RMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania on her maiden voyage in 1914 in New York Harbor
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| Name: | RMS Aquitania |
| Owner: |
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| Operator: | Cunard Line |
| Port of registry: |
 Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Route: |
Southampton-New York (1914) (1920–1939) (1945–1948) Southampton-Halifax (1948–1950) |
| Ordered: | 8 December 1910 |
| Builder: | John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland |
| Yard number: | 409 |
| Laid down: | December 1910 |
| Launched: | 21 April 1913 |
| Christened: | 21 April 1913 by the Countess of Derby |
| Acquired: | 24 May 1914 |
| Maiden voyage: | 30 May 1914 |
| In service: | 30 May 1914 |
| Out of service: | 1950 |
| Fate: | Scrapped at Faslane, Scotland in 1950. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 45,647 GRT |
| Length: | 901 ft (274.6 m) |
| Beam: | 97 ft (29.6 m) |
| Draught: | 36 ft (11.0 m) |
| Decks: | 10 |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | Four shafts |
| Speed: |
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| Capacity: |
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| Crew: | 972 |
Southampton-New York (1914) (1920–1939) (1945–1948)
RMS Aquitania was a Cunard Line ocean liner 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 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. Widely considered one of the most attractive ships of her time, Aquitania earned the nickname "Ship Beautiful".
In her 36 years of service, Aquitania survived military duty in both world wars and was returned to passenger service after each. Aquitania's record for the longest service career of any 20th-century express liner stood until 2004 when Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest serving Cunard vessel.
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's Olympic, Titanic and the upcoming Britannic were larger than the latest Cunard ships, Mauretania and Lusitania, by 15,000 gross 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 larger, slower, but more luxurious ship.
Aquitania was designed by Cunard naval architect Leonard Peskett. Peskett drew up plans for a larger and wider vessel than Lusitania and Mauretania. With four large funnels the ship would resemble the famous speed duo, but Peskett also designed the superstructure with "glassed in" touches from the smaller Carmania, a ship he also designed. Another design feature from Carmania was the addition of two tall forward deck ventilator cowlings. With Aquitania's 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 50,000 tonnes as well as to copy pointers for his company's new vessel. Though Aquitania was built solely with Cunard funds however, Peskett designed her to strict British Admiralty specifications. Aquitania was built in the John Brown and Company yards in Clydebank, Scotland, where the majority of the Cunard ships were built. The keel was laid in the same plot where Lusitania had been built, and would later be used to construct Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth 2.
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