SS Tai Hing facts for kids
 United Kingdom |
|
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Builder | Kwong Tak Cheong |
| Launched | 13 March 1927 |
| Fate | Sunk on 20 August 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | River steamer |
| Tonnage | 1,068 GRT |
| Length | 178.0 ft (54.3 m) |
| Beam | 32.1 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draught | 10.1 ft (3.1 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 x Screws |
The SS Tai Hing (which means "Great Prosperity" in Chinese) was a river steamer built in 1927. A steamer is a type of ship powered by a steam engine. In 1940, this ship was given to the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (HKRNVR). This group was a local naval defense force. The Tai Hing became their main base and training ship. It was renamed HMS Cornflower after an older ship. Sometimes, people called it HMS Cornflower II to avoid confusion.
Ship's Journey
The Tai Hing was built in 1927 by Kwong Tak Cheong Shipbuilding Engineering and Dock Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong. Its first trip was on March 13, 1927, carrying passengers to Wuzhou, China. Kwong Wo S.S. Co. operated the ship at first. Around 1930, another company, San Wo Co. Ltd., took over. The Tai Hing kept carrying people between Hong Kong and China.
By 1940, a famous businessman named Sir Robert Ho Tung bought the ship. At this time, the Second Sino-Japanese War was happening. This war made it hard for ships to travel their usual routes.
World War II Service
In March 1940, Sir Ho Tung loaned the Tai Hing to the HKRNVR. They planned to use it for the war and a few months after. The ship started to be changed into a training ship that same month. By June, it was ready for the HKRNVR to use for training. The Tai Hing was meant to replace an older training ship, HMS Cornflower, which was the HKRNVR's headquarters.
In September 1940, the changes to the ship were finished. It was then officially renamed HMS Cornflower, just like the ship it replaced. On September 26, a special ceremony took place. Sir Ho Tung and the acting governor, Edward F. Norton, were there to mark the ship's transfer to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
During the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, the ship stayed docked near Kellett Island. Lieutenant-Commander Richard J.D. Vernall was in charge of it. On December 19, 1941, the ship was sunk on purpose in Deep Water Bay. This was done to stop it from falling into enemy hands. A small boat from the Cornflower helped some survivors of the battle. These survivors, led by Admiral Chan Chak, escaped to China.
Later, the Japanese military found the sunken ship. They brought it back to the surface and fixed it. They used it as a cargo ship and renamed it SS Chuko Maru (meaning "Central Prosperity" in Japanese). On August 20, 1944, the Chuko Maru was bombed. Consolidated B-24 Liberator planes from the United States Fourteenth Air Force attacked it. The ship sank in the South China Sea near Hong Kong.
