RMS Aquitania

The origins of Aquitania lay in the rivalry between the White Star Line and Cunard Line, Britain's two leading shipping companies. The White Star Line , and the upcoming were larger than the latest Cunard ships, Mauretania and Lusitania, by 15,000 gross register tons. The Cunard duo were significantly faster than the White Star ships, while White Star's ships were seen as more luxurious. Cunard needed another liner for its weekly transatlantic express service, and elected to copy the White Star Line's Olympic-class model with a slightly slower but larger and more luxurious ship. The plan for the building of that liner began in 1910, under the leadership of Leonard Peskett. Several draft plans were conceived in order to determine the main axes of what should be the ship for which an average speed of was planned. In July of that year, the company launched the construction offers to several shipyards before choosing John Brown and Company, the builder of the Lusitania. The company chose Aquitania as the name for its new ship in continuity with those of its two previous duo. The three ships were named respectively after the Ancient Roman provinces Lusitania, Mauretania, and Aquitania. == Design, construction and launch ==

Aquitania was designed by Cunard naval architect Leonard Peskett. With Aquitanias keel being laid at the end of 1910, the experienced Peskett took a voyage on Olympic in 1911 so as to experience the feel of a ship reaching nearly , as well as to copy pointers for his company's new vessel. Just like with Mauretania, for the launch the hull was painted in a light grey colour for photographic purposes; a common practice of the day for the first ship in a new class, as it made the lines of the ship clearer in the black-and-white photographs. Her hull was repainted to black in dry dock. In the wake of the Titanic sinking, Aquitania was one of the first new ships to carry enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew. As required by the British Admiralty, she was designed to be converted into an armed merchant cruiser, and was reinforced to mount guns for service in that role. The ship displaced approximately 49,430 tons, of which the hull accounted for 29,150 tons, machinery 9,000 and bunkers 6,000 tons. Aquitania was launched on 21 April 1913 after being christened by Alice Stanley, the Countess of Derby, and fitted out over the next thirteen months. Notable installations were electrical wiring and decorations. The fitting out was led by Arthur Joseph Davis and his associate Charles Mewès. == Technical aspects ==

Aquitania was the first Cunard liner to have a length in excess of . Steam was provided by twenty-one forced-draft, double-ended Scotch boilers, having eight furnaces each, that were long with diameter of arranged in four boiler rooms. Each boiler room had seven ash expellers with pump capacity of approximately 4,500 tons per hour that could also be used as emergency bilge pumps. Steam drove Parsons turbines in three separate engine rooms in a triple expansion system for four shafts. The port engine room contained the high pressure ahead (240 tons, long with four stage expansion) and astern turbine (120 tons, long) for the port shaft, the centre room contained two low pressure turbines with ahead and astern capability within single casings ( long, nine expansion stages in ahead turbine, four in astern turbine) for the two centre shafts and the starboard room contained the intermediate pressure ahead turbine ( long) and a high pressure astern turbine (twin of the port high pressure turbine) for the starboard shaft. The electrical plant, located on G deck below the waterline, consisted of four British Westinghouse generator sets generating 225 volt direct current, with emergency power provided by a diesel driven generator up on the promenade deck. Power was provided for about 10,000 lamps and about 180 electric motors. She also had brass triple chambered three chime steam whistles on the 1st funnel and 2nd funnel. == Interior and design ==

In 1914, Aquitania had the capacity to carry 3,220 passengers (618 First Class, 614 Second Class, 2,004 Third Class). After a refit in 1926, the figure was reduced to 610 in first class, 950 in second class, and 640 in tourist class. Although the original specification mentioned a capacity of 972 crew members, the ship sometimes carried around 1,100. Although Aquitania lacked the lean, yacht-like appearance of running mates Mauretania and Lusitania, the greater length and wider beam allowed for grander and more spacious public rooms. Her public spaces were designed by the British architect Arthur Joseph Davis of the interior decorating firm Mewès and Davis. This firm had overseen the construction and decoration of the Ritz Hotel in London and Davis himself had designed several banks in that city. His partner in the firm, Charles Mewès, had designed the interiors of the Paris Ritz, and had been commissioned by Albert Ballin, head of Germany's Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), to decorate the interiors of the company's new liner Amerika in 1905. was the person who designed the interior of Aquitania. The second class had a dining room, several lounges, a smoking room, a veranda café, and a gymnasium; many being unique facilities for this class on British ocean liners of the time. The third class had several common areas, a promenade, and three shared bathrooms. Over her thirty-five years career, her facilities changed. Examples of this were the addition of a cinema during her refit from 1932 to 1933 and the reorganisation of the tourist class during the 1920s for giving greater comfort to poor passengers. == Early career and World War I ==

Aquitanias maiden voyage was under the command of Captain William Turner on 30 May 1914 with arrival in New York on 5 June. Fifteen days earlier, the German liner SS Vaterland, being the largest ship in the world at the time, was put into service. In the eye of the press, this maiden voyage was a matter of national prestige. However, this event was overshadowed by the sinking of in Quebec the previous day with over a thousand drowned. However, no passenger cancelled their voyage aboard the Aquitania, despite the strong emotion aroused by this sinking. The ship briefly managed to exceed . Also, her coal consumption was significantly lower than that of Lusitania and Mauretania. Many passengers enjoyed the voyage. On the return trip, the success was renewed; she carried a total of 2,649 passengers, which was a record for a British liner leaving New York. in World War I. Upon arrival at her home port, she underwent minor modifications, which took into account observations made during the two first crossings (this was typical for a liner after its first round trip). Aquitania was converted into an armed merchant cruiser on 5 August 1914, for which provision had been made in her design. On 8 August, having been rid of decorative elements and armed with guns, she was sent on patrol. On 22 August, she collided with a liner named Canadian. Shortly after, the Admiralty found that large liners were too expensive to operate as cruisers. On 30 September, she was repaired, disarmed, and returned to Cunard Line. In 1916, the year that White Star's flagship, and one of Aquitanias main rivals, Britannic, was sunk, Aquitania was returned to the trooping front, and then in 1917 was laid up in the Solent. In 1918, now under the command of James Charles, the ship 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 the ship's dazzle paint scheme was captured by artists and photographers, including Antonio Jacobsen. On one occasion Aquitania transported over 8,000 men. During her nine voyages, she transported approximately a total of 60,000 men. During this period, she collided with USS Shaw and tore apart its bow. The accident killed a dozen members of the American ship's crew. After the end of the war, in December 1918, Aquitania was dismissed from military service. She collided with the British cargo ship at New York in the United States on 28 February 1919. Lord Dufferin sank and Aquitania rescued her crew. Lord Dufferin was later refloated and beached. ==Interwar career==

In June 1919, Aquitania ran a Cunard "austerity service" between Southampton, Cherbourg, 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. The ship was converted from coal burner to oil-fired, which greatly reduced the number of engine room crew required. The original fittings and art pieces, removed when refitted for military use, were brought out of storage and re-installed. At some point during this time, a new wheelhouse was constructed above the original one as the officers had complained about the visibility over the ship's bow. The second wheelhouse can be seen in later pictures of the era and the original wheelhouse area below had the windows plated in. 1920s Aquitania resumed her commercial service on 17 July 1920, leaving from Liverpool with 2,433 passengers on board. The crossing was a success; the ship maintained good speed while showing that now being oil-fueled was much cheaper than coal-fueled propulsion. The ship's arrival in New York Harbor was filmed as part of the pioneering 1921 documentary Manhatta, in which she is seen being pushed to her destination by tugboats. The months that followed were just as promising, despite a stewards' strike in May 1921. At the beginning of the decade, Aquitania was the only large liner in the service of Cunard Line as the Mauretania was undergoing repair after a fire. The year 1921 was thus an exceptional year for her; she crossed the Atlantic 30 times (15 round trips) and broke a record by transporting a total of 60,587 passengers that year (including 26,331 in third class), averaging more than 2,000 passengers per crossing. In the following year, the Mauretania rejoined her in Cunard service. Aquitania operated in service with the Mauretania and (formerly the German liner Imperator) in a trio known as "The Big Three." In 1924, a new restriction on immigration was passed in the United States, causing the number of third-class passengers to decline significantly. From more than 26,000 third-class passengers transported by Aquitania in 1921, the figure fell to about 8,200 third-class passengers in 1925. The number of crew was thus reduced to around 850 people from the original 1,200. Still, the Cunard Line benefited from prohibition in the United States, which started in 1919. American liners were legally part of the territory of the United States, and thus alcoholic beverages could not be served on them. Passengers who wanted to drink therefore travelled on British liners in order to do so. Aquitania enjoyed great success, making much profit for her company. In 1929, she underwent a major refit. A bathroom was added to many first-class cabins, and the tourist class was renovated. While new competitors, such as the German liner SS Bremen, entered service, Aquitania remained particularly popular after fifteen years of service. Crisis of 1929 and its consequences Following the stock market crash of 1929, many ships were affected by the economic downturn and reduced traffic. Aquitania found herself in a tough position. Only a few could afford expensive passage on her now, so Cunard sent Aquitania on cheap cruises to the Mediterranean. These were successful, especially for Americans who went on "booze cruises," tired of their country's prohibition. Another problem also arose: the two liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, SS Bremen and SS Europa, successfully captured the Blue Riband and many customers. In 1934, the number of passengers Aquitania carried declined to around 13,000 from 30,000 in 1929. The ship, however, remained popular and she was the third busiest in the early 1930s behind those two German liners. Author C. R. Bonsor writing in 1963 states, "from 1936 on it became necessary to squeeze the maximum speed out of Aquitania in order to make her a suitable running mate for Queen Mary thus 24 knot passages became regular". Aquitania ran aground in the Solent on 24 January 1934 but was refloated later the same day. The merger of the two companies into Cunard-White Star Line resulted in a large surplus of liners being owned by a single company. Thus, very old ships, such as the Mauretania and the Olympic, were removed from service immediately and sent to the scrapyard. However, the Aquitania was retained, despite her age. On 10 April 1935, Aquitania went hard aground on Thorne Knoll in the Solent near Southampton, England, but with the aid of ten tugboats, on the next high tide the ship was freed. ==World War II service==

Aquitania, with a normal troop capacity of 7,400, was among the select group of large, fast former passenger ships capable of sailing independently without escort transporting large numbers of troops that were assigned worldwide as needed. These ships, often termed "Monsters" until London requested the term be dropped, were Aquitania, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Mauretania (II), and with "lesser monsters" being other large ex-liners capable of independent sailing with large troop capacity that accounted for much of the troop capacity and deployment, particularly in the early days of the war. . Plans to replace Aquitania with the newer Queen Elizabeth in 1940 had been forestalled by outbreak of World War II in 1939. Aquitanias initial troop transport operation was taking Canadian troops to Scotland, Convoy TC1 in company with Empress of Britain, Empress of Australia, , Monarch of Bermuda, HMS Hood, HMS Warspite, HMS Barham, HMS Resolution, HMS Repulse, HMS Furious, December 1939. The first port of call was 48 hours at Freetown (West Africa) on 11 June, then 3 days at Simonstown, South Africa 20 June 48 hours at Diego Suarez, Madagascar from 30 June 24 hours at Steamer Point, Aden on 3 July, and then disembarkation at Port Tewfik, Egypt from 8 July 1942. The return journey was via Diego Suarez, Cape Town, Freetown and then to Boston. By September Aquitania was engaged in a triangular troop deployment of United States-United Kingdom-Indian Ocean voyages. . As part of the major redeployment of Australian troops from North Africa to the defence of Australia and start of offensive operations in the Southwest Pacific. Aquitania, Queen Mary, Île de France, Nieuw Amsterdam, and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Queen of Bermuda transported the Australian 9th Division to Sydney in Operation Pamphlet during January and February 1943. By the buildup for the invasion of Europe in 1944 troop deployments to Britain depended heavily on Aquitania and the other "Monsters" and no allowance could be made for interruption of their service for other transport requirements. Wartime embarkation at New York is described in some detail in the description of the departure of the Special Navy Advance Group 56 (SNAG 56) that was to become Navy Base Hospital Number 12 at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, England, to receive casualties from Normandy. The unit was sent by "devious routes" by train to Jersey City where under cover of darkness they boarded a ferry crossing to the covered pier 86 in New York where a band played and the Red Cross served their last coffee and doughnuts as they boarded "N.Y. 40", the New York Port of Embarkation code designation for Aquitania, which got underway the morning of 29 January 1944 with some 1,000 Navy and 7,000 Army personnel for arrival at Gourock, Scotland 5 February. In eight years of military work, Aquitania sailed more than 500,000 miles, and carried nearly 400,000 soldiers, to and from places as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, the South Pacific, Greece and the Indian Ocean. Cunard historian Michael Gallagher said: "Wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill credited Aquitania, with Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, for shortening World War II in Europe by a year." == Postwar service and retirement ==

After completing troopship service, the vessel was handed back to Cunard-White Star in 1948. She underwent a refit for passenger service. She was then used to transport war brides and their children 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. After its last voyage in February 1950 from Southampton to Faslane, the vessel was sold to British Iron and Steel Corporation for scrap for £125,000 at Faslane in Scotland. == Gallery ==