RMS Maloja

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company placed the order for RMS "Maloja" with Harland and Wolff Ltd on 29 November 1918. She was given the yard No. 588 and work began on her in the Belfast shipyard. On the same date, an order was placed for her sister ship RMS Mooltan. Her interior design was in keeping with the high standards of the Line. Her public rooms were luxurious, beautifully decorated and lofty. All the cabins in first and second class had a portholes. The dining saloon, seated 330 was plainly but pleasantly panelled in the Georgian style, finished throughout in ivory white, with the doors and architraves in polished mahogany (see drawing below). The reading and music saloon was in the style of Louis XVI with large French windows. RMS "Maloja" was launched by Hon. Elsie Mackay the daughter of the company's chairman James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape, on 19 April 1923. The "Maloja" and the "Mooltan" were both very fine reliable ships and would eventually earn a great reputation for comfort and reliability and were known affectionately by the name “The Faithful Sister”. RMS "Maloja" was then put through her sea trials and was finally delivered on 25 October 1923. RMS "Maloja" and her earlier sister ship RMS "Mooltan" were the largest ships that could comfortably pass through the Suez Canal at that time.

Maiden voyage

On 2 November 1923 RMS "Maloja" took to the ocean on her maiden voyage. Like her sister, RMS "Mooltan", she had sacrificed speed for reliability and comfort. The "Maloja" had broad decks and would have a reputation for magnificent steadiness, although, because of her small rudder, handling would prove to be difficult. On 18 January 1924 the "Maloja" along with her sister "Mooltan" began running the fortnightly service between London and Sydney via Colombo and Melbourne. In November 1923 the "Maloja" found herself caught up in a dockworkers' strike in Australia and after a delayed departure was forced to abandon 6,000 tons of cargo sitting on the dockside. In March 1933 the "Maloja" ran aground in Adelaide but she was luckily re-floated without sustaining any damage apart from her captain's pride. In the January 1933 the "Maloja" was in Gibraltar Bay and was trying to load cargo from a lighter in very severe weather. She lost an anchor and 45 fathoms (82 m) of chain. In April 1935, P & O gave free passage on the "Maloja" to Mr Don Bradman and his wife Jessie. Don Bradman had been taken ill with acute appendicitis and subsequent peritonitis in the previous year whist on tour with the Australian cricket team in 1934.

Wartime requisition

On 11 September 1939 RMS "Maloja" was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to an armed merchant cruiser in Bombay, India which included having one of her funnels removed to increase the arc of the anti-aircraft guns. After the conversion she joined the Northern Patrol as H.M.S. "Maloja" with the number F26. The Northern Patrol had the unenviable task of covering the area between Shetland and Iceland. On 13 May 1940 H.M.S. "Maloja" intercepted a ship south-east of Iceland in position 63.00N, 10.20W. She claimed to be the Japanese vessel "Taki Maru" and although the captain suspected otherwise he was unable to send a boarding party due to the adverse weather conditions. As the weather cleared it became clear that she was in fact German, namely, the "La Coruna" of the Hamburg South American line. The German crew then proceeded to scuttle her to evade capture, and after they had abandoned ship and been picked out of the water by H.M.S. "Maloja", she sank with the aid of gunfire from the "Maloja".On 6 November 1941 H.M.S. "Maloja" was returned to P & O and she underwent a conversion to a troopship. She had her funnel reinstated, albeit a shorter version. In 1942 on 11 December she took part in the Allied landings in North Africa.

Peacetime and the return to commercial services

On 15 January 1947 RMS "Maloja" was returned once more to P & O and was berthed at the Royal Albert Dock in London where she was fully reconditioned by R & H Green & Silley Weir. She was now again ready to resume her commercial service along with her sister RMS "Mooltan". After the independence of the Republic of Indonesia in 1948 the repatriation of Dutch civilians back to the Netherlands was begun. In August 1950, RMS "Maloja" assisted with the repatriations and this was completed by 1951. On 19 January 1954 RMS "Maloja" arrived at the Tilbury, London, on her last voyage. On 2 April 1954 she made her last journey to Inverkeithing, Scotland. She had been sold to British Iron and Steel Corporation (Salvage) Ltd, for £165,000. In Inverkeithing she was handed over to Thomas W Ward Ltd who proceeded to break her up for scrap.

External links

* [http://portal.pohub.com/portal/page?_pageid=71,212201&_dad=pogprtl&_schema=POGPRTL The P & O Encyclopaedia]
* [http://www.titanic-titanic.com/harland_and_wolff.shtml Harland & Wolff 1]
* [http://www.harland-wolff.com/ Harland & Wolff 2]
* [http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/hx134report.html Report for Convoy HX134 H.M.S. Maloja]