# Pictures of Liners in Vigo



## FILIPVS

Vigo is an important port from many centuries ago. Very famous ships anchored and berthed here.

I am collecting all pictures of these ships but I am specially interested in the old liners...

I think that many members of the forum may be interested in see some of their favourite ships in rare pictures that are difficult or impossible to found in books or in the web...
And I am very interested in obtain all information that you can suply... So all comments are wellcome


This is a picture where the ship name and year was not logged...
but I think is the british ss"Mooltan" or any sister ship of P&O.
The ship looks painted all of dark colour... Wartime?


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## FILIPVS

This picture was taken in Vigo about 1920:

She is the french liner ss <<FRANCE>>(2), builded in 1912 for the French Line, and sold to breakers in 1935. She was mainly employed in the route Le Havre-New York.

She was the first french big liner; entering in service only 4 days later of Titanic tragedy, she had enough lifeboats for all passengers from the first stage of her design.

This ship had a speed of 25 knots, only improved by Mauretania and Lusitania.

During the WW1 she was used as troop transport and hospital ship.

She was the most succesful liner of France... This is my own opinion(Scribe)


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## Trader

Great photos Filipvs. I love to see pictures of old ships.

Alec.


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## FILIPVS

Trader said:


> Great photos Filipvs. I love to see pictures of old ships.
> 
> Alec.


Thank you:
This photos I think are rather rare and may be of great interest for people like us that like these type of ships...
If any member of this forum has pictures of ships in Vigo... they would be very apreciated(*))


This is other british liner; 
the Royal Mail Line's ss "Arlanza" departing from Vigo.


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## KenLin39

FILIPVS said:


> Vigo is an important port from many centuries ago. Very famous ships anchored and berthed here.
> 
> I am collecting all pictures of these ships but I am specially interested in the old liners...
> 
> I think that many members of the forum may be interested in see some of their favourite ships in rare pictures that are difficult or impossible to found in books or in the web...
> And I am very interested in obtain all information that you can suply... So all comments are wellcome
> 
> 
> This is a picture where the ship name and year was not logged...
> but I think is the british ss"Mooltan" or any sister ship of P&O.
> The ship looks painted all of dark colour... Wartime?


Mooltan and Maloja were sisters of P & O. Your photo shows one in normal livery of the time with black funnels and hull with white band derricks masts and all superstructure was a rusty brown colour, painted white in later years. Photo of Mantua 1909 shows early colour scheme.


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## FILIPVS

KenLin39 said:


> Mooltan and Maloja were sisters of P & O. Your photo shows one in normal livery of the time with black funnels and hull with white band derricks masts and all superstructure was a rusty brown colour, painted white in later years. Photo of Mantua 1909 shows early colour scheme.


Thank you KenLin...
Do you know what year could be the picture aproximately?



These other pictures are of the SS "ALCANTARA" (1927-1958) of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co, during a call in Vigo to take passengers (emigrants).

At the beggining this ship had two funnels. So in these pictures the ship had some years...
She had a sister ship called ASTURIAS, and both were employed in the route to South America from Uk.

Regards


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## Dickyboy

FILIPVS said:


> Thank you:
> This photos I think are rather rare and may be of great interest for people like us that like these type of ships...
> If any member of this forum has pictures of ships in Vigo... they would be very apreciated(*))
> 
> 
> This is other british liner;
> the Royal Mail Line's ss "Arlanza" departing from Vigo.


What is causing the smoke? It appears to be coming from the ship.


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## john g

Dickyboy said:


> What is causing the smoke? It appears to be coming from the ship.


Bad combustion in the boilers I think......easily done when manouvering


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## FILIPVS

john g said:


> Bad combustion in the boilers I think......easily done when manouvering


John... you are talking about ALCANTARA picture and dickboy is asking for the ARLANZA.

So I think the smoke is steam... (Smoke)


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## Dickyboy

Yeah I was referring to Arlanza. No smoke midships, or from the funnel. Would such a ship have a steam or smoke discharge from any other place but the funnel? Unless something broke on deck?


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## FILIPVS

Dickyboy said:


> Yeah I was referring to Arlanza. No smoke midships, or from the funnel. Would such a ship have a steam or smoke discharge from any other place but the funnel? Unless something broke on deck?


I think that part of auxiliary machinery was moved by steam (windlasses, pumps, compressors, fans...). 
So in the engine room the boilers always were producing steam and sending it to deck. 
Part of this steam, when not needed, was discharged as showed in the picture.


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## Dickyboy

FILIPVS said:


> I think that part of auxiliary machinery was moved by steam (windlasses, pumps, compressors, fans...).
> So in the engine room the boilers always were producing steam and sending it to deck.
> Part of this steam, when not needed, was discharged as showed in the picture.


I think you are right, I'll bet the engineers wouldn't have been too happy about losing so much steam (Water) in the days before evaporators.


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## FILIPVS

These are 4 courious pictures.
Here we see the german ships WILHELM GUSTLOFF and the ROBERT LEY.

The history of these vessels is a very interesting reading. 

These pictures were taken in Vigo about 1939, at the end of the Spanish Civil War. The vessels arrived here to pick up the german soldiers sent by Hitler to support to Franco (Condor Legion).

The two vessels departed from Vigo with Hamburg as next port of call.


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## FILIPVS

More liners visiting Vigo... 
but I do not know the name!!
May somebody identify this ship?
I guess she is british...
Probably ss ALCANTARA?


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## A.D.FROST

FILIPVS said:


> More liners visiting Vigo...
> but I do not know the name!!
> May somebody identify this ship?
> I guess she is british...
> Probably ss ALCANTARA?


ALCANTARA or ASTURIAS(Thumb)


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## FILIPVS

Another unknowed ships at anchor in Vigo in 1880 (about)... long time ago...

It is clear that are warships. The ships remains at anchor because in those years Vigo had not a pier big enough for such fleet...

Any idea about what navy is??


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## kypros

Getting to the point about VIGO,the port is becoming a regular first stop for the cruise boat trade outward from the UK so a bit of a revival going on.KYPROS


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## FILIPVS

This is a postcard of 60's... On the right ss "Canberra" is alongside. She was new on those years.

But what ship is moored astern of Canberra??


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## FILIPVS

Third question:
This not identified ship. What is her name??
Picture was published on a local newspapaer on 40´s (after war I think...)


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## Stephen J. Card

Shaw Savill & Albion's NORTHERN STAR. Built 1962. Broken up 1974. Photo about c. 1970?

Great shots! 

Thanks,

Stephen


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## A.D.FROST

FILIPVS said:


> Third question:
> This not identified ship. What is her name??
> Picture was published on a local newspapaer on 40´s (after war I think...)


One of Royal Mails "Highland Boats"eg.HIGHLAND MONARCH,CHIEFTAIN,BRIGADE,HOPE(wk'd1930),PRINCESS


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## trotterdotpom

Hey FilipVs, in 1585, the Devon yob, Frank Drake, sacked Vigo. I'd like to personally apologise for his behaviour.

John T


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## Stephen J. Card

trotterdotpom said:


> Hey FilipVs, in 1585, the Devon yob, Frank Drake, sacked Vigo. I'd like to personally apologise for his behaviour.
> 
> John T




I thought it was down the Barbican one night and then ran riot down Union Street? 

Stephen
(Four years up at Hemerdon... NEVER went to Union Street!


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## FILIPVS

trotterdotpom said:


> Hey FilipVs, in 1585, the Devon yob, Frank Drake, sacked Vigo. I'd like to personally apologise for his behaviour.
> 
> John T


Drake made ​​several failed incursions on these coasts. One of these in 1585 as you say. But the real looting in Vigo was in 1589. The English fleet was formed by 213 ships. The "lutherans pirates" (as they were commonly called in those days) came from Lisbon, where they failed in their attempt to take the portuguese city.


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## FILIPVS

A.D.FROST said:


> One of Royal Mails "Highland Boats"eg.HIGHLAND MONARCH,CHIEFTAIN,BRIGADE,HOPE(wk'd1930),PRINCESS


Thanks Mr Frost
I think HIGHLAND HOPE must be discarded, because the photo was took in 40's...


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## FILIPVS

The October 25, 1904 appeared off Vigo the Second Pacific Squadron, part of the Russian Imperial Navy, under command of Admiral Rozhdestvensky, in transit from St Petersburg to Tsushima. The Russo-Japanese War had began on February 8, 1904

Days before, when the fleet was passing through the English Channel (off Hull), one of the Russian ships had an incident with an british fishing boat, and this was sunk. The British Admiralty reacted immediately sending to Vigo the fleet based in Gibraltar. The order was to block the harbour to prevent the departure of the Russian fleet without previous clarification of the incident in the channel. Those days some people was afraid about the risk of a world war between Rusia, Japan, Britain, France... and all respectives allieds...

To avoid problems, the Russians were "invited" by the spanish to leave the port and were not allowed to bunkering through the vessels of the "Hamburg-Amerika Linie", which were in waiting. Only when the Russian admiral threatened to bombard the city the local population was agreed that they could supply coal near the port...

The photo is the russian fleet blocked in Vigo those days. Among these ships was the famous Aurora, which years later became well known, when moored to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, her guns gave the signal for the start of the Russian Revolution of 1917. On the other photo is the russian battleship "Orel" loading coal from one german ship.


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