RMS Caronia (1904)

For other ships with the same name, see Caronia (disambiguation).

RMS Caronia was a Cunard Line transatlantic steam ocean liner. She was launched in 1904 and scrapped in 1932. In World War I she was first an armed merchant cruiser (AMC) and then a troop ship.

Caronia under way
History
United Kingdom
Name	1904: Caronia 1932: Taiseiyo Maru
Namesake	1904: Caro Brown 1932: Japanese for "Atlantic Ship"
Owner	Cunard Line
Operator	1914–15: Royal Navy
Port of registry	1904: Liverpool 1932: Osaka
Builder	John Brown & Co, Clydebank
Yard number	362
Launched	13 July 1904
Completed	February 1905
Maiden voyage	25 February 1905
Identification	UK official number: 120826 Code letters HBTQ by 1913: call sign MRA 1914–15: pennant number: M 53
Nickname(s)	"pretty sister of Carmania"
Fate	Scrapped 1933 in Osaka
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	1904: 19,594 GRT, 10,213 NRT 1909: 19,687 GRT, 10,306 NRT after 1924 refit: 19,782 GRT, 9,752 NRT
Length	650.0 ft (198.1 m) registered length 678 ft (207 m) o/a
Beam	72.2 ft (22.0 m)
Draught	33 ft 3 in (10.13 m)
Depth	40.2 ft (12.3 m)
Installed power	3,363 NHP 22,000 IHP
Propulsion	2 × quadruple-expansion engines 2 × screws
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h)
Capacity	1,550 passengers:[clarification needed] 300 first class 350 second class 900 third class cargo: 46,280 cubic feet (1,311 m3) refrigerated
Sensors & processing systems	by 1930: submarine signalling wireless direction finding
Armament	(as AMC): 8 × QF 4.7 inch Mk V naval guns
Notes	sister ship: RMS Carmania

RMS Carmania was launched in 1905 as her sister ship, although the two had different machinery. When new, the pair were the largest ships in the Cunard fleet.^[1]

Building

John Brown & Company of Clydebank launched Caronia on 13 July 1904^[2] and completed her in February 1905.^[3] She was the only ship in the Cunard fleet to be named after an American, being named after Caro Brown, granddaughter of Cunard's New York agent.^[4]

Caronia was propelled by quadruple-expansion engines. Carmania had steam turbines, and proved to be the more economical of the two.^[5]

Her holds included 46,280 cubic feet (1,311 m³) refrigerated cargo space.^[6]

Service

Caronia left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York on 25 February 1905. A successful 1906 cruise from New York to the Mediterranean led to Caronia frequently being used for cruising.

On 14 April 1912 Caronia transmitted the first ice warning at 09:00 to RMS Titanic reporting "bergs, growlers and field ice".

In 1914 Cunard briefly placed Caronia on its Boston service. At the start of the First World War the Admiralty requisitioned her to be an armed merchant cruiser. She was stationed off New York on contraband patrol.^[4][7] She was a troop ship from 1916 until after the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Her last duties were to repatriate Canadian troops in 1919.^[4] She returned to the Liverpool – New York run after the war.

In 1920 Caronia was converted to burn oil instead of coal.

After returning to service, she sailed on a number of different routes, including:

• Liverpool – New York / Boston
• London – New York
• Liverpool - Mediterranean cruise stopping at Gibraltar, Algiers, Monaco, Genoa and Naples (Dec 1921 - approx Mar 1922)
• Hamburg – New York (1922)
• Liverpool – Quebec (1924)
• New York – Havana

Fate

In 1931 Cunard laid up Caronia, and then sold her for £20,000 to Hughes Bolckow & Co for scrap. In 1932 Hughes Bolckow sold her to Kobe Kaiun KK for £39,000, who renamed her Taiseiyo Maru ("The Atlantic Ship"). Kobe Kaiun had her towed to Osaka, where demolition work started on 28 March 1933.^[2][8]