1981 - The fate of the turbine ship t.s. 'King George V' (ex. Caledonian MacBrayne). The vessel was built in Glasgow in 1926 and withdrawn from service during 1974. The photograph shows her being towed into Cardiff Docks for conversion into a restaurant. Note the scaffolding surrounding her funnels. The postcard is held within the Penarth Dock Collection. [Image credit : Nigel Jones - Postcard credit : Simplon Postcards] [001]

t.s. 'King George V' - The former Caledonian MacBrayne passenger ferry from the Clyde of 985 gross register tons, 272 deadweight tons, was licensed to carry 1,183 passengers.

She was a twin-screw vessel driven by six Parsons steam turbines with a total power of 3,000 shp giving her a maximum speed of 16 knots. Her claim to fame is that she was probably the world's first commercial passenger steamer to be fitted with high pressure turbines.

She was built in 1926 by William Denny & Brothers Limited of Dumbarton. During WWII, she was requisitioned as a troop-carrier being based at Southampton and taking a role in evacuations of troops from Rotterdam, Ostend, Dunkirk, Boulogne and Calais.

During 1974 she was retired from service and the next year towed to Cardiff where she was laid-up for six years or so.

In 1981 she was purchased by Bass Charrington Limited with the intention of her conversion to become a floating pub/restaurant in the Thames. Apparently, she was intended to replace the paddle steamer 'Old Caledonia' moored on the Victoria Embankment which had been destroyed by fire the previous year!

Whilst being refitted in the Mountstuart dry dock of C. H. Bailey a fire in August 1984 ended her days and she was towed to the muds off Tiger Bay, beached, and met up with some oxy-acetylene torches in 1984.