice of 11 November 1918. In theSecond World War,Westernland served as a troop ship,repair ship and destroyerdepot ship.
In her career of almost three decades she wasregistered in theUnited Kingdom,Germany and theNetherlands and passed through the hands of at least eight different owners and operators, including several notabletransatlantic shipping lines and theRoyal Navy.
Dominion Line, a subsidiary of theInternational Mercantile Marine Company (IMM), orderedRegina in 1913.[1]Harland & Wolff built her on slip A in itsGovan yard, launching her on 19 April 1917.[2] Herregistered length was 575.3 ft (175.4 m), herbeam was 67.8 ft (20.7 m) and her depth was 41.2 ft (12.6 m).[3]
Although designed as an ocean liner, in theFirst World War she was completed as a troop ship with an incomplete superstructure, only one funnel and only one mast. On 26 October Harland & Wolff delivered her to the IMM's British and North Atlantic Steam Navigation Company.[2][4] Her UKofficial number was 140596 and she wasregistered inLiverpool.[4]
Regina had threescrews. A pair of four-cylindertriple-expansion steam engines drove herport and starboard screws. Exhaust steam from their low-pressure cylinders powered a low-pressuresteam turbine that drove her middle screw.[3] Sources disagree as to the combined power of the three engines: one cites it as 9,460ihp[5] and another cites it as 12,200 ihp.[2] Between them the three engines gave her a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h).[6]
Harland & Wolff'sBelfast yard built twosister ships for IMM:Pittsburgh (later namedPennland), laid down in 1913 and launched in 1920,[7] andDoric, launched in 1922 and completed in 1923.[8]Doric differed fromRegina andPittsburgh by having twin screws and pure turbine propulsion.[9]
From December 1918Regina sailed between Liverpool andBoston repatriating US troops and carrying emigrants.[1] In August 1920Regina arrived at Harland & Wolff's Belfast yard for completion as an ocean liner. Her upper promenade deck, second funnel and second mast were added and berths for 2,300 passengers: 600 cabin-class and 1,700 third class.[2] Her holds also had 50,480 cubic feet (1,429 m3) ofrefrigerated space for perishable cargo.[10]
IMM transferredRegina to another of its subsidiaries,Frederick Leyland and Company. On 16 March 1922 began her first voyage for Leyland Line from Liverpool toPortland, Maine viaHalifax, Nova Scotia. On 29 April she left Liverpool again, this time on her first voyage toQuebec andMontreal. She made her last Leyland Line voyage on this route in November 1925.[2]
Leyland Line charteredRegina toWhite Star Line. Her first voyage for White Star Line began on 12 December 1925 from Liverpool toNew York via Halifax. In June 1926 she was refitted for White Star Line with accommodation for cabin class, tourist class and third class passengers. Her last White Star Line voyage was in November 1929 from Liverpool to Montreal viaBelfast,Glasgow and Quebec.[2]
At the end of 1929Red Star Line chartered 'S.S. Regina' and renamed her 'Westernland' .[3] Her first Red Star Line voyage began on 10 January 1930 fromAntwerp to New York viaLe Havre andSouthampton. In 1934 IMM sold the Red Star Line toArnold Bernstein.[11] Her last Red Star Line voyage for IMM was on the same route and began on 30 November that year.[2]
Bernstein registeredWesternland inHamburg[12] and had her refitted to carry 486 tourist class passengers. Her route remained Antwerp – Southampton – New York. Her first Red Star voyage for Bernstein began on 29 March 1935, and her last began on 6 May 1939.[2]
In 1939Nazi Germany exiled Bernstein, and his German businesses were dissolved.Holland America Line bought the Red Star Line fleet includingWesternland,[13] which it registered inRotterdam.[14] That June she resumed service on the Antwerp – Southampton – New York route.[2] On 15–18 October 1939 she was in Rotterdam, which was not one of her usual ports of call.[15]
On 10 April 1940Westernland left Antwerp for New York as usual.[2] On 10 May Germanyinvaded the Netherlands andBelgium, and on the same dayWesternland took refuge inFalmouth Bay.[15]
On 7 June 1940Westernland left Falmouth Bay forAvonmouth. She shuttled between Avonmouth,Newport, Wales and Falmouth until 12 July. On 14 JulyWesternland reached Liverpool[15] – the same day as her sisterPennland reached Liverpool from Halifax inConvoy HX 54.[16]
On 31 August 1940Westernland andPennland left Liverpool under escort[15] as part of the task force forthe capture of Dakar.Westernland carried theFree French GeneralCharles de Gaulle[17] and reachedFreetown inSierra Leone on 20 September.[15]
On 25 October 1940Westernland left Freetown. She called atTakoradi on theGold Coast and continued viaCape Town toDurban, where she arrived on 15 November. She spent most of the next 10 months as atroopship in theIndian Ocean, visitingMombasa,Bombay,Suez,Colombo,Aden,Port Sudan,Massawa,Singapore,Fremantle andSydney.[15] When laden,Westernland carried more than 2,000 troops. The highest number recorded was 2,866 from Aden to Colombo in March 1942.[18]
On 30 September 1942Westernland left Durban and the Indian Ocean. She called at Cape Town,Pernambuco andHampton Roads, and reached New York on 13 November.[15] In November 1942 theAdmiralty boughtWesternland and had her converted into a repair ship. Herpennant number was F 87.[2]
In December 1942Westernland returned to Britain with Convoy HX 219.[15] In January 1943 she was converted again, into a destroyer depot ship.[19]
In 1945Westernland was transferred to theMinistry of War Transport, who contractedCunard-White Star Line to manage her. In October 1946 the South Georgia Company bought her, intended to have her converted into awhalingfactory ship, and contractedChristian Salvesen to manage her.[5]
However, the South Georgia Company abandoned its plan, and instead soldWesternland toHughes, Bolckow and Company for scrap. On 1 August 1947 she arrived at Blyth,Northumberland to bebroken up.[5]
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