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in 1934 and retired from the water in 1963 after carrying about 500,000 passengers. A 23,371 ton passenger ship, the Orion was built to carry 486 first class, 653 tourist class passengers and 466 crew from Europe through the
Pacific to Australia. The construction of the ship was documented in
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s interior, recognized the need to adapt to the tropical and oceangoing conditions of life aboard ship. The result was an open air layout that made use of removable and folding walls, sliding glass doors, and relatively enormous promenade decks to keep cooling breezes flowing through spaces
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passengers could relax in. Rooms without access to the deck of the boat were also made to feel breezy by being as light and uncluttered as possible. Furnishings were chosen for their clean lines, wood given matte finishes, and columns left unadorned. Going past just being unadorned, the
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In 1958, she was converted to carry 342 Cabin Class and 722 Tourist Class passengers on an independent schedule and, in 1961, she became a single-class ship carrying a maximum of 1,691 passengers, although the demand for sea voyages to
Australia was declining.
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materials used extensively throughout the ship meant surfaces were more resistant to the effects of sea air, a first in liners. This was a new type of functional interior that could be linked to the functionality of a shipʼs exterior.
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returned to
Vickers Armstrong's yard in Barrow on 1 May 1946 to be refitted as a passenger liner. The refit took a year, and included a redesign to accommodate 546 First Class and 706 Tourist Class passengers.
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She was the first Orient Line to make a postwar voyage to
Australia, sailing from Tilbury on 27 February 1947. After that, her voyages included three cruises to the west coast of the US, including
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Her accommodation was originally designed for 486 First Class and 653 Tourist Class passengers, with a crew of 466. When sailing on cruise voyages she accommodated 600 passengers in a single class.
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She was then chartered by Otto
Friedrich Behnke GmbH as a floating hotel for the duration of the International Horticultural Exhibition in Hamburg, accommodating 1,150 guests.
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Her role as a troopship tapered off in the
Pacific theatre, but she still ferried troops around at 5,000 a time. By the time she was released from service in 1946,
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set sail from
Liverpool with 12th Corps and REME amongst others on board. It arrived at Freetown on 31 December 1942 and then Durban on 18 January 1943.
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was converted to a one-class ship, and her first voyage in that configuration began on 18 March 1958, taking immigrants to
Australia from Tilbury.
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was also the first
British ship to be fitted with air conditioning, though this was originally confined to the dining rooms.
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arrived in
Hamburg on 23 May 1963. The Exhibition ended on 30 September and, on 1 October, she left Hamburg for
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was retired in 1963, and left on her final voyage on 28 February 1963, sailing for Sydney, Australia, via
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had carried over 175,000 personnel and had steamed over 380,000 mi (610,000 km).
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alternated between voyages to Australia with short cruises until the outbreak of
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She was delivered to her owners in August 1935 and made a series of cruises from
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in the South Atlantic when the warship's steering gear malfunctioned and
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This article is about the British oceanliner Orion. For other ships, see
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was called "A landmark in the evolution of the modern liner" by the
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On 15 September 1941, while part of a convoy carrying troops to
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was one of many former passenger liners which took part in
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was called upon to evacuate civilians to Australia.
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653:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom
606:Mulliss, Steve. July 2003. RMS Orion History.
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189:steam, 6 x Parsons SRG turbines (24,100 shp)
521:, arriving back at Tilbury on 15 May 1963.
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634:, illustrated description of the ship.
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381:s first voyage as a troopship was to
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16:Ocean liner built for the Orient Line
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648:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
532:, where she was broken for scrap at
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554:"BFI Screenonline: Shipyard (1935)"
536:by Henri Spildooren and his team .
404:, she was following the battleship
340:slid into the Lancashire waters at
240:was an ocean liner launched by the
624:Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1937),
179:30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
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611:Van der Ven, Martin. RMS Orion.
594:40 Legends of New Zealand Design
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596:. Auckland, N.Z.: Godwit, 2006.
242:Orient Steam Navigation Company
82:Orient Steam Navigation Company
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673:Maritime history of Australia
630:Shipping Wonders of the World
256:The vessel's sister ship was
603:. New York: Macmillan, 1985.
218:(from 1961, 1,691 one class)
273:was an enlarged version of
43:State Library of Queensland
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586:"Orient Line - RMS Orion"
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658:Ships of the Orient Line
592:Lloyd Jenkins, Douglas.
426:s bow. She continued to
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387:Wellington, New Zealand
266:Design and construction
134:General characteristics
599:Maxtone-Graham, John.
559:British Film Institute
171:82 ft (25 m)
632:, pp. 1138–1146
459:On 17 December 1942
348:on 7 December 1934.
292:Architectural Review
262:, launched in 1936.
125:Broken for scrap at
663:New Zealand design
584:Goossens, Reuben.
330:Duke of Gloucester
601:Liners to the Sun
588:. ssMaritime.com.
391:Sydney, Australia
346:Barrow-in-Furness
342:Vickers Armstrong
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21:Orion (ship)
626:"RMS Orion"
565:1 September
452:(former SS
344:'s yard in
192:twin screws
143:Ocean liner
117:August 1935
668:1934 ships
642:Categories
578:References
449:West Point
385:, then to
247:Paul Rotha
184:Propulsion
100:Lancashire
540:Citations
519:Fremantle
515:Melbourne
428:Cape Town
402:Singapore
114:Completed
534:Boelwerf
334:Brisbane
313:bakelite
309:chromium
251:Shipyard
207:Capacity
106:Launched
78:Operator
507:Piraeus
474:Postwar
454:America
417:Revenge
415:rammed
408:Revenge
395:Orcades
277:Orontes
259:Orcades
176:Draught
152:23,371
149:Tonnage
88:Builder
50:History
357:Norway
324:Career
160:Length
129:, 1963
530:Temse
526:Orion
503:Orion
493:Orion
479:Orion
468:Orion
461:Orion
439:Orion
432:Orion
424:'
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413:Orion
383:Egypt
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361:Orion
338:Orion
332:from
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301:Orion
287:Orion
271:Orion
237:Orion
199:Speed
127:Temse
72:Orion
39:Orion
567:2021
517:and
511:Suez
447:USS
406:HMS
311:and
235:RMS
225:Crew
168:Beam
139:Type
122:Fate
70:RMS
67:Name
37:RMS
275:SS
154:GRT
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