RMS Orion was an ocean liner launched by the Orient Steam Navigation Company in 1934 and retired from the water in 1963 after carrying about 500,000 passengers.

The result was an open air layout that made use of removable and folding walls, sliding glass doors, and relatively enormous promenade decks to keep cooling breezes flowing through spaces passengers could relax in.

Going past just being unadorned, the chromium and bakelite materials used extensively throughout the ship meant surfaces were more resistant to the effects of sea air, a first in liners.

Launched by the Duke of Gloucester from Brisbane, Australia by wireless remote, Orion slid into the Lancashire waters at Vickers Armstrong's yard in Barrow-in-Furness on 7 December 1934.

Orion alternated between voyages to Australia with short cruises until the outbreak of World War II, when she was requisitioned by the British government as a troopship.

In October 1942 Orion was one of many former passenger liners which took part in Operation Torch, and made two voyages to North Africa, carrying over 5,000 troops each time.

In 1943 her troop-carrying capacity was increased to 7,000, which with other vessels such as the USS West Point (former SS America) played a major part in the transportation of Allied forces.

She was then chartered by Otto Friedrich Behnke GmbH as a floating hotel for the duration of the International Horticultural Exhibition in Hamburg, accommodating 1,150 guests.