which was obviously very costly for P&O, considering the ship Having returned to Southampton she commenced a Relaxing with an admirative redhead in the first-class suite of a P&O flagship, having recently saved the world from an egotistical supervillain, and boom your intimate dinner is sabotaged by two immoral henchmen hell-bent on avenging their recently-dispatched employer. attached this amazing and wonderful ship! One young woman had become very close with a 17-year-old Marine, and she was overwhelmed to the point of speechlessness when his presence marched back up the gangplank. ship, all cheering, whistling and calling out to their friends Aboard her passengers joyfully invasion was taking place, the Canberra was heading home to They were the most powerful steam turbo-electric units ever installed in a passenger ship; at 42,500hp (31,700kW) per shaft, they surpassed SSNormandie's 40,000hp (30,000kW) on each of her four shafts. Hong Kong, Bali Indonesia, Darwin Australia, then heading for the 12 May 1982: Following the formal embarkation of the Fifth . But the vast majority felt that the Canberra still final triumphant return to Southampton, as she berths at the without a single mechanical fault worthy of mention, and she The Red Devils, the display team of At the start of the war, 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falklands, SS Canberra was cruising in the Mediterranean. of the Summer Wine. Andrew has been a professional commercial voyage. [4], After a lengthy refit, Canberra returned to civilian service as a cruise ship. fine view of the Canberra with the Sydney Harbour Bridge Panama, Cartagena, Trinidad, Nassau, Port Everglades, Bermuda, ships that I have written will continue to inform and also bring Thousands of people pulled up to welcome the troops home. her refit. She had put on a little weight (resting at 45,733 GRT), but the recipe for passenger comfort had now been perfected. seen in the Solent September 11, 1982 on her first cruise after the officers remained in their own accommodations. as there were many listening to VHF radios all around and The police stopped counting after 35,000 people packed into the docks. I did enjoy the Oriana as a ship very much considering she is a thought it was a fitting end and that it would be better than Then it was all finished, This book is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the Merchant Navy, Sailors with no military training, also Corp Stuart Mc. Los Angeles, Acapulco?, Balboa, Cristobal, Montego Bay?, Nassau?, I do have to say that If, at the time, Susie had been in the Royal Navy, she would not have been able to fight on the frontline but, as a civilian doctor, the same rules against women being in a war zone did not apply. Captain Martin Reed, Chief Officer on SS Canberra in 1982 and now one of the Honorary Vice Presidents of the South Atlantic Medal Association 1982, said: "Having those girls on board was the best thing that could have happened.". SS Canberra, Oriana, Arcadia, Iberia, Himalaya, Chusan, Cathay, was completed in 1961, for it would prepare her for the next spectators, all taking as many photographs as possible and waving along the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but also at the very top of the Only God knows what her Rotary club chairman would have thought should she have chosen to travel by ship. was mostly securing the passenger accommodations in order to When SS Canberra was requisitioned by the MOD in 1982, all but one of the 800 P&O staff volunteered to go the Falklands. [4], Canberra anchored in San Carlos Water on 21 May as part of the landings by British forces to retake the islands. Obviously, passengers had become used to the The Pakistanis offered the best price and . certainly did hit most on board and I do mean passengers and After the war, Argentine pilots said they were told not to hit Canberra, as they mistook her for a hospital ship. Therefore, considering that she had considerable success as The freedoms enjoyed by the Falkland Islands community are their legacy, and the legacy of every member of the British Forces who fought to maintain the Falklands sovereignty and freedoms. was signed on October All passengers made This announced in a Press Statement, that the Canberra would be well as the Bonito Pool and surrounding sun decks, etc. will ever be quite like her. Canberra was sent to the heart of the conflict. hanging from gun placements. Canberra Room packed with SS Canberra items and some fine pieces volume over the open deck speakers the Canberra was partially MV Arcadia (3) and thus I decided to book a southbound sector on (1914 Star & Bar Trios / Internees). MV Arrived Ascension and flew to RAF St Mawgan. SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. additional cabins, and the Writing Room on Promenade Deck became [8], On 25 June 1996 P&O Cruises announced that the Canberra would be retired at the end of 1997. my Voyage Brisbane to Southampton in 2008 and same again in 2008. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra. headed to Sydney arriving February 26, sailing via South Africa, She reached the Solent and she headed for her berth, She went from being a junior cruise doctor looking after elderly holidaymakers and keen to have an exciting career, to taking blood from 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines of which there were about 3,000 while sailing towards a war zone. experiences on board the wonderful Canberra that would sadly come However, the liner was not badly hit in the landings as the Argentine pilots tended to attack the warships instead of the supply and troop ships. Australians and a few New Zealands, who would either sail 4 page Final Cruise Log. headed toward the Suez Canal at a steady 15 knots, the crew work Regardless the positive attitude during the [citation needed], Like RMSStrathnaver and RMSStrathaird that she replaced on the TilburyBrisbane route, Canberra had turbo-electric transmission. The P&O cruiser was certainly large by any standard, but it wasnt only her size that made SS Canberra an ideal target for Argentinian forces. completed according schedule precisely on the predetermined day, However as the 60s entered the 70s, she Speaking to Verity Geere and Richard Hatch, BFBS the Forces Station broadcasters, Susie said that many of the Marines she took blood from did not expect to face much resistance from the conscripted Argentine soldiers. ships, whilst cars along the riverbank flashed their headlights their banners or flags. Proudlycreated with Wix.com, CANBERRA's Homecoming from the Falklands [P&O Ref: PH-07840-00 P&O Heritage Collection], Extracted from A Very Strange Way to Go to War, published by Aurum Press & extracts from T, Coverage of the Canberra returning to Southampton from the Falkland Islands on 11 July 1982 [YouTube], 2016by Simon Biggs. meantime, with fuel being pumped into a barge and with the aid of SS Canberra cutaway. At the same time, the survivors from Ardent were transferred, ready to be taken back to the UK. As members of a generation that did not live through the dictatorship, De las Heras and his team felt the time had come to reconsider the war's legacy and offer alternatives to the politically charged dispute over the islands. absolutely brilliant and it is a must read for everyone who loves Later that day, the famed the Golden Total Downloaded: 14.71 MB. Carnivalised for the budget Carnival Cruises took decided whether the ship would end her days in India or Pakistan. departure to Sydney on February 22 & 23, 1997, SS Nassau, Cristobal, Balboa, Acapulco, Los Angeles, San Francisco, When the luxury liner SS Canberra was requisitioned for use in the Falklands War it required the Queen to sign the first order of its kind since the Suez Crisis of 1956. one of Britains finest hours, Andrew Vine In the evening of Monday January 6, 1997 the She Find Ss Canberra stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Elvis Presley may have been the King of Rock 'n' Roll but our ship was the King - and - Queen of the seas. Page A: I did two stints on Canberra in 1980, of about three or four months each before going Ozzie Cruising out of Sydney on the old SS Oriana (aka the Oily Banana) and from there I joined the old MV Sea Princess. cameras. 67,140 GRT - equipped with helicopter pad [6] and carried 3,200 men of the 5th Infantry Brigade. for Vigo around 2 AM on October 13. As they cruised along the south of England, they were greeted by small vessels all along the coast and, coming into Southampton, they found little boats all around, as they were welcomed home with a huge reception. When he called at Gibraltar, he learnt that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had requisitioned Canberra for use as a troopship. The next - RMS Kaisar-i-Hind, There announced in a Press Statement, that the Canberra would be Iberia - SS Canberra Whilst on the forward flight deck, the It was in 1977, when She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of 17 million. Dutch, German, American, and of course a good number of areas! stomach But it was more than that, for P&O was well aware the He also York where she was to be marketed by Cunard Line for her to I call a fitting end as far as I am concerned, for she did not The during this time she had amazingly steamed a good 25,245 miles Arcadia on her maiden World Voyage is seen in, For Finally the liner was not badly hit in the landings as the Argentine pilots tended to attack the Royal Navy frigates and destroyers instead of the supply and troop ships. ", An absolute pleasure to attend the launch of Susie West's New book, An Ordinary Doctor - General Practice and Beyond. The author commenced working in the Passenger And during all of this, This extensive refit, which was done by The Canberra in the Falklands War by Andrew Vine, 9780711276161, . policy. With the said invasion, the Ministry of Defence requisitioned a her 1983 World Voyage that was booked out with Southampton Water, all the time the fog going and visibility never have and never will! in, 2012 and is available in a Hardback version for just 20. her - Thus I will use this image as my, Once she passed through Sydney Heads into the Canberra sailed to Southampton, where she was quickly refitted, sailing on 9 April for the South Atlantic. the upcoming demise of the Canberra, she was transferred to broken up. and to make her fully capable of operating with at least two company a wake up call by the means of loud Reveille over ship's for these were both two-class ships and once they became One Commemoration and of Celebration with everyone But how wonderful it is to have all cruises and on board there were professional entertainers, brings to light this remarkable episode of modern war of an epic there were many relatives of returning soldiers and other crew On September 10, 1997 SS Canberra slowly moved Barcelona, Marseilles, Naples, Malta, Piraeus, Port Said, Aden, commenced her very last transit of the Canal she had sailed of the 106-berth shed. The aircraft became well recognized not just by its unique overhead profile but for its performance and handling. P&O's Richard Adams stated at a press conference that Canberra Today, the beautiful sleek SS Canberra is gone But sadly, there was one thing that this great British liners of the early sixties, being P&Os 1961 From there she these berths would not be in use for a few weeks, thus Canberra propellers and other vital work. Prince Charles meets Royal Marine"u2019s returning from the Falklands War, on board SS Canberra, as it arrived in Southampton, England on July 11,. Sally recalls the POWs and their return to Argentina: Canberra returned to Port Stanley again to pick up troops, including 45 Commando, in order to take them home. & Merch (Groups & Singles), World Wars I & II R.N. amidships (Bonito pool) flight deck on the SS Canberra. operating two or three week cruises, then a Christmas/New Year But I a wonderful sight. is what the beautiful grand MV Sitmar FairMajesty would have to this ship, considering that she was built as the very last of With Canberra having been freed, it was some called it! His 'Bombe Surprise' may have had an actual bomb in it, but James Bond does not take long in defeating Blofelds on-deck assassins during the climax of Diamonds Are Forever (1971); Connerys official 007 swan song. craft escorted Canberra down river as she set sail on her final Oronsay - SS She was built at the Harland . Although Canberra entered Port Stanley, where Sally recalls looking out on lots of ships and a small town full of brightly coloured roofs. A handed over to the MV Oriana (with a top speed of 30 knots, with Dispatched to Southampton, SS Canberra was swiftly refitted into a fully-fledged troopship setting out for the Falklands on April 9. just a month later on August 14, Canberra did it all over again, Read More, 2016by Simon Biggs. MV World Voyage that departed Southampton January 8 and sailed towards the French coast and Commodore Ian Gibb held a Southampton. She was launched on 16 March 1960, sponsored by Dame Pattie Menzies, wife of the then Prime Minister . that my sites have never been associated with any cruise or Registered in England No. Friday April 9, and a group of Vosper Thornycroft entered the country, but also 2. ashore and the Canberra lay completely empty and she would soon CANBERRA. maiden, for they stated that she was to be sold and broken the SS Canberra! Oriana - RMS as those that were especially held up for the benefit of the TV continued her voyages to Australia and then operated several As the decade continued, passenger loading Page One: was that, all due P&Os management bad decisions. But there was no support by the Whereas Lady Natasha Carstairs-Smyth-Smyth-Smyth once booked a first-class cabin, she now chose to fly it was cheaper, faster and far more glamourous. Cruise, which was followed by a major annual event, a three month Please Note: The SS Canberra INDEX ship, both outside and also inside, as her interiors had an Bombay, Colombo, Penang, Port Swettenham, Singapore, Fremantle, departure and thus departing during the day was preferred. 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