The RMS ''Ascania'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

operated by the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

. She was launched on 20 December 1923 at the Armstrong Whitworth Shipbuilders Ltd yard in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

; the fifth of Cunard's six "A" class liners. Due to unforeseen cost overruns, the vessel was not completed until May 1925. Following service in a number of military roles during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she was refitted and returned to civilian use in 1950, finally retiring in 1956.

Pre-War

Her maiden voyage was between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(cargo)-

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

starting on 22 May 1925; she was employed on this route, switching to Halifax and New York during the winter, until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In July 1927 her accommodation was altered to cabin, tourist and 3rd class, and in March 1939 to cabin and 3rd class. In December 1934 ''Ascania'' rescued the crew of the sinking cargo ship SS ''Unsworth'' in mid-Atlantic. ''Ascania'' herself ran into trouble on 2 July 1938 when she ran aground in the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, near Bic Island,

. Her 400 passengers were taken off by the Canadian Pacific cargo liner Beaverford while the ''Ascanias crew remained aboard to refloat the liner which was repaired and returned to service a few months later.

Wartime Service

On 24 August 1939, she was taken into naval service and converted into an

Armed Merchant Cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

. Armed with 8 x 6-inch (152mm) and 2 x 3-inch (76mm) naval guns, she became HMS ''Ascania'' with the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

F68. She sailed with the Halifax Escort Force and later with the North Atlantic Escort Force on convoy protection duty. From November 1941 to September 1942 she deployed to the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

station. In October 1942, she was returned to the UK and was employed as a Troopship by the Ministry of War Transport. The following year, ''Ascania'' was modified into a Landing Ship Infantry and took part in the Invasion of Sicily in 1943, and the

Anzio Landings The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The ope ...

and landings in the south of France in 1944.

Post-war

''Ascania'' was returned to Cunard and refitted, resuming passenger service on 20 December 1947 on the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

to Halifax route. She underwent a major refit in 1949, to 14,440 gross register tons and with accommodation for 200 1st and 500 tourist class passengers, and returned to service on 21 April 1950 on the Liverpool-Quebec-Montreal route. ''Ascania'' was again taken up as a troopship for the Suez landings and finally retired in December 1956.

Heritage

''Ascanias bell is on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. It is located in the 'Visible Storage' display cases section of the museum on the second floor. In addition, a large cut-away model is displayed at the

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Canada's national museum of immigration. The museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971. Pier 21 is Canada's la ...

next to the landing deck where ''Ascania'' once docked.

References

External links

Images of ''Ascania'' at www.greatships.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascania (1923) Ocean liners Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships of the Cunard Line Steamships World War II Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy Troop ships of the United Kingdom 1923 ships Maritime incidents in 1938 Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth