RMS ''Samaria'' was a transatlantic

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for 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). The ...

built for

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

. She was completed in 1922 and served until 1955. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. ''Samaria'' was scrapped in 1956. ''Samaria'' was a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

of and half-sister of .

Building

Cammell Laird & Company in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

built ''Samaria'' for

, launching her on 27 November 1920. Fitting out for service took somewhat longer than usual due to post war demands on industry but in due course ''Samaria'' entered service in April 1922. She was an intermediate liner designed with an emphasis on fuel economy, hence her service speed was about .

Service

Intended to augment Cunard's transatlantic service ''Samaria'' ran on the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

route with periodic stops in

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

, and appealed to those first and second class passengers looking for comfort at reasonable rates and who were not in a hurry. Originally the ship was intended to make a profit in the immigrant trade with third class passengers. However the end of unrestricted immigration to the United States in the mid-1920s necessitated the first of several reconfiguration of passenger accommodations as third class became "tourist." Throughout the 1920s and 1930s ''Samaria'' was frequently employed as a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

. In September 1940 she took part in the evacuation of children from the UK to the US under the scheme set up by the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB). In 1941 the ship was taken over by the

and served as a

until 1948 when she was returned to Cunard and refitted for passenger service. Between 1948 and 1955 ''Samaria'' was assigned almost exclusively to the Canadian route with service to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and Halifax along with her sister-ship . In November 1955 she completed her last transatlantic crossing and was subsequently sold for scrapping, which was completed in 1956 at

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; ) is a coastal town, parish and historic Royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town lies on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh city centre and south of Dunfermline. A town of ancient origin, Inverke ...

, Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samaria 1920 ships Ships built on the River Mersey Ships of the Cunard Line Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the Royal Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom