Intended to augment Cunard's transatlantic service
Samaria ran on the
Liverpool to
Boston and
New York City route with periodic stops in
Cobh, and appealed to those first and second class passengers looking for comfort at reasonable rates and who were not in a hurry. Originally the ship was intended to make a profit in the immigrant trade with third class passengers. However the end of unrestricted immigration to the United States in the mid-1920s necessitated the first of several reconfiguration of passenger accommodations as third class became "tourist." Throughout the 1920s and 1930s
Samaria was frequently employed as a
cruise ship. In 1939, it ended up colliding with the
RMS Aquitania, while the Aquitania was sailing in a convoy. They suffered only minor damage. In September 1940 she took part in the evacuation of children from the UK to the US under the scheme set up by the
Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB). In 1941 the ship was taken over by the
Royal Navy and served as a
troopship until 1948 when she was returned to Cunard and refitted for passenger service. Between 1948 and 1955
Samaria was assigned almost exclusively to the Canadian route with service to
Montreal,
Quebec, and
Halifax along with her sister-ship . In November 1955 she completed her last transatlantic crossing and was subsequently sold for scrapping, which was completed in 1956 at
Inverkeithing, Scotland. ==References==