The White Star Line (WSL), was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between the British Empire and the United States. While many other shipping lines focused primarily on speed, White Star branded their services by focusing more on providing comfortable passages for both upper class travellers and immigrants.
HMS Minden was a Royal Navy 74-gun Ganges-class third-rate ship of the line, launched on 19 June 1810 from Bombay, India. She was named after the German town Minden and the Battle of Minden of 1759, a decisive victory of British and Prussian forces over France in the Seven Years' War. The town is about 75 km away from Hanover, from where the House of Hanover comes—the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 until 1901.
SS Great Western of 1838, was a wooden-hulled paddle-wheel steamship built of Dantzic pine, the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1837 to 1839, which was then passed by the SS British Queen. Designed by British civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model for all successful wooden Atlantic paddle-steamers. She was capable of making record Blue Riband voyages as late as 1843. Great Western worked to New York for 8 years until her owners went out of business. She was sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and was scrapped in 1856 after serving as a troop ship during the Crimean War.
SS Oceanic was the White Star Line's first liner and an important turning point in passenger liner design. Entering service in 1871 for Atlantic crossings, she was later chartered to Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (O&O) in 1875. The ship provided passenger service for O&O in the Pacific until 1895 when she was sold for scrap.
The RMS Mauretania was an ocean liner that was launched on 28 July 1938 at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead, England, and was completed in May 1939. She was one of the first ships built for the newly formed Cunard-White Star company following the merger in April 1934 of the Cunard and White Star Line. On the withdrawal of the first Mauretania in 1935, to prevent a rival company using the name and to keep it available for the new liner, arrangements were made for the Red Funnel paddle steamer Queen to be renamed Mauretania in the interim.
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland.
SS Belgenland was a passenger ship built in 1914 by Harland and Wolff. She originally served as a freighter and World War I troopship for the White Star Line under the name SS Belgic. Because she was needed for the war effort, she was hastily finished with only two smokestacks and a superstructure only one deck high. Initially used for carrying cargo, in 1918 she was given accommodations for up to 3,000 troops. Her gross register tonnage was listed at 24,547. The doomed liner Justicia was a near identical sister ship, both having been built at the same yard.
SS Ionic was a steam-powered ocean liner built in 1902 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the White Star Line. She was the second White Star Liner to be named Ionic and served on the United Kingdom – New Zealand route. Her sister ships were SS Athenic and SS Corinthic.
SS Empire Galahad was a refrigerated cargo ship built in 1942 and scrapped in 1967. She was also called SS Celtic Star (1946), SS Murillo (1946–52), SS Bogliasco (1952–54), MV Bogliasco (1954–63) and MV Ocean Peace (1963–67). She was built as a steamship, but in 1954 she was converted into a motor ship. She was scrapped in Taiwan in 1967.
SS Zeeland was a British and Belgian ocean liner of the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM). She was a sister ship to Vaderland and a near sister ship to Kroonland and Finland of the same company. Although her name was Dutch, it was changed during World War I to the less German-sounding SS Northland. She served for a time as a British troop ship under the name HMT Northland. Reverting to Zeeland after the war, the ship was renamed SS Minnesota late in her career. Zeeland sailed primarily for IMM's Red Star Line for most of her early career, but also sailed under charter for the White Star Line, the International Navigation Company, the American Line, and the Atlantic Transport Line, all IMM subsidiary lines. The pursers safe survived the scrapyard at Inverkeithing and after residing in a wardrobe for 80 years is currently on display in a local private home.
The Athenic-class ocean liners were a three ship class of ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line in the early 20th century.
The "Big Four" were a quartet of early-20th-century 20,000-ton ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line, to be the largest and most luxurious ships afloat. The group consisted of Celtic, Cedric, Baltic and Adriatic.
SS Lapland was a steam ocean liner built in Ireland for the Belgian Red Star Line. When new she was Red Star's flagship: similar in appearance to the company's SS Samland, SS Gothland and SS Poland, but far larger. She was a half sister to White Star Line's "Big Four", just smaller and not as luxurious. They are similar in many ways, such as the island bridge, 4 masts, 2 funnels. But Lapland had a less luxurious interior.
SS Coptic was a steamship built in 1881, which was successively owned by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and the Japanese Oriental Steam Ship Co. before being scrapped in 1926. She was filmed by Thomas Edison in 1897 in one of his early movies. The movie is currently stored in the Library of Congress, archive.org and other internet archives.
SS Ionic was a cargo liner initially in service with White Star Line from 1883 until 1900. She was used on the company's joint route to New Zealand with the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line. She was sold to the Aberdeen Line in 1900 and renamed SS Sophocles, and was withdrawn for service in 1906 and scrapped in 1908.
SS Gallic was a cargo steamship built in 1918. During her career, she had six different owners and sailed under the flags of the United Kingdom, Panama and Indonesia. She underwent seven name changes during her 37-year career. She was scrapped at Hong Kong in 1956, the last surviving White Star Line cargo ship.
The SS Parthia (1870–1956) was an iron-hulled transatlantic ocean liner built for the Cunard Line by William Denny and Brothers in Dumbarton, Scotland. Her sister ships were the Abyssinia and Algeria. Unlike her two sisters, Parthia was smaller, built in a different shipyard and had a slightly different funnel arrangement. The Parthia was retired by Cunard in 1883 and sold to John Elder & Co., who subsequently transferred her to the Guion Line. After serving with the Guion Line and operating on transpacific routes with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, she was refit and renamed Victoria.
The Jubilee class were a group of five passenger and cargo ocean liners built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, for the White Star Line, specifically for the White Star Line's service from the UK to Australia on the Liverpool–Cape Town–Sydney route. The five ships in order of the dates they entered service were:
Adriatic was built at Sunderland in 1810. She sailed to the West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope. There is no evidence that she sailed to India. She was wrecked at the Cape in 1822.
Several ships have been named Majestic:
