RMS Aquitania

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Aquitania was an ocean liner built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, for the Cunard Line. She had four stacks - like Titanic and Mauretania - but Aquitania was considered the most beautiful of all four-stackers, earning her the nickname "Ship Beautiful".

[edit] Origin

The origins of the Aquitania lie in the rivalry between the White Star Line and Cunard, Britain's two leading shipping companies. White Star's Olympic and Titanic were larger than the latest Cunard ships Mauretania and Lusitania by 15,000 gross tons. While the Cunard duo were significantly faster than the White Star ships, both Mauretania and Lusitaina had problems with vibration[1][2], and White Star's ships were seen as more luxurious. Cunard needed another liner for its weekly transatlantic express service, and elected to go with a larger, slower but more luxurious ship.[3]

Leonard Peskett, the designer of the Mauretania, was able to examine the Olympic on behalf of Cunard, and noted the shortcomings of the White Star ship.[4] He used the knowledge thereby gained when designing Aquitania. Her design was based on that of Mauretania, but was for a beamier and larger ship.[5]

[edit] Construction & Launch

Aquitania was built at John Brown and Company yards in Clydebank, Scotland, where most Cunard ships were built. After the Titanic disaster, she was one of the first ships to carry enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew. As required by the British Admiralty, she was designed to be convertible into an armed merchant cruiser, and was reinforced to mount guns for service in that role. Aquitania was launched on April 21, 1913 and fitted out over the next thirteen months. In May 1914 she was tested in her sea trials and steamed at a full knot over the expected speed.

[edit] Interior & Design

The lounge on the Aquitania was famous around the world for its beauty

While Aquitania's exterior has been called "boxy" by some,[6] others argue that it had lean beauty. But she was better known for her luxurious interior and the appointments of her public spaces, known as a floating palace and the "Ship Beautiful" due to her spectacular interior. Her Palladian lounge rose through two decks and was reminiscent of the work of Sir Christopher Wren. The dining room also rose through two decks and was equally luxurious, being designed in the Louis XVI style. First-class public rooms were decorated with rich and tasteful works of art, and her design and decoration gave Aquitania a high reputation among travellers. A popular spot was the Garden Lounge, a quaint cafe which gave the impression of an old garden. Glazed windows at the sides and the aft end of this space afforded protection from the wind, and the furniture consisted of wicker chairs, settees and tables.

[edit] Career

Aquitania served gallantly in both world wars. Here she is pictured as a hospital ship during World War I, she later would become a troop transport ship.

May 30, 1914 saw the Aquitania sail on her maiden voyage. The following month the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated and the world was plunged into World War I, cutting short Aquitania's career. After only three round trips she was taken over for military use. At first she was converted into an armed merchant cruiser, for which provision had been made in her design. However, the Admiralty found that large liners were too fragile and profilgate in their use of fuel to serve as cruisers, so Aquitania did not serve long in that role.[7] After being idle for a time, in the spring of 1915 she was converted into a trooper, and made voyages to the Dardanelles. She then was converted into a hospital ship, and served in that role in the Dardanelles campaign. In 1916, she was returned to the trooping front, and then in 1917 was again laid up. In 1918, she was back on the high seas in troopship service, conveying North American troops to Britain. Many of these departures were from the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia where her spectacle dazzle paint scheme was captured by artists and photographers. On one occasion she transported over 8,000 men.

In June 1919, she ran a Cunard "austerity service" between Southampton and New York. In December of that year Aquitania was docked at the Armstrong Whitworth yards in Newcastle to be refitted for post-war service. She was converted from coal- to oil-burning, which greatly reduced the labor needed to fuel and fire her boilers. (Sadly, though, as she was being refitted, an engine room explosion killed one of her crew members.) Her original fittings and art pieces were brought out of storage and reinstalled.

A famous poster of Aquitania shows a cut-away of the ship, revealing its luxurious interior

During the Twenties Aquitania became one of the most popular liners on the North Atlantic route. She sailed with the Cunarders Mauretania and Berengaria in a trio known as "The Big Three". As times grew better, Aquitania grew into the role of being one of the most profitable ocean liners ever. The American restriction on immigration in the early Twenties ended the age of mass emigration from Europe, but as ocean travel was the only means of transportation between the continents, the ocean liners survived and even surpassed old records. Some of the big money now came in from movie stars and royalty, other aristocracy and politicians. Aquitania became their favorite, as the 1920s became one of the most profitable ages in ocean travel history.

However following the stock market crash of 1929 many ships were affected by the devastating consequences. Aquitania found herself in a tough position. Only a few could afford expensive passage on her now, so Cunard used Aquitania to provide cheap cruises. These were successful, especially for Americans who went on "booze cruises", tired of their country's prohibition.

As time went on Aquitania grew old and was scheduled to be replaced by Queen Elizabeth in 1940. This plan was shattered with the coming of World War II, and Aquitania served excellently as a troop transport, just as she had in World War I. In her eight years of further military work, she sailed more than 500,000 miles, and carried 300,000 soldiers, to and from places as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, the South Pacific, Greece and the Indian Ocean.

[edit] Fate

After completing troopship service, she was handed back to Cunard, who used her to transport migrants to Canada under charter from the Canadian government. This final service created a special fondness for Aquitania in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the port of disembarkation for these immigration voyages. On completion of that task in December 1949, she was taken out of service and scrapped in 1950 in Scotland, thus ending an illustrious career which included steaming 3 million miles in 450 voyages. She was the only liner to serve in both World Wars, and she was scrapped as the last four funneled passenger ship. Her wheel and a fine half model of Aquitania may be seen in Cunard exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

[edit] Sources

• Atlantic Liners: A Trio of Trios, by J. Kent Layton

[edit] External links

• Aquitania Home at Atlantic Liners.com
• A First-Hand Account of a Second World War Voyage on the Aquitania
• Maritimequest Aquitania Photo Gallery
• Lost Liners.com
• Aquitania Passenger List 1921 Cunard Line, List of Passengers, Southampton to New York via Cherbourg for the R.M.S. Aquitania, sailing on Saturday 25 June 1921, 32 Pages.