# SS Londres



## billyboy (Jul 6, 2005)

Brief history: bult 1941. in 1943 she was taken by the germans for completion. she was named the Lothringen. she was used in the elbe and weser estuaries and later in Denmark. 1945 she went back to her builders for completion as a passenger vessel and took up service in 1947.
Length 308' 5" breadth 42' 4"
Draught 10' 6"
Engines, 2 sets of parsons SR geared turbines
Boilers. 2 superheatedw/t by Penhoet.
Power 22,000shp (12,000 astern)
Speed 24kts
Passengers 1,450. (1st & second class) 14 private cabins. 402 berths.
Taken over by British rail 1955 and stayed with them till end of service 1963. towed to southampton. later she went out to Greece as the "ionion 11" she was renamed "Sophoklis Venizelos".
During refittingin 1966, she caught fire on April 14th. she was towed out of harbour and beached. owners decided not to repair and she was broken up.
Hope that helps you Guy's. I have severalpictures of her in different guises but I do not have a scanner here yet.
(Interesting the Greeks removed 4 of her lifeboats too!)
Her sistership"the Aromanches"lasted till 1972. she struck bottom in 1970 damaging her rudder and port prob. broken up 2 years later at Eleusis.


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## ruud (Dec 6, 2004)

Ahoy Billy,

I think she was called after Ionion II as Sofoclis Venizelos[after a Greek Minister]
Here a photo of her as Londres:


© from Roy Thorntonn's collection


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