SS Talthybius 1944 to 1971
By Chris R. Pownall
I wrote about my experiences in the Merchant
Navy in my memoirs entitled ‘Funny How
Things Work Out’ but wished to record more
specific details about the ship on which I sailed.
Iserved on the S.S. Talthybius in 1967, when she was
operated by the Ocean Steam Ship Co, owners of the
famous Blue Funnel Line. In those days Blue Funnel
had a fleet of 82 vessels and ran schedule cargo services
from the UK to Australia, and the Far East. They also
ran similar services out of New York. Until the end of
1966, they carried up to 20 passengers per ship; these
were generally very wealthy people that would stay
with the ship for the entire voyage, which generally
meant, three and a half months away from the UK.
S.S. Talthybius was built as a ‘Victory’ ship, by the
United States Maritime Commission, and at the time of
her launch in 1944, she was named S.S. Salina. Victory
ships were designed and built to replace merchant cargo
vessels that had been sunk during WW2. They were
some of the first ships to be manufactured with all
welded hulls. They were constructed as modular units
and assembled in a matter of six weeks, start to finish.
Everything about them was very basic as their life
expectancy was quite short. In the main, they were used
to convoy supplies to Europe and unfortunately, many
never completed the Atlantic crossing, falling victim to
enemy torpedoes. At the end of the war, Blue Funnel
purchased six Victory ships from the US Maritime
Commission for what was believed to be £1m.
Originally, Talthybius was purchased by the Dutch
Blue Funnel Company and renamed S.S. Polydorus.
In 1960, she was transferred to the UK Blue Funnel
line, at which time she was again renamed, this time to
‘Talthybius’. All Blue Funnel ships where named after
characters from Greek Mythology. Talthybius would
never have carried passengers, as her accommodation
was very small. A typical officers cabin had a small
bunk, a single wardrobe, a small settee, a table, and a
single chair. There was a small wash basin but no toilet
or shower facility. Due to the all welded construction,
many of these Victory ships suffered severe damage in
heavy seas, and in fact some vessels even sank due to
S.S. Talthybius
Chris R. Pownall