RMS Aurania (1916)

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RMS Aurania (2).jpg
The HMT Aurania (2) underway
History
Government Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameAurania
Owner House flag of the Cunard Line.svg Cunard Line
Operator House flag of the Cunard Line.svg Cunard Line
Port of registry Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Liverpool
RouteLiverpool – New York
Builder Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne
Yard number965
Launched16 July 1916
Completed19 March 1917
Acquired19 March 1917
Maiden voyage28 March 1917
In service28 March 1917
Out of service4 February 1918
HomeportLiverpool
IdentificationUK official number 137542
FateSunk by torpedo, 4 February 1918
General characteristics
Type Ocean liner
Tonnage13,936  GRT
Length520.5  ft (158.6  m)
Beam63.5  ft (19.4  m)
Installed power7,500 hp (5.6 MW)
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)

RMS Aurania was an ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line. She was built in 1916 at Wallsend and measured 13,936 gross register tons. She spent her entire career operating as a troopship in the First World War and was wrecked in 1918 while under tow following damage from a torpedo attack.

Contents

Construction

The Aurania was the last of three ships planned to serve between Canada and Europe. Her sister ships were the Andania and Alaunia. Although ordered in December 1913, her construction was delayed by more pressing government contracts during the First World War, she was not launched until 16 July 1916, after which she was fitted out as a troopship and completed in March 1917. [1]

Service

Aurania made her maiden voyage from the Tyne to New York on 28 March 1917 and on her return sailed to Liverpool. The ship remained on hire to the British Government for the remainder of her career and was used exclusively on the North Atlantic, primarily moving troops and supplies. By February 1918, Aurania had completed seven transatlantic crossings. [2]

Loss

On 3 February 1918, Aurania left Liverpool and was routed around the coast of Northern Ireland, bound for New York. As with many large troopships, she sailed unescorted and relied on her speed to evade potential threats. On the following morning, she was some 15 miles north-west of Inistrahull, off the coast of County Donegal, when she was hit by a torpedo from German submarine UB-67. Nine crew members were killed in the explosion, and the ship lost propulsion after the inflow of water doused her boilers. [2] A trawler took the ship in tow but she became stranded near Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. Rough seas soon broke Aurania up and she was declared a total loss.

References

  1. ↑ "Aurania". Tyne-Built Ships. Northeast Maritime Forum. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Aurania". Scottish Shipwrecks. Retrieved 8 July 2025.

56°36′N6°20′W / 56.600°N 6.333°W / 56.600; -6.333


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