Talk:SS Canberra

Article on SS Canberra
July 2006 Ships Monthly has a five page article on Canberra. Palmiped 22:14, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

Proposed moving of article to SS Canberra
I would like to propose the moving of this article to SS Canberra, to reflect the most common and technically correct form of her name that enables disambiguation from Canberra, Australia. The prefix RMS is used to identify those ships that had a contract to carry mail for the Royal Mail. No P&O ships had Royal Mail contracts after the Second World War in the way that they did before the war, and hence Canberra was neither legally or officially a Royal Mail Ship (source; e-mail from P&O Archivist/ Historian, 8th June 2006). She was more commonly known as SS Canberra, the Great White Whale (after the Falklands War) or just the Canberra. More formally and perhaps more prosaically, she was TEV Canberra (Turbo Electric Vessel). There is a book called SS Canberra (Neil McCart, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1983) and a website ssCanberra.com that contains copies of various official documents from throughout her career referring to her as ss Canberra. I can find no sources on the internet that can validate when, where and why she was named RMS Canberra, or that she had a Royal Mail contract.

--Dashers 00:24, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree SS Canberra is the more common description. During her cruising days SS Canberra was used by the met office to obtain weather data from around the world. Palmiped 13:56, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Usage of Prefixes in Ships' Names
I should point out that it appears that prefixes such as SS and MV do not appear to form part of the legal or official name of merchant ships, and their use seems to stem from tradition and a desire to differentiate steam ships from motor ships. This was especially the case in the early days of diesel propulsion, when motor vessels were seen as slower and less glamorous, not worthy of the title "ship". It also took some decades to develop diesel engines that had the form and power suitable for large passenger vessels that were also quiet and minimised vibration so as to maximise passenger comfort. When diesel propulsion started to become more commonplace, from the mid sixties onwards, it was probably not in most companies' best interests to provide this differentiation as it might somehow cause the newer more modern diesel ships to be perceived as inferior to the older steam ships still in service. As these steam ships came towards the end of their working life in new roles as cruise ships they would have found it harder to provide the modern trappings associated with the latest vessels. Hence from a marketing point of view, the use of the prefixes would have turned full circle; a ship designated SS would signify tradition and a link with the past (I am hypothesising here). This would be the only reason the Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2 use the prefix RMS; their Royal Mail "contracts" are more symbolic than functional. Probably the only true Royal Mail Ship is the RMS St. Helena which the island of St. Helena relies on for it's mail service, as it does not currently have an airport. This will change however as an aiport is planned to be completed by 2010.

--Dashers 00:26, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I have added a copy of the Canberra's official stamp, scanned from my Discharge book when I worked in her engine room in the mid eighties.

--Dashers 10:14, 11 June 2006 (UTC)


 * The 'SS', 'PS', 'MS', 'MV', prefixes etc., were originally used by Lloyds to designate what type of propulsion system was employed in the vessel. These prefixes allowed an insurer to gauge what type of vessel, its capabilities, and therefore risk, he was being asked to quote for, merely from seeing the name of the ship in a list. Obviously even during the nineteenth century a SV was likely to be older than a SS so the name alone gave a guide to the age and type of the ship, and the capabilities for powering off over a lee shore, or not, as the case may be, etc. The system is intertwined with Lloyd's Register as they were inter-related. The prefixes also gave an idea of likely passage time when booking cargo on a ship, as the steam ship was not likely to be delayed by lack of wind, poor weather, etc., whereas a sailing vessel might be. So the type of vessel and its method of propulsion was useful to know, even to those outside the marine insurance industry.


 * BTW, the RM contracts were usually awarded to the companies whose ships had the fastest, reliable times to, and from, port, so the prefix 'RMS' usually suggested a fast, well maintained ship, generally the fastest type available at the time. I don't think it was any slur on anyone else's ships 'just' to be an 'SS', as it cost money to make fast trans-Atlantic passages and only the biggest shipping lines such as P&O and Cunard could afford it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 18:27, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Canberra a floating laboratory in 1973 ?
Listened to Niel Degrasse Tyson talking about his youth and in 1973 canberra had been converted into a floating laboratory to watch a solar eclipse off the coast of africa. At least that's what he said. Maybe that's something that should be verified and added. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.228.57.113 (talk) 14:15, 21 March 2013 (UTC)
 * under Interviews & Essays. --palmiped | Talk  14:27, 21 March 2013 (UTC)