SS Himalaya was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Armstrong and launched 5th October 1948. She began her service on the Tilbury-Bombay-Australia route in 1949 following her departure from the local shipbuilding yard in the August. During her commission Himalaya underwent a number of improvements the first of which was, although controversial at the time, a funnel cowl to keep the liners decks clear of debris without interference to the boilers. Following the sale of the ‘Strath’ Class liners by P&O Himalaya was converted to allow the transportation of ‘Tourist Class’ passengers only. Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England. ... Vickers-Armstrongs, Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Tilbury is located on the north bank of the River Thames, in the borough of Thurrock in England, at the point where the river suddenly narrows to about 800 yards/740 metres in width. ... Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई, IPA: ), formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra, the most populous city of India, and by some measures the most populous city in the world with an estimated population of about 13 million (as of 2006). ... The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dates from the early 19th century. ...

References

• http://www.yalumba.co.uk/Framesets/P%20and%20O%20Himalaya.htm