RMS Rangitane
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Rangitane |
| Owner: | New Zealand Shipping Company |
| Route: | Britain - New Zealand |
| Builder: | John Brown & Company |
| Yard number: | 522 |
| Completed: | 27 May 1929 |
| Fate: | sunk 27 November 1940 by German raiders |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 16,712 tons |
| Length: | 530ft |
| Beam: | 70ft |
| Installed power: | 9,300hp |
| Propulsion: | Brown Sulzer engines driving twin screws |
| Capacity: |
|
| Crew: | 200 |
The RMS Rangitane was a passenger liner owned by the New Zealand Shipping Company. She was one of three sister ships (the other sisters were Rangitata and Rangitiki) delivered to the company in 1929 for the All-Red Route between Britain and New Zealand. Rangitane was built by John Brown & Company and launched on 27 May 1929.
The three ships each displaced 16,700 tons, 530 feet in length and nearly 70 feet in the beam. They could carry nearly 600 passengers in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, 200 crew members and substantial cargo. They had Brown Sulzer diesel engines with a total output of 9,300HP, turning twin propellers. In wartime, they carried only token armament. On Rangitane's final voyage she was armed with a 4.7"gun with only 40 rounds of ammunition.
On her final voyage, which had been delayed by labour disputes, she carried 14,000 tons of cargo, including foodstuffs and silver bullion, valued at over £2 million at 1940 prices. She carried 111 passengers, including CORB nurses, Polish sailors, servicemen and Radar technicians. The Captain was Lionel Upton, a naval reservist who had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his "services in action with enemy submarines" during his command of auxiliary boats based at Scapa Flow during World War I.
Rangitane left Auckland harbour in the early afternoon of Sunday 24 November 1940, en route to Britain via the Panama Canal. She was intercepted early on the morning of 27 November, 300 miles east of New Zealand, by the German surface raiders Komet and Orion and their support ship Kulmerland. Another ship, the SS Holmwood, had been stopped and sunk by the German raiders on 24 November, but warning of the danger had not been passed on to the Rangitane. This was later held to have been a factor in her sinking.
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Wikipedia