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Aquitania was Cunard’s
longest serving liner in the first half
of the 20th Century. With her being
designed to almost the same dimensions as
the White Star Line’s
Olympic class ships, Cunard had
intended to claim Aquitania was
the largest ship in the world when she
entered service. The Hamburg Amerika Line
stunned the British companies at that
time when their liners Imperator
and Vaterland entered service at
over 50,000 tons. Although
Aquitania missed out on holding
the title of the world’s largest
ship, her interiors were said to be the
grandest of all the liners at that time.
With the capacity to carry 597 1st, 614
2nd and 2,052 3rd class passengers, she
set out on her maiden voyage from
Liverpool - New York May 30th 1914.
Aquitania only managed complete
three of these crossings before the
British Admiralty requisitioned her to
serve as an armed merchant cruiser during
World War One.
Aquitania had to be put into
Liverpool for repairs after colliding
with the liner Canadian on her
second patrol. Skeptics that claimed
these huge ships were unsuitable to serve
as armed merchant cruisers were proved
right by that incident. This led to the
Admiralty converting her to a troopship
for use in the Gallipoli Campaign. Within
a short time, Aquitania had to
serve as a hospital ship as the number of
wounded at Gallipoli began exceeding all
expectations. She survived the war
unscathed and took part in the
repatriation of Canadian troops until
November 1919. Aquitania was then
put into Armstrong Whitworth & Co on
the Tyne to have her interiors restored
and boilers converted from coal to oil
burning. On July 17th 1920, she set out
on the Southampton - Cherbourg and New
York run. This gave Cunard three large
liners on that route, Mauretania,
Berengaria and
Aquitania.
The depression of the early 1930s
forced Cunard to operate Aquitania
more as a cruise ship. These cruises were
normally out of New York - Mediterranean
or Bermuda. Aquitania was then
operated between the Atlantic run and as
a cruise ship until the outbreak of World
War Two. On November 21st 1939, the
British Admiralty once again
requisitioned her to serve as a
troopship. Over the following four years,
she traveled throughout the world
transporting Canadian, Australian, New
Zealand and US troops.
The end of that war in 1945 had again
created the situation where servicemen
from around the world had to be returned
to their homelands. After
Aquitania had completed the return
of Canadian and US servicemen, she was
used to transport European war brides and
children of Canadian servicemen to
Canada. Aquitania’s return
to Cunard April 1st 1948 saw her
chartered to the Canadian Government to
carry emigrants from Southampton -
Halifax/Canada. The end of that role in
December 1949 led to Cunard selling their
35-year-old ship to the British Iron
& Steel Company. Aquitania
completed her final voyage to the scrap
yard at Faslane/Scotland February 21st
1950.
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