History
United Kingdom
Name	SS Gothic
Owner	Shaw, Savill & Albion Steamship Co.
Builder	Swan Hunter
Yard number	1759
Launched	12 December 1947
Completed	December 1948
Maiden voyage	23 December 1948
Identification	Call sign: MAUQ IMO number: 5134088
Fate	Arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan for scrapping, 13 August 1969
General characteristics
Type	Passenger-cargo liner
Tonnage	15,902
Length	561 ft (171 m)
Beam	72.2 ft (22.0 m)
Draft	29.7 ft (9.1 m)
Decks	4
Installed power	Geared steam turbines 14,000 shp (10,000 kW)
Propulsion	Twin screws
Speed	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Crew	95

SS Gothic was a passenger-cargo liner launched in December 1947, though not completed until a year later. She became the most famous of the quartet when she was designated a royal yacht from 1952 to 1954.

Construction and commercial service

Gothic was built by Swan Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne, England (yard 1759), the fourth and final of the Corinthic-class liners ordered by the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line in 1946. Her sister ships were Corinthic, Athenic and Ceramic. She was launched on 12 December 1947, completed in December 1948, and departed on her maiden voyage on 23 December 1948, sailing from Liverpool to Sydney.^[1]

The quartet joined the much larger QSMV Dominion Monarch on the UK to New Zealand service. Each ship was around 15,000 GRT and accommodated 85 first class passengers. Each had 6 large holds, with space for 668,000 cubic feet (18,900 m³) of cargo, of which 510,000 cubic feet (14,000 m³) was for refrigerated goods.

In 1969 she was sold to China Steel Corp and arrived at Kaohsiung for demolition on 13 August that year.^[1]

Royal yacht

In 1952, Gothic was sent to Cammell Laird shipyards to be refitted to become the royal yacht for a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Although the tour was cancelled due to the death of King George VI, considerable work had already been completed and she returned in 1953 to complete the refit, which included a white-painted hull. In 1954 the Queen's visit to Australia occurred and Gothic was used for the visit. The Australian Government film The Queen in Australia 1954 featured the ship in Sydney on arrival and Fremantle on departure three months later. This visit was part of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation world tour in 1954.^[2]