Builders: Forges et Chantiers de la Mediteranee, Havre 1911
Propulsion type: Triple steam turbine
Owner: London Brighton & South Coast Railway
Service dates: 1912 - 1940
Tonnage: Gross 1580 (later 1882)
Comments:
This ship, shown in original condition entering Newhaven Harbour, was built by French builders for the LB&SCR. She was originally to be named London. Her Parsons turbines enabled a speed of about 24 knots on the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry route, which provided for quite a fast crossing. She was requisitioned by the French Navy in the First World War, serving initially as an auxilliary cruiser, then as a hospital ship for the British and finally as a troopship. In December 1916 Rouen (V) was torpedoed in the Bay of St Malo off Brittany with the loss of three lives, although she managed to get to Cherbourg under tow for repairs. She survived the war and in 1923 became part of the Southern Railway fleet, along with the remaining LB&SCR steamers. Both Rouen (V) and her sister Newhaven (III) were extensively reconditioned in 1929-1930. Rouen became a coal burner (instead of oil) and had a single, large funnel fitted to replace her original two. Both she and her sister survived the Second World War, but were not reconditioned again.