SS Uganda 1983 Calendar - Falklands War

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I was going through some papers in one of my old Army footlockers yesterday and ran across a 1983 Calender showing the SS Uganda. I purchased this from the mess fund of the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Gurkha Rifles when they trained in Fort Lewis, Washington that year. I recall one of the officers saying that the significance of the calender was that the regiment returned to the UK from the Falklands War on the Uganda. Attached is a scan, its a bit larger than my scanner but you get the idea. Has anyone seen one of these before? If it's a troop ship why does it have the white livery of a hospital ship?

Kevin

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Bump.

[David S]

Nice indeed

Here's a good site that gives a thumbnail history

http://www.seadogs-reunited.com/Uganda.htm

[Simon F]

In short she wasn't a troop ship, she was one of the merchant fleet ships that was requisitioned through "STUFT" Ships Taken Up Through Trade. Before the british armed forces had a rapid reaction force there was need to transport a large amount of men and materials to the Falklands to retake the islands, so this was the way we coped with the logistics of this process.

To name a couple

SS Canberra - Which was used as a troop transport for elements of the Parachute regiment and the Royal Marines

Atlantic Conveyor - Sadly lost, which was used to transport aircraft and materials in support of the troops.

RMS Queen Elizabeth - Carried the 5th Infantry Brigade.

Uganda was purely a hospital ship but I guess that she was used as a resource to get the boys home again on completion of the war.

[ehrentitle]

Thanks Simon - I remember the Gurkha's boasting that the Argentinians surrendered when they heard that the Gurkha's had arrived in the Falklands. Those Gurkha soldiers were a tough lot with stamina and endurance in the field and were good runner as well. They also took a lot of risks that US soldiers would never take in training. Like jumping out of the back of a Land Rover, setting up a mortar, firing of a few round from a "hip shoot" loading up and driving off. Kevin