RMS Viceroy of India RMS " Viceroy of India " was an ocean liner of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ( P & O ) . She was a British Royal Mail Ship on the Tilbury — Bombay route and was named after the Viceroy of India . In World War II she was converted to and used as a troopship . She was sunk in the Mediterranean in November 1942 by . Building . P & O ordered the ship from Alexander Stephen and Sons of Glasgow in 1927 . She was originally to be called " Taj Mahal " , after the 17th - century mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal in New Delhi . She was laid down in April 1927 , launched in September 1928 and completed in March 1929 . She had six water - tube boilers with a combined heating surface of that supplied steam at 400 lb / in to two turbo generator s . These supplied current to electric motors with a combined rating of 3 , 565 NHP that drove twin screw propellers . British Thomson - Houston ( BT - H ) of Rugby , Warwickshire built the turbo - generators and motors . Each turbo - generator ran at 2 , 690 – 3 , 110 RPM , producing three - phase current at 2 , 720 volts and rated at 900 kW . Each propeller shaft was driven by two three - phase 3 , 150 volt electric motors running at 109 RPM and giving " per " shaft . At reduced power of up to only one turbo - generator was needed to supply current to both motors , thus maximising fuel economy . Variation of propeller speed in either direction was achieved by changing the turbine speed . The accommodation aboard was considered luxurious by the standards of the era . The first class staterooms were especially so , but standards were high in all classes on this ship . All cabins were single berth with interconnecting doors , with extra rooms for servants who often travelled with colonial families . Her onboard amenities also included the then unusual luxury of an indoor swimming pool . Much of the interior decoration was designed by the Honourable Elsie Mackay , the daughter of James Mackay , 1st Earl of Inchcape , who was the chairman of P & O from 1914 until his death in 1932 . " Viceroy of India " carried cargo as well as passengers , and her holds were refrigerated for carrying perishables . Launch and commissioning . The ship was launched as " Viceroy of India " on 15 September 1928 by Dorothy , Countess of Halifax , the wife of the Viceroy of India , E . F . L . Wood , 1st Earl of Halifax . The name had been changed to avoid offending Indians , particularly Muslims , for whom the Taj Mahal mausoleum is sacred . Fitting out at Shieldhall Wharf , Glasgow , began on 8 January 1929 . " Viceroy of India " was finished in P & O ' s traditional colours : her hull black with a white band , her boot topping red , her upper works and lifeboats buff , her large vents black , her small vents buff and her two funnels black . During fitting out she was damaged amidships by Donaldson South American Line ' s 7 , 131 ton cargo ship which was trying to dock in poor visibility , but by 17 February " Viceroy of India " was ready for sea trials , on which she averaged . She was completed in March 1929 . P & O turbo - electric ships . " Viceroy of India " was Britain ' s first large turbo - electric passenger ship . At about the same time as she was built , P & O also had s performance increased by the addition of BT - H turbo generators and propulsion motors to supplement her quadruple - expansion engines . P & Os first experiences of turbo - electric propulsion led the company to specify the same form of transmission for a pair of liners that it ordered in 1930 : ( completed in 1931 ) and ( completed in 1932 ) . Each " Strath " was only about bigger than " Viceroy of India " but they produced about 77 % more power , which made them about faster than " Viceroy of India " . Civilian service . " Viceroy of India " was handed over to P & O on 7 March 1929 and made her maiden voyage on the Indian mail route . In September 1932 when she set a new record time between London and Bombay of 17 days , 1 hour and 42 minutes . " Viceroy of India " was also suited for leisure cruises , which she made every year until the outbreak of the Second World War . In February 1939 she cruised to the South Atlantic , where she became the first P & O liner to visit the island of Tristan da Cunha . On 23 November 1929 " Viceroy of India " rescued 25 crew members from the Italian cargo steamer which sank in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Egypt . In 1930 " Viceroy of India " twice assisted the Greek cargo steamer in the Bay of Biscay . That September she stood by when " Theodoros Bulgaris " cargo of grain shifted in storms and the Greek merchantman ' s crew were transferred to another vessel . On 31 December 1930 " Theodoros Bulgararis " sank and " Viceroy of India " rescued all of the crew . On 5 September 1935 the Cunard White Star liner and the Chargeurs Réunis cargo ship collided off Cape Finisterre . " Doric " stayed afloat but her 736 passengers were transferred to other ships as a precaution . 241 of them were transferred to " Viceroy of India " . On 11 August 1940 the Cunard White Star liner and the Bank Line cargo liner collided off Cape Town . " Ceramic " stayed afloat but her 279 passengers were transferred to " Viceroy of India " for safety . War service and sinking . On 12 November 1940 the Ministry of War Transport requisitioned " Viceroy of India " to be a troop ship . She returned to the River Clyde for the conversion . In 1942 " Viceroy of India " sailed in Convoy KMF - 1A carrying Allied troops from Britain to invade French North Africa in Operation Torch . Early on 11 November 1942 she was returning empty from Algiers bound for Gibraltar . At 0524 hrs she was about northwest of Oran when fired a spread of four torpedoes at her . Two hit the ship , killing four crew members . At 0531 hrs " U - 407 " fired a stern - tube torpedo at her but missed . The took " Viceroy of India " in tow but she sank and " Boadicea " rescued all 432 surviving crew and 22 passengers .