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RMS Alaunia (1925)

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History
United Kingdom
NameRMS Alaunia
OwnerCunard Line
OperatorCunard Line
Port of registrySouthampton
RouteSouthampton - Quebec and Montreal
BuilderJohn Brown & Co Clydebank
Launched7 February 1925
CompletedJuly 1925
Maiden voyage24 July 1925
FateScrapped in Blyth, Northumberland, 1957
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage14030 gross register tons
Length538 ft
Beam65 ft
Depth43 ft
DecksFour
Installed powerFour steam turbines double reduction geared
PropulsionTwin screw
Speed15 knots
Capacity633 Cabin, 1040 Third class
Crew270

RMS Alaunia was an ocean liner built for the Cunard Line during the 1920s which served primarily on the Canadian route. She was requisitioned by the British Royal Navy during the Second World War and ultimately scrapped in 1957.[1][2]

Background

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Alaunia was built by John Brown & Company in Scotland to augment the transatlantic passenger fleet of the Cunard Line. The ship entered service in July 1925 and was primarily employed on the Canadian route running from Southampton to Quebec and Montreal during the warm weather months and Halifax during the winter. She was one of a number of so-called intermediate liners built with fuel economy in mind. Designed with a single stack and straight stem bow with four passenger decks, the ship was propelled by two screws powered by four double reduction geared steam turbine engines that gave her a service speed of fifteen knots. Safety features included twelve watertight compartments divided by eleven bulkheads and twenty-eight lifeboats.[1][2]

Service

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In August 1939 Alaunia was taken over by the Royal Navy for service as a troop transport and served in this capacity until 1944 when she was sold to the Royal Navy and refitted as a base repair ship at Gibraltar. Alaunia was sold for scrap to the British Iron & Steel Corporation and subsequently broken up at Blyth, England in 1957.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "RMS Alaunia". Norway Heritage Emigrant Ship Database. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Cairis, Nicholas T. (1979). Passenger Liners of the World Since 1893. Bonanza Books. pp. 9. ISBN 0517-28875-3.
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