SS Letitia

The ship as Captain Cook
History
Name:	Letitia (1924–39) HMS Letitia (1939–44) HMHS Letitia (1944–46) Empire Brent (1946–52) Captain Cook (1952–60)
Owner:	Anchor-Donaldson Line (1925–36) Donaldson-Atlantic Line (1936–46) Ministry of Transport (1946–59) Government of New Zealand (1959–60)
Operator:	Cunard Line and Anchor-Donaldson (1925–36) Donaldson-Atlantic Line (1936–46) Donaldson Bros & Black (1946–60)
Port of registry:	Glasgow (1925–39)  Royal Navy (1939–46) Glasgow (1946–60)
Builder:	Fairfield SB and Eng Co, Govan
Yard number:	601
Launched:	14 October 1924
Completed:	April 1925
Identification:	UK official number 148847 code letters KSLT (until 1933) call sign GLBX (1934–39) pennant number F16 (1939–44)
Fate:	Scrapped in 1960
General characteristics
Tonnage:	13,475 gross register tons (GRT) tonnage under deck 10,217 8,161 NRT
Length:	525.7 ft (160.2 m) p/p 538 ft (164 m) o/a
Beam:	66.4 ft (20.2 m)
Depth:	29.5 ft (9.0 m)
Installed power:	9,000 SHP
Propulsion:	6 × DR geared turbines by Brown-Curtis-Fairfield twin screw 3 double- & 2 single-ended forced draught boilers supplying steam at max pressure 210 lbf/in2
Speed:	15 knots (28 km/h) (service) 16 knots (30 km/h) (max)
Capacity:	(As built) 516 cabin class 1,000 third class (After 1927) 298 cabin class 310 tourist class 964 third class (As hospital ship) 1,000 patients (As 1949 emigration ship) 965 emigrants (As 1951 emigration ship) 1,088 passengers in two, four, and six berth cabins
Armament:	As an armed merchant cruiser: 8 × 6-inch (150 mm) guns 2 × 3-inch (76 mm) guns

SS Letitia was an ocean liner, built initially for service with the Anchor-Donaldson Line. She continued to serve with its successor company Donaldson Atlantic Line, and was requisitioned for service at the start of the Second World War to serve as an armed merchant cruiser. She was withdrawn from this service in 1941 and became a troop ship. She was badly damaged in 1943 and on being repaired was made a hospital ship in Canada. She was returned to civilian service in 1946 after the end of the war, and was bought by the Ministry of Transport, who renamed her Empire Brent and assigned Donaldson Brothers and Black to manage her. She sailed on a number of voyages, at times carrying troops to the Far East, as well as being an emigration ship to Australia. She was briefly laid up in 1950, but returned to service under charter to the Government of New Zealand as Captain Cook. She was withdrawn from service in 1960 and sold for scrap.

The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan built Letitia, launching her on 14 October 1924 and completing her in April 1925. She initially sailed for the Glasgow-based Anchor-Donaldson Ltd, on their summer route between Liverpool, Quebec and Montreal with another Anchor-Donaldson steamer Athenia. In winter she sailed to Halifax and St John's, Newfoundland. Her maiden voyage was from Glasgow to Montreal on 24 April 1925. This was a joint venture between Cunard Line and Anchor-Donaldson Line. She underwent a refit in 1927, and with the reforming of the company into the Donaldson Atlantic Line in 1935, Letitia was one of the assets retained.

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