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HMT Empire Windrush
HMT Empire Windrush was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV Monte Rosa. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to South America, and as a cruise ship. During World War II, she was taken over by the German navy and used as a troopship. During the war, she survived two Allied attempts to sink her.
After World War II, the United Kingdom seized the ship as a prize of war and renamed her HMT Empire Windrush. She remained in British service as a troopship until 1954.
In June 1948, Empire Windrush arrived at the Port of Tilbury near London, carrying 1,027 passengers and two stowaways who embarked at Trinidad, Jamaica, Mexico and Bermuda. The passengers included people from many parts of the world but the great majority were West Indian.
Empire Windrush was not the first ship to carry a large group of West Indian people to the United Kingdom, as two other ships (the SS Ormonde and the SS Almanzora) had arrived the previous year. But her 1948 voyage became very well-known and a symbol of post-war migration to Britain. British Caribbean people who came to the United Kingdom in the period after World War II, including those who came on other ships, are often referred to as the Windrush generation.
On 28 March 1954, while in the western Mediterranean Sea, an explosion and fire in the engine room killed four people. The fire could not be controlled and the ship was abandoned; the other 1494 passengers and crew were all rescued. The empty ship remained afloat and on-fire for nearly two days, eventually sinking during an attempt to salvage her.
Monte Rosa, was the last of five almost identical Monte-class passenger ships that were built between 1924 and 1931 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg for Hamburg Süd (Hamburg South American Steam Shipping Company).
In the 1920s Hamburg Süd believed there would be a lucrative business in carrying German emigrants to South America. (See "German Argentines".) The first two ships, Monte Sarmiento and Monte Olivia, were built for that trade with single-class passenger accommodation of 1,150 passengers in cabins, and 1,350 in dormitories. However, the number of emigrants was less than expected so the two ships were repurposed as cruise ships, operating in Northern European waters, the Mediterranean and around South America. This venture became a great success.
Until the 1920s, cruise holidays had been the preserve of the very wealthy. But by providing modestly priced cruises, Hamburg Süd could profitably attract a large new clientele. The company commissioned another ship, Monte Cervantes, to meet the increased demand. But she sank after only two years' service when she struck an uncharted rock in the Beagle Channel. Hamburg Süd then ordered two more ships: Monte Pascoal and Monte Rosa.
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HMT Empire Windrush AI simulator
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HMT Empire Windrush
HMT Empire Windrush was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV Monte Rosa. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to South America, and as a cruise ship. During World War II, she was taken over by the German navy and used as a troopship. During the war, she survived two Allied attempts to sink her.
After World War II, the United Kingdom seized the ship as a prize of war and renamed her HMT Empire Windrush. She remained in British service as a troopship until 1954.
In June 1948, Empire Windrush arrived at the Port of Tilbury near London, carrying 1,027 passengers and two stowaways who embarked at Trinidad, Jamaica, Mexico and Bermuda. The passengers included people from many parts of the world but the great majority were West Indian.
Empire Windrush was not the first ship to carry a large group of West Indian people to the United Kingdom, as two other ships (the SS Ormonde and the SS Almanzora) had arrived the previous year. But her 1948 voyage became very well-known and a symbol of post-war migration to Britain. British Caribbean people who came to the United Kingdom in the period after World War II, including those who came on other ships, are often referred to as the Windrush generation.
On 28 March 1954, while in the western Mediterranean Sea, an explosion and fire in the engine room killed four people. The fire could not be controlled and the ship was abandoned; the other 1494 passengers and crew were all rescued. The empty ship remained afloat and on-fire for nearly two days, eventually sinking during an attempt to salvage her.
Monte Rosa, was the last of five almost identical Monte-class passenger ships that were built between 1924 and 1931 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg for Hamburg Süd (Hamburg South American Steam Shipping Company).
In the 1920s Hamburg Süd believed there would be a lucrative business in carrying German emigrants to South America. (See "German Argentines".) The first two ships, Monte Sarmiento and Monte Olivia, were built for that trade with single-class passenger accommodation of 1,150 passengers in cabins, and 1,350 in dormitories. However, the number of emigrants was less than expected so the two ships were repurposed as cruise ships, operating in Northern European waters, the Mediterranean and around South America. This venture became a great success.
Until the 1920s, cruise holidays had been the preserve of the very wealthy. But by providing modestly priced cruises, Hamburg Süd could profitably attract a large new clientele. The company commissioned another ship, Monte Cervantes, to meet the increased demand. But she sank after only two years' service when she struck an uncharted rock in the Beagle Channel. Hamburg Süd then ordered two more ships: Monte Pascoal and Monte Rosa.