Royal Mail Lines

RMS Andes

1939 steam turbine ocean liner and troop ship

1939 Harland and Wolff, Belfast 26,689 GRT 643.3 ft Scrapped
26,689GRT
Tonnage
643.3ft
Length
83.5ft
Beam
24knots
Speed
607passengers
Passengers

RMS Andes was a 26,689 GRT steam turbine Royal Mail Ship, ocean liner, cruise ship, and the flagship of the Royal Mail Lines fleet. She was the second Royal Mail ship to be named after the South American Andes mountain range. The first RMS Andes was an A-class liner launched in 1913. In 1929 that RMS Andes was converted into a cruise ship and renamed Atlantis.

The second Andes was built in Belfast in 1937–39 and completed at the outbreak of the Second World War. The Admiralty almost immediately requisitioned her as a troop ship and had her converted to carry about 4,000 troops. In troop service she broke three speed records for long-distance voyages.

Andes was converted back into a civilian liner in 1947. She entered civilian service in 1948 on RMSP's premier liner route between Southampton, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. For seven years she worked the route full-time, but from 1955 the frequency of her liner voyages decreased and she spent an increasing proportion of her time cruising. In 1959–60 she was converted at Flushing, Netherlands into a full-time cruise ship. She was scrapped at Ghent in 1971.

Text: Wikipedia — RMS Andes, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tonnage
26,689 GRT
Length
643.3 ft p/p
Beam
83.5 ft
Draught
29 ft 3 in
Speed
From 1939: 24 knots max
Passengers
1939 only: 607 passengers in 2 classes
Builder
Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number
1005
Launched
7 March 1939
Maiden voyage
26 September 1939
Out of service
4 May 1971
Owner
Royal Mail Lines
Port of registry
London
Propulsion
6 × steam turbines
Fate
Scrapped in Ghent, 1971
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