SS Asturias

From Launch to Scrap - the Asturias Story

These photographs were taken on board the Asturias in November 1948, by Pat Piggott. His wife Irene (Rene) and son Michael are pictured with other passengers. If you can identify them, please let us know.

Who Are They?

From Launch to Scrap The Asturias Story

Photo at left: Launch of MV Asturias, 1925, Belfast. Source: New York Library Public Collection
[Click on photo to enlarge]

The Glasgow Herald
September 13, 1957

HMS Asturias II, the second Royal Mail Line ship of that name, was built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast and was registered to Royal Mail Meat Transports, Ltd. (a Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. subsidiary).

1925

Launched in Belfast on 7th July 1925 by the Duchess of Abercorn, wife of Northern Ireland's Governor General, she made her maiden voyage from Southampton to La Plata (River Plate), Argentina, on 26 February 1926 with Capt E W E Morrison in command.

1932

In 1932, Asturias was re-registered to Royal Mail Lines, Ltd., together with the rest of the Meat Transports fleet.

Originally fitted with diesel engines, Asturias was refitted in 1934 with turbine engines, and made her first voyage as a steamer in September of that year.

1937

Below - the Asturias leaving the UK for South America in 1937.

(Photo reproduced with kind permission of Roger Cullingham, UK. Copyright - permission must be sought to copy or download this image).

1939

After being taken over as an armed merchant cruiser in 1939, her forward funnel was removed, leaving her with only a single stack.

1943

While serving in the South Atlantic in 1943, she was torpedoed and badly damaged by an Italian submarine, and was towed to Freetown, where she was abandoned as a total loss.

1945

The British Government took her over in 1945 and had her towed first to Gibraltar, and then to Belfast, for repairs.

1946 to 1952

From 1946 to 1952 the Asturias made 23 trips to Australia, bringing over 30,000 people, mostly from the UK, to Australia.

1952 to 1957

From 1952 to 1957 the Asturias served as a troop carrier. Although this site is devoted to the ship's service as a passenger vessel, a new section about her service as a troop carrier is under construction. There are some great websites that also refer to her service as a troop carrier, such as: www.servicepals.com and the website of the Australian War Memorialwww.awm.gov.au.

See the ship's voyage logs for details of repairs and all voyage dates.

1957

In September 1957 the Asturias was sold for breaking up. Some of the teak from Asturias was made into garden furniture by shipbreakers Hughes and Bolckow, a lot of which still exists in the UK.

Interestingly, before being broken up she was lent by another breaker, Thomas W. Ward to the Rank Organisation for use in the film "A Night to Remember". Asturias' port side was used to depict Titanic in the life-boat lowering scenes of the film even as the shipbreakers were at work on the starboard side. Once filming was completed, demolition was as well.

[Sources: Haws' Merchant Fleets; Mallett and Bell's the Pirrie-Kylsant Motorships] .

You can read an account of Asturias' last journey by David Hamilton, Private, 1st Batallion to the Royal Sussex Regiment, who travelled on the final voyage in August 1957

LAUNCH OF MV ASTURIAS
1925, BELFAST
Lord Kylsant, Chairman of Harland and Wolff (centre) and Lady Abercorn (left). On the right are Charles Payne, Managing Director of the Belfast shipyards, and Lady Kylsant.

Photo reproduced with the kind permission of Harland & Wolff Photographic Collection, National Museums, N. Ireland