RMS Aurania (1916)

Last updated

RMS Aurania (2).jpg
The HMT Aurania (2) underway
History
Government Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameAurania
Operator Cunard Line
Builder Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne
Launched16 July 1916
Maiden voyage28 March 1917
FateSunk by torpedo, 2 August 1918
General characteristics
Type Ocean liner
Tonnage13,936  GRT
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.

Contents

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, because of the First World War, she was not completed until 1916.

The Aurania was launched on 16 July 1916 and was immediately fitted out as a troopship. She 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. On 3 February 1918, she left Liverpool and was routed around the coast of Northern Ireland, bound for New York. 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. 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.

Citations

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Cunard Line</span> British shipping and cruise line

    Cunard Line is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

    RMS <i>Aquitania</i> British ocean liner (in service 1914–1950)

    Aquitania was an ocean liner of the Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. She was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 30 May 1914. She was given the title of Royal Mail Ship (RMS) like many other Cunard ocean liners since she carried the royal mail on many of her voyages. Aquitania was the third in Cunard Line's grand trio of express liners, preceded by RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, and was the last surviving four-funnelled ocean liner. Shortly after Aquitania entered service, World War I broke out, during which she was first converted into an auxiliary cruiser before being used as a troop transport and a hospital ship, notably as part of the Dardanelles Campaign.

    RMS <i>Laconia</i> (1911) 1911 ocean liner

    RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, launched on 27 July 1911, with the wife of the U.S. Ambassador Mrs. Whitelaw Reid christening the vessel. Laconia was delivered to the Cunard Line on 12 December 1911, and began service on 20 January 1912. She was the first Cunard ship of that name. She was torpedoed and sunk on 25 February 1917 during World War I; 12 passengers were killed.

    SS <i>Justicia</i> Large First World War troop ship, sunk in 1918

    Justicia was a British troop ship that was launched in Ireland in 1914 and sunk off County Donegal in 1918. She was designed and launched as the transatlantic liner Statendam, a new flagship for the Holland America Line (NASM), but the outbreak of First World War delayed her completion. In 1915 NASM agreed to let the United Kingdom acquire her and have her completed as a troop ship.

    RMS <i>Carmania</i> (1905) Cunard Line transatlantic steam turbine ocean liner

    Carmania was a Cunard Line transatlantic steam turbine ocean liner. She was launched in 1905 and scrapped in 1932. In World War I she was first an armed merchant cruiser (AMC) and then a troop ship.

    MV <i>Britannic</i> (1929) White Star motor vessel, 1929-1961

    Britannic was a British transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in 1929 and scrapped in 1961. She was the penultimate ship built for White Star Line before its 1934 merger with Cunard Line. When built, Britannic was the largest motor ship in the UK Merchant Navy. Her running mate ship was the MV Georgic.

    The Collins Line was the common name for the American shipping company started by Israel Collins and then built up by his son Edward Knight Collins, formally called the New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company. Under Edward Collins' guidance, the company grew to be a serious competitor on the transatlantic routes to the British Cunard shipping company.

    RMS <i>Carpathia</i> Ocean liner known for rescuing survivors of RMS Titanic

    Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their shipyard in Wallsend, England.

    RMS <i>Andania</i> (1921) Brisith ocean liner

    RMS Andania was a British ocean liner launched in 1921. She was the first of six 14,000-ton A-class liners built for the Cunard Line in the early 1920s. The other ships were Antonia, Ausonia, Aurania, Ascania, and Alaunia.

    RMS <i>Sylvania</i>

    Sylvania was an ocean liner built in 1957 by John Brown & Co (Clydebank), in Glasgow, for the United Kingdom-based shipping company Cunard Line. She was the last Cunard Line vessel built specifically for transatlantic crossings. The ship was later heavily rebuilt as a cruise ship, and sailed under the names SS Fairwind, SS Sitmar Fairwind, SS Dawn Princess and SS Albatros before being scrapped in 2004. She was renamed SS Genoa for her last voyage.

    SS <i>Pacific</i> (1849) US ship which went missing with almost 200 passengers

    Pacific was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel steamer built in 1849 for transatlantic service with the American Collins Line. Designed to outclass their chief rivals from the British-owned Cunard Line, Pacific and her three sister ships were the largest, fastest and most well-appointed transatlantic steamers of their day.

    RMS <i>Alaunia</i> (1913)

    RMS Alaunia was a Cunard ocean liner. She was built in 1913 at Greenock and measured 13,405 GRT. She was one of three sister ships Cunard ordered from Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. Her sisters were RMS Andania, and RMS Aurania. Alaunia was the second of the trio. She and her sisters had only 2nd class and 3rd class accommodation.

    SS <i>Vaderland</i> (1900) Ocean liner

    SS Vaderland was an ocean liner launched in July 1900 for the Red Star Line service between Antwerp and New York. During her passenger career, the ship initially sailed under British registry, but was re-registered in Antwerp in 1903. Vaderland was a sister ship to Zeeland and a near sister ship to Kroonland and Finland.

    HMS <i>Artifex</i> Cruiser of the Royal Navy

    HMS Artifex was a repair ship of the Royal Navy from late in the Second World War and into the Cold War. Launched as the Cunard liner RMS Aurania she was requisitioned on the outbreak of war to serve as an armed merchant cruiser. Damaged by a U-boat while sailing with an Atlantic convoy, she was purchased outright and converted to a floating workshop, spending the rest of her life as a support ship for the navy.

    RMS <i>Andania</i> (1913) 1913 Passenger-cargo ship

    RMS Andania was a Cunard ocean liner built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Greenock. She was launched on 22 March 1913 and was completed on 13 July 1913.

    RMS <i>Franconia</i> (1910)

    The RMS Franconia was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. She was launched on 23 July 1910 at the Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Wallsend shipyard. Franconia was intended for the line's Boston service, being the largest ship of the time to enter Boston harbor, with winter service in the New York-Mediterranean cruising service.

    Empire Barracuda was a 4,972 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1918 for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as Sacandaga. She was sold to American Diamond Lines in 1932 and renamed Black Heron. In 1941 she passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and was renamed Empire Barracuda. She was torpedoed on 15 December 1942 and sunk by U-77.

    <i>Queen Mary 2</i> British 21st-century transatlantic ocean liner

    Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2004. The ship was officially named Queen Mary 2 by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 after the first RMS Queen Mary of 1936. With the retirement of Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2008, Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner in service in the world. It has a regular service between Southampton, England, and New York City, United States, and an annual world cruise.

    Yelkenci was a 7,052 GRT refrigerated cargo ship which was built in 1943 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Camp. She was sold in 1946 and renamed Valacia. In 1951, she was sold and renamed New York City. A further sale in 1955 saw her renamed Loch Morar. A final sale to Turkish owners saw her renamed Yelkenci. She served with them until scrapped in 1971.

    RMS <i>Aurania</i> (1882)

    RMS Aurania was a British Ocean Liner that was scrapped at Genoa, Italy after 22 years of service (1883-1905).

    References

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