RMS Aquitania was a British 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^[​5] and sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 30 May 1914. 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.^[​6] 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 Aquitania on her maiden voyage in 1914 in New York Harbor
History
United Kingdom
Name	RMS Aquitania
Namesake	Aquitania (Roman province in France)[​3]
Owner	1914–1934: Cunard Line[​1] 1934–1949: Cunard White Star Line 1949–1950: Cunard Line
Operator	Cunard Line
Port of registry	Liverpool, United Kingdom
Route	Southampton-New York (1914) (1920–1939) (1945–1948) (1945–1950) Southampton-Halifax (1948–1950)
Ordered	8 December 1910[​1]
Builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland[​1]
Yard number	409[​2]
Laid down	December 1910
Launched	21 April 1913[​1]
Christened	21 April 1913 by the Countess of Derby
Completed	1914
Acquired	24 May 1914
Maiden voyage	30 May 1914[​1]
In service	1914–1950
Out of service	1950
Fate	Scrapped in 1950 at Faslane, Scotland.[​1]
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	45,647 GRT[​4]
Length	901 ft (274.6 m)[​4]
Beam	97 ft (29.6 m)[​4]
Draught	36 ft (11.0 m)[​1]
Decks	10
Installed power	Direct drive Parsons steam turbines;[​4] 59,000 shp (44,000 kW)
Propulsion	Four shafts[​4]
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) (service) 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) (max)[​4]
Capacity	1914: 3,230[​1] 618 1st class passengers 614 2nd class passengers 2,004 3rd class passengers 1926: 2,200[​1] 610 1st class passengers 950 2nd class passengers 640 3rd class passengers
Crew	972[​1]

Returned to transatlantic passenger service in 1920, she served alongside the Mauretania and the Berengaria. Considered during this period of time as one of the most attractive ships, Aquitania earned the nickname "the Ship Beautiful" from her passengers.^[​4] She continued in service after the merger of Cunard Line with White Star Line in 1934. The company planned to retire her and replace her with RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1940.



However, the outbreak of World War II allowed the ship to remain in service for ten more years. During the war and until 1947, she served as a troop transport. She was used in particular to take home Canadian soldiers from Europe. After the war, she transported migrants to Canada before the Board of Trade found her unfit for further commercial service. Aquitania was retired from service in 1949 and was sold for scrapping the following year. Having served as a passenger ship for 36 years, Aquitania ended her career as the longest-serving Cunard vessel, a record which stood for six years until overtaken by RMS Scythia's service record of 37 years. In 2004 Aquitania's service record was pushed into third place when Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest-serving Cunard vessel.