The RMS Aquitania and the Enduring Importance of Military Sealift Capabilities
The MOC
By
Gonzalo Vazquez
March 12, 2024
The first half of the 20th century is considered by many to be the golden age of ocean liners, large merchant ships that operated on a regular schedule between designated ports, transporting different kinds of cargo and passengers. At the time, the business was primarily dominated by two British companies, the White Star Line and the Cunard Line, with the latter eventually absorbing its rival in the 1930s and remaining one of the most popular shipping and cruise lines to this day.
Several of their liners became famous for their tragic fates, as was the case with the RMS Titanic, the RMS Britannic, or the RMS Lusitania (whose sinking in 1915 by a German U-boat is considered to be among the reasons which would eventually push Washington to get involved in the War). Others, however, would go on to earn nicknames like “The Old Reliable” and “The Ship Beautiful” throughout their long years of service.
This was the case of the RMS Aquitania, one of the longest-serving, most important express passenger liners in history, and a ship whose 36 year-long career stands as a timely lesson for Washington and its European allies on the crucial importance of military sealift and the merchant marine’s wartime contributions.
Although perhaps not as famous as other liners previously mentioned, the Aquitania is widely regarded as the most successful express liner of the 20th century and one of the most important ships in all maritime history. Besides her luxurious design and interiors, which earned her the nickname of “the ship beautiful” early during her first years of service, Aquitania’s career stands even to this day as a prominent example of Allied military sealift efforts during the world wars, and a strong source of inspiration for current U.S. and allied efforts to rebuild and resource a much-needed merchant marine fleet.
Aquitania was launched in April 1913, as Cunard’s response to her rival’s new Olympic-class; the RMS Olympic, the RMS Titanic and the RMS Britannic (at that time still finishing its construction at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast). Soon after entering service in May 1914, with only three round trips across the Atlantic completed, the outbreak of World War I led to her immediate requisitioning by the British Government and the Admiralty. Throughout the conflict, she served as an armed merchant cruiser fitted with guns, a troopship transporting soldiers to the battlefield in the Easternmost region of the Mediterranean, and as a hospital ship during the Dardanelles Campaign (although the sinking of the Britannic in 1916 eventually led the Admiralty to return her to troop transport once again).
Upon being dismissed from military service in 1918 and handed back to Cunard, she returned to service in the North Atlantic line connecting Europe with North America. She managed to survive the crisis derived from the crash of 1929, which saw many liners of her time being taken out of service due to the low levels of demand for liners (including the RMS Mauretania and RMS Olympic, which were simultaneously taken out of service in 1935). In fact, she was saved from retirement with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the subsequent demand for her sealift service once again.
With her total capacity for 7,400 troops (among the highest at that time), she was selected among the few fast former passenger ships able to sail without the need for an escort – the group of so-called “Monsters”. In fact, many credited her high speed as one of the main reasons behind her survival to the long and numerous sails across U-boat-infested waters, the same waters in which the Lusitania and many others had perished years before.
After serving in the Atlantic theater transporting troops between Canada and Europe, she was then assigned to the Pacific theater in 1942, to cover the route from Wellington to Suez and North Africa as part of the US 3 fast convoy. Altogether, during her Word War II service (which extended even after the war ended in 1945 to assist in carrying thousands of troops back home), she transported close to 350,000 troops, and sailed more than 500,000 miles.
Aquitania was finally sold for scrap in 1950, after failing to renew the Board of Trade Certificate due to her deteriorated condition. She was the only “great ocean liner” to serve in and survive both world wars, and the longest-serving liner in history at the time, a record later surpassed by Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2004. Although the feats of Aquitania would no longer be conceivable in our age of modern long-range anti-ship weapons, her story remains a valuable lesson on the paramount importance of military sealift and merchant shipping. Indeed, according to Cunard historian Michael Gallagher, “wartime Primer Minister Winston Churchill credited Aquitania, along with Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, for shortening World War II in Europe by a year.”
Several historians have pointed out how, during the weeks leading up to the invasion of Europe in 1944, troop deployments to Britain depended heavily on Aquitania and the other “Monsters”, to the point that no allowance could be made for interruption of their service for other transport requirements. The contributions of the merchant marine remain as necessary today as they were back in the 1910s and 1940s.
Like Allied efforts during both world wars, logistic support and sufficient sealift capabilities that allow for troops to be promptly carried to the theater of operations as fast as possible, and then supplying them for as long as it is needed, remains one of the most pressing challenges for the U.S. and its NATO allies. As recently underlined by shipping expert Sal Mercogliano in the February issue of the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings, “the potential for action in and around the western Pacific necessitates reconstituting and building an afloat prepositioning force that is nimbler and more adaptive to potential peer-to-peer conflicts.”
The successful career of RMS Aquitania during both world wars remains a powerful symbol of the contributions made by the merchant marine to Allied victory. Most importantly, it is a testament to the strong commitment that made those efforts possible in the first place, the same commitment that is once again demanded for NATO to build its modern fleet of “Monsters.”
Gonzalo Vazquez is a junior analyst at the Spanish Naval War College’s Center for Naval Thought. The views expressed in this article are his own.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.
Center for Maritime Strategy
By Gonzalo Vazquez
The first half of the 20th century is considered by many to be the golden age of ocean liners, large merchant ships that operated on a regular schedule between designated ports, transporting different kinds of cargo and passengers. At the time, the business was primarily dominated by two British companies, the White Star Line and the Cunard Line, with the latter eventually absorbing its rival in the 1930s and remaining one of the most popular shipping and cruise lines to this day.
Several of their liners became famous for their tragic fates, as was the case with the RMS Titanic, the RMS Britannic, or the RMS Lusitania (whose sinking in 1915 by a German U-boat is considered to be among the reasons which would eventually push Washington to get involved in the War). Others, however, would go on to earn nicknames like “The Old Reliable” and “The Ship Beautiful” throughout their long years of service.
This was the case of the RMS Aquitania, one of the longest-serving, most important express passenger liners in history, and a ship whose 36 year-long career stands as a timely lesson for Washington and its European allies on the crucial importance of military sealift and the merchant marine’s wartime contributions.
Although perhaps not as famous as other liners previously mentioned, the Aquitania is widely regarded as the most successful express liner of the 20th century and one of the most important ships in all maritime history. Besides her luxurious design and interiors, which earned her the nickname of “the ship beautiful” early during her first years of service, Aquitania’s career stands even to this day as a prominent example of Allied military sealift efforts during the world wars, and a strong source of inspiration for current U.S. and allied efforts to rebuild and resource a much-needed merchant marine fleet.
Aquitania was launched in April 1913, as Cunard’s response to her rival’s new Olympic-class; the RMS Olympic, the RMS Titanic and the RMS Britannic (at that time still finishing its construction at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast). Soon after entering service in May 1914, with only three round trips across the Atlantic completed, the outbreak of World War I led to her immediate requisitioning by the British Government and the Admiralty. Throughout the conflict, she served as an armed merchant cruiser fitted with guns, a troopship transporting soldiers to the battlefield in the Easternmost region of the Mediterranean, and as a hospital ship during the Dardanelles Campaign (although the sinking of the Britannic in 1916 eventually led the Admiralty to return her to troop transport once again).
Upon being dismissed from military service in 1918 and handed back to Cunard, she returned to service in the North Atlantic line connecting Europe with North America. She managed to survive the crisis derived from the crash of 1929, which saw many liners of her time being taken out of service due to the low levels of demand for liners (including the RMS Mauretania and RMS Olympic, which were simultaneously taken out of service in 1935). In fact, she was saved from retirement with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the subsequent demand for her sealift service once again.
With her total capacity for 7,400 troops (among the highest at that time), she was selected among the few fast former passenger ships able to sail without the need for an escort – the group of so-called “Monsters”. In fact, many credited her high speed as one of the main reasons behind her survival to the long and numerous sails across U-boat-infested waters, the same waters in which the Lusitania and many others had perished years before.
After serving in the Atlantic theater transporting troops between Canada and Europe, she was then assigned to the Pacific theater in 1942, to cover the route from Wellington to Suez and North Africa as part of the US 3 fast convoy. Altogether, during her Word War II service (which extended even after the war ended in 1945 to assist in carrying thousands of troops back home), she transported close to 350,000 troops, and sailed more than 500,000 miles.
Aquitania was finally sold for scrap in 1950, after failing to renew the Board of Trade Certificate due to her deteriorated condition. She was the only “great ocean liner” to serve in and survive both world wars, and the longest-serving liner in history at the time, a record later surpassed by Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2004. Although the feats of Aquitania would no longer be conceivable in our age of modern long-range anti-ship weapons, her story remains a valuable lesson on the paramount importance of military sealift and merchant shipping. Indeed, according to Cunard historian Michael Gallagher, “wartime Primer Minister Winston Churchill credited Aquitania, along with Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, for shortening World War II in Europe by a year.”
Several historians have pointed out how, during the weeks leading up to the invasion of Europe in 1944, troop deployments to Britain depended heavily on Aquitania and the other “Monsters”, to the point that no allowance could be made for interruption of their service for other transport requirements. The contributions of the merchant marine remain as necessary today as they were back in the 1910s and 1940s.
Like Allied efforts during both world wars, logistic support and sufficient sealift capabilities that allow for troops to be promptly carried to the theater of operations as fast as possible, and then supplying them for as long as it is needed, remains one of the most pressing challenges for the U.S. and its NATO allies. As recently underlined by shipping expert Sal Mercogliano in the February issue of the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings, “the potential for action in and around the western Pacific necessitates reconstituting and building an afloat prepositioning force that is nimbler and more adaptive to potential peer-to-peer conflicts.”
The successful career of RMS Aquitania during both world wars remains a powerful symbol of the contributions made by the merchant marine to Allied victory. Most importantly, it is a testament to the strong commitment that made those efforts possible in the first place, the same commitment that is once again demanded for NATO to build its modern fleet of “Monsters.”
Gonzalo Vazquez is a junior analyst at the Spanish Naval War College’s Center for Naval Thought. The views expressed in this article are his own.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.