MV Duntroon

Duntroon
History
NameDuntroon
OwnerMelbourne Steamship Company
Port of registryMelbourne
BuilderSwan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Walker
Yard number1460
Launched4 April 1935
CompletedAugust 1935
In service1935
Out of service1942
Identification
FateRequisitioned by Army
History
Australia
In service1942
Out of service1949
FateReturned to civilian service
Notes
  • Army control 1942–46
  • Chartered by RAN 1946–49
History
Name
  • Duntroon (Melbourne Steamship Company)
  • Tong Hoo (Kie Hock Shipping Co.)
  • Lydia (Africa Shipping Co.)
In service
  • 1950–60 (Melbourne Steamship Company)
  • 1961–66 (Kie Hock Shipping Co.)
  • 1966–67 (Africa Shipping Co.)
FateScrapped 1968
General characteristics
Typepassenger ship
Tonnage10,346 GRT, 6,137 NRT
Length455.0 ft (138.7 m)
Beam65.2 ft (19.9 m)
Depth30.2 ft (9.2 m)
Installed power1,288 NHP
Propulsion
  • 2 × 6-cylinder diesel engines
  • 2 × screws
Capacity373 passengers
Sensors and
processing systems

MV Duntroon was a passenger motor ship built for the Melbourne Steamship Company, that saw military service as a troopship between 1942 and 1949. She was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, and entered service in 1939.

At the start of World War II, Duntroon was requisitioned for conversion into an armed merchant cruiser, but was returned as unsuitable. In November 1940, Duntroon collided with and sank the auxiliary minesweeper HMAS Goorangai; the RAN's first loss of the war. In February 1942, Duntroon was requisitioned by the Australian Army for use as a troopship. The ship was involved in a second fatal collision in November 1943, sinking the destroyer USS Perkins. Her army service continued until 1946, when she was chartered by the RAN for transport duties with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

Duntroon was returned to her civilian owners in 1950. In 1961, the ship was sold to Kie Hock Shipping Co. and renamed Tong Hoo. She was sold again in 1966 to Africa Shipping Co. and renamed Lydia. The ship was laid up in Singapore in 1967, and sailed to Taiwan for scrapping in 1968.