Does anybody know if there are any pictures of the Troop Ship The Cythia around?. She carried 2Para to Algiers in 1942 and before the troops had disembarked she was hit by an aerial torpedo. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Dave
Does anybody know if there are any pictures of the Troop Ship The Cythia around?. She carried 2Para to Algiers in 1942 and before the troops had disembarked she was hit by an aerial torpedo. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Dave Hi Dave, I think this is the same ship (torpedoed 1942 - limped in to Algiers): P&O suffered heavily during Operation "Torch", losing the new troopship Ettrick, the Viceroy of India and the Cathay, with their worst loss occurring in December 1942 when the 24,000-ton troopship Strathallan was torpedoed and sunk. British India lost the Narkunda and the Karanja, Union-Castle lost the Warwick Castle and the Dutch lost the Nieuw Zeeland. Union-Castle's Langibby Castle and Furness Withy's Monarch of Bermuda were damaged by fire from the French shore batteries at Oran (which also fired at Hood during her bombardment of the French naval base on 3rd July 1940). Cunard's Scythia was hit by an aerial torpedo and had to remain at Algiers where she was used for a short spell as a naval accommodation ship. Anchor Line's Cameronia (renamed Empire Clyde in 1953) on her second trip to North Africa was torpedoed, eventually being repaired at Gibraltar. The Strathnaver was used in training manoeuvres for the North African landings and during the landings, while under fire, she ferried survivors from the Cathay and Karanja from Bougie to Algiers. In May and June 1943 the Strathnaver was stationed in the Red Sea and was again used in training for the forthcoming Italian landings. from: Troopships and Trooping and Scythia Built by Vickers-Armstrong Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, England, 1921. 19,730 gross tons; 624 (bp) feet long; 73 feet wide. Steam turbine engines, twin screw. Service speed 16 knots. 2,206 passengers (337 first class, 331 second class, 1,538 third class). Built for Cunard Line, British flag, in 1921 and named Scythia. Liverpool-New York service. Troopship 1939-48. Liverpool-Eastern Canada service 1950-57. Scrapped in Scotland in 1958. From: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~knappdb/ships_S.htm Tom.
Thanks Tom that is spot on. My grandad was on the Cynthia when it was attacked and I needed to see a picture of it so I could describe it for the novel I am currently writing. Cheers Dave
.... the Troop Ship The Cythia around... .... on the Cynthia when it was attacked and I needed to see a picture of it so I could describe it for the novel I am currently writing. Pity the proof reader lol!!
Hi Dave, I think this is the same ship (torpedoed 1942 - limped in to Algiers): from: Troopships and Trooping and From: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~knappdb/ships_S.htm Tom. Sadly my late father didn't write any dates on the back of the post card but my mother seems to think it is some time between August and September 1953. This would be when my father would be on his way back from Hong Kong after doing his stint in Malaya. Cheers Kevin
Dave Are you certain that they were on the Scythia? According to most reports she was struck by the aerial torpedo on 23rd November 1942. However by that date the 2nd Battalion had been ashore and clear of the docks for about ten days. Also the war diary makes a specific mention of the escorting warships firing depth charges on the 11th. As such I am certain that if their vessel had been hit by a torpedo or encountered any other similar incident it would have merited a mention. John
