The J & T Classes
Kindly supplied by David Milligan, originally published in BI News.
Built : 1927 by Sawn Hunter, Wigham Richardson, Newcastle..
Tonnage: 2, 190g, 905n, 2, 160 dwt.
Engines: Twin Screw 2 x Triple Expansion, 2, 750 IHP, 469 NHP. 14.2 Knots (Trials), 12 Knots.
Passengers: 10 first Class, 12 Second Class, 742 Deck.
Launched 16th May 1927, completed 16th June 1927. Yard Nos. 1230
Juna is a village in Mayurbhanj District, Orissa.
Juna had the distinction of being the sole ship built for British India in 1927. She was specifically designed for the Moulmein - Penang service calling at Tavoy and Mergui outward bound and Rangoon homeward bound. This apparently came about after the Victoria Point Agreement of 1925 of which I have no knowledge.
Her normal peacetime role was spent on a fortnightly service along the Burmese and Malaysian coast and remained as such until she was requisitioned on the 31st of August 1939. Apparently her name was too similar to a Royal Navy Ship, Juno, so she was renamed Fiona armed with two four-inch guns, three machine guns and reclassified as an Armed Boarding Steamer. She was employed in the Eastern Mediterranean until being bombed and sunk off Sidi Barrani on the 18th April 1941.
JUNA
Built: 1952 by Alexander Stephen and Sons, Govan, Glasgow.
Tonnage: 7, 583g, 4, 198n, 9, 417 dwt.
Engines: Single Screw 2S SA 2 x 8 Cylinder Sulzers Single Reduction Geared via Hydraulic Coupling. 8, 500 BHP. 16 Knots service. 18 Knots Trials.
Refrigerated space: 66, 000 cu. ft.
Launched 21st June 1951. Completed 22 February 1952 as Cornwall for the Federal S.N. Co. Ltd. Yard No. 627.
Juna is a village in Mayurbhanj District, Orissa.
The first in a completely new class of ships built for Federal, when the Company had no further use for them British India purchased three of the type over a period of two years. Although the ship was single screw she had two engines, two advantages in one concept, in the event of an engine failure the ship could maintain adequate speed on the remaining engine. The other attraction was that when manoeuvring at slow speed one engine was run in ahead, the other in astern giving instant power in either direction depending on how the electro-magnetic or hydraulic couplings were engaged. This particular ship had in fact hydraulic couplings which were not as effective as the electro-magnetic type.
British India purchased the Cornwall on the 25th August 1967 and she was mainly used on the Persian Gulf - Australia Service. Like her sisters that followed she became an early victim of containerisation. She was eventually sold to Great China Steel Enterprise Co. Ltd. on the 8th April 1971 and was broken up by Chuang Kuo Steel and iron Works at Kaohsiung the same year.
JUWARA
Built: 1952 by Alexander Stephen and Sons, Govan, Glasgow.
Tonnage: 7, 490g, 4, 048n, 10, 270 dwt.
Engines: Single Screw 2 x 9 Cylinder 2S CSA Sulzers Single Reduction Geared via Electro- Magnetic Coupling. 9, 000 BHP. 15 Knots service.
Refrigerated space: 82, 300 cu. ft.
Launched : 17th October 1951, completed June 1952 as Surrey. Yard No. 630
Juwara is a port in Oman.
Apart from major main engine/ auxiliary problems this ship had an uneventful career with Federal and was bought by British India on the 3rd September 1969 and renamed Juwara. On the 5th February 1970 she had a main engine explosion in Sydney, demolishing two pistons and made her second voyage to the UK for repairs on one engine. She lasted a further three years in BI before being sold for scrap on the 8th May 1972. She arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and work commenced on the 29th September by the Tung Cheng Steel Corporation.
JELUNGA
Built: 1953 by Alexander Stephen and Sons, Govan, Glasgow.
Tonnage: 7, 432g, 4, 032n, 10, 134 dwt.
Engines: Single Screw 2 x 10 Cylinder 2S CSA Sulzers Single Reduction Geared via Electro-Magnetic Coupling. 9, 000 BHP. 16 Knots service.
Refrigerated space: 84, 400 cu. ft.
Launched : 22nd September 1952, delivered 9th April 1953 as Middlesex for Federal S.N. Co. Ltd. Yard Nos. 631.
Jelunga is a river in the Nuddea District of Bengal.
The last of the class of three to be launched. She was slightly larger than her sister Cornwall and had more refrigeration space. She also had 10 cylinder Sulzers as opposed to Cornwall's 2 x 8. In her life with Federal she had a few mishaps, minor collisions at Avonmouth in 1953 and a fire in the auxillary boiler in 1962 for which she had to put into Falmouth for repairs. British India bought her on the 1st November 1968 and renamed her Jelunga. The second ship to carry the name. Her trading was Persian Gulf - Australia - New Zealand and on the 24th March she dragged her anchor at Abu Dhabi and was in collision with the Philippine registered ship Pillippine Jasmine doing considerable damage to the Jasmine's superstructure. On the 19th April 1973 she passed to P & O ownership, renamed Strathleven, like her sister ship Juna containerisation was to be her downfall, she was sold to Pakistan Electrical and Mechanical Constructors ltd., work commenced at Gadani Beach in January 1978.
The "T" Class
National Martime Museum.
Built: 1902 by William Denny & Bros, Dumbarton.
Tonnage: 6, 322g, 3, 651n, 7, 310 dwt.
Engines: Twin Screw, 2 x Triple Expansion, 6, 412 IHP, 531 NHP, 14.97 Knots (Trials).
Passengers: 38 First Class, 32 Second Class, 5, 691 Deck later reduced to 2, 444, 15 Officers, 90 ratings.
Launched 12th May 1902, completed 5th August 1902. Yard No. 665.
Tara is a group of Princely States in Gujerat.
Tara was the first of this class to be completed and was soon diverted from her intended service when she was requisitioned to carry troops to Somaliland for one of the many campaigns against the Mad Mullah. At the time of launch British India still used sail and the 'T' Class were fore and aft schooner rigged, therefore they carried two jibs, a main mast stay-sail, a foremast stay-sail, a fore mast fore-sail and a main mast main-sail. In October of 1914 she trooped to Marseilles and was requisitioned further between 1917 to 1919. Tara was sold for scrap to A. Kisagawa on the 3rd of August 1927 and work commenced at Osaka in 1928.
Kindly provided by David Milligan, originally from BI News.
Built: 1903 by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland.
Tonnage: 6, 296g, 3, 428n, 7, 250 dwt.
Engines: Twin Screw, 2 x Triple Expansion, 5, 371 IHP, 531 NHP, 14.14 Knots (Trials).
Passengers: 38 First Class, 32 Second Class, 2, 794 Deck, 105 Crew.
Launched 29th December 1902, completed July 1903. Yard No. 601.
Teesta is a large river in Northern Bengal.
One of a four ship build programme for the growing traffic on the Calcutta - Singapore route. Teesta was the first of a pair built at Laing's yard but all four were out of date before they were launched, all had First Class accommodation on the Poop with second Class quarters amidships. Originally they also had the facility to carry 5, 500 Deck passengers ranking them amongst the largest passenger carriers in service however the regulations were to change a few years after the ship's introduction and the numbers were greatly reduced. The two Laing ships for identification purposes had taller funnels and large ventilators immediately aft of the funnel as opposed to three set further back on the Clyde built pair. Teesta entered service on her Calcutta - Singapore route in the August of 1903 and remained uneventful until June of 1911 when she was in collision with a tug at Tanjong Pagar.
She was requisitioned in 1914 and trooped Karachi - Marseilles then Karachi - Suez her first voyage dating 25th August. On the 20th August 1915 she sailed from Marseilles bound for Port Said with troops but the trip was cancelled, eventually she was rerouted to Mudros. She became an Ambulance transport for non- bedridden troops in January of 1916, and in 1917 until December of 1919 came under the Liner Requisition scheme. During her time in the aforementioned role she actually transported Canadian troops to Vladivistok in an attempt to quell the Bolshevik Revolution, she wasn't the only British India ship to participate in this failed operation. After her War service she returned once more to her peace time role until the arrival of the Rajula and Rohna in 1926 making the 'T' Class ships redundant, she was sold for scrap to Torakichi Yamauchi in 1927 and she arrived at Kobe on the 17th of April, work commenced the following year.
Built: 1956 at John Brown and Co. (Clydebank) Glasgow.
Tonnage: 8, 199g, 4, 438n, 11, 302 dwt.
Engines: Single Screw 6 Cylinder 2S SA Doxford, 8, 000 BHP. 15.5 Knots.
Refrigerated space: 34, 500 cu.ft.
Launched 1st February 1956, completed 27th June 1956. Yard No. 686.
Tairea Leaving Sydney
Tairea is the name of two towns in Japan, also a village in Uttar Pradesh.
As in the case of the 'J' Class ships the three 'T' Class themselves were early victims of containerisation and were subsequently handed over to British India in 1970 in an attempt to extend the viability of the vessels. The Tairea was launched as the Salsette for P & O S.N. originally designed as cargo liners in fact no passengers were ever carried, along with her sister Salmara (Teesta) they were both fitted with fibreglass lifeboats, the first in the P & O Fleet. In 1966 she joined the Eastern & Australian Steam Ship Co. Ltd and renamed Aradina she remained in their service until transferring to British India ownership on the 26th March 1970. On acquiring the ship BI named her Tairea the second ship to carry this name but her stay was all too brief and she was handed back to her original owners on the 19th April 1973. In April 1975 she was renamed Strathlomond and continued for P & O until being sold to the Lenton Shipping Company Ltd. of Singapore and renamed United Viscount. She was eventually sold to Nan Eng Steel Enterprise Company and work began at Kaohsiung, Taiwan breaking her on the 20th June 1979.
Built: 1956 at John Brown and Co. (Clydebank) Glasgow.
Tonnage: 8, 199g, 4, 438n, 11, 292 dwt.
Engines: Single Screw 6 Cylinder 2S SA Doxford, 8, 000 BHP. 15.5 Knots.
Refrigerated space: 34, 500 cu.ft.
Launched 25th June 1956, completed 15th November 1956. Yard No. 687.
Teesta is a large river in Northern Bengal.
Originally launched as the Salmara for P & O she joined the Eastern & Australian Steam Ship Co. Ltd. at the same time as her sister Salsette and was renamed Arakawa. Both ships had prominent domes on the fore part of the funnel rather like the Nevasa which made them instantly recognisable.
She entered service for British India on the 28th August 1970 as the Teesta the third ship to carry the name, along with her sister ship she traded mainly New Zealand - Gulf. Handed back to P & O on the 19th April 1973 she was renamed Strathloyal. Just over two years later she was sold for the last time to Pakistani Breakers in November 1977 and work commenced at Gadani Beach by Jamal Enterprises Ltd. in January 1978.
Built: 1954 BY Barclay Curle & Co.,Glasgow.
Tonnage: 8, 774g, 4, 705n, 10, 746 dwt.
Engines: Single Screw, One Set Three Stage Parsons Turbines, 6, 800 BHP. 14 Knots.
Refrigerated space: 83, 700 cu.ft.
Launched 21st December 1953, completed December 1954. Yard No. 731.
Tanda is a town near the Gogra near Faizabad.
Certainly not a sister to the other two 'T' Class Ships by any stretch of the imagination nevertheless here she is. Completed for the Eastern-Australian Steam Ship Co. and named Arafura she served on the Company's Australia - China - Japan route. Another victim of containerisation she was handed over to British India on the 14th September 1970, prior to handover she was renamed Tanda in the March. The third BI ship to carry the name. The last steamship to enter the BI Fleet her stay was rather short and she was sold for scrap at Kaohsiung, Taiwan on the 9th May 1972, work commenced on the 22nd July by the Tung Cheng Steel Corporation of Taiwan.