_(cropped).jpg) RMSFranconia atSydney, Australia | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | RMSFranconia |
| Owner | Cunard Line |
| Port of registry |  Liverpool |
| Builder | John Brown & Co,Clydebank |
| Launched | 21 October 1922 |
| Completed | June 1923 |
| Maiden voyage | 23 June 1923 |
| Fate | Scrapped at Inverkeithing by Thos. W. Ward, December 1956 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 20,175 GRT, 12,185 NRT |
| Length | 601.3 ft (183.3 m) |
| Beam | 73.7 ft (22.5 m) |
| Depth | 40.6 ft (12.4 m) |
| Installed power | 2,562NHP; 13,500SHP |
| Propulsion | Six steam turbines with double reduction gearing; twin propellers |
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h) |
| Capacity | Approximately 220 first class, 350 second class, 1200 third class passengers |
RMSFranconia was anocean liner operated by theCunard Line from 1922 to 1956. The liner was second of three liners namedFranconia which served the Cunard Line, the others beingFranconia (1910) built in 1910 and the thirdFranconia in 1963.
She waslaunched on 21 October 1922 by theJohn Brown & Co shipyard atClydebank,Scotland. Her maiden voyage was betweenLiverpool and New York in June 1923; she was employed on this route in the summer months untilWorld War II. In the winter she was used on world cruises.[1][2]
On 26 December 1926,Franconia ran aground atSan Juan,Puerto Rico[3] and was refloated three days later.[4]
She had a collision inShanghai harbour in April 1929 with an Italiangunboat and a Japanese cargo steamer.[5]
American songwriterCole Porter, composed the song "Begin the Beguine", while aboard theFranconia fromKalabahi,Dutch East Indies, toFiji in 1935.[6]
In September 1939, she was requisitioned as atroopship after refitting at Liverpool. She had a collision offMalta with the French troopshipMarietta Pacha and was escorted to Malta by thearmed merchant cruiserAlcantara. The ship was repaired in time to take part in theNorwegian campaign.[7] On 16 June 1940, while en route toSt Nazaire as part ofOperation Aerial (the evacuation of theSecond British Expeditionary Force from France), she was damaged by near-misses from German bombs and was escorted back to Liverpool for repairs.[8]
Later in the war, she took troops toIndia and took part in landings atMadagascar,North Africa,Italy[9] and theAzores.[10] In 1945 she was used as a headquarters ship forWinston Churchill and the British delegation at theYalta Conference.[11] At the end of thewar in Europe,Franconia made several trips across the Atlantic carrying returning US troops and refugees. AfterVJ Day she was employed repatriating British troops, including freedprisoners of war, from India.[12] During her government service, she had covered 319,784 miles (514,642 km) and carried 189,239 military personnel.[13]
Franconia was returned to Cunard in June 1948 and was refitted by John Brown & Co, Clydebank; finally resuming passenger service on 2 June 1949 on theLiverpool toQuebec and Liverpool toHalifax routes.[1] In this role,Franconia brought many postwar immigrants and refugees to Canada. The ship sailed from Liverpool 28 June 1949 and arrived Quebec 5 July and sailed from Liverpool again 21 July arriving Quebec 28 July. In July 1950 she went aground on theÎle d'Orléans in theSaint Lawrence River after leaving Quebec.[14] After being pulled off the reef she was repaired and resumed in service on the Canadian run in September 1950.[15]Franconia was retired in 1956 with her fleetmateRMS Ascania having been replaced on the Canadian run bySaxonia,Ivernia and theCarinthia.[11]
Franconia's pre-war around-the-world cruises and distinguished wartime service made her a popular name within Cunard so in 1963,Ivernia was renamedFranconia to continue the name within the company. In recognition of her important Canadian immigration role, Cunard Line gave the builder's model ofFranconia to theMaritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Media related toFranconia (ship, 1922) at Wikimedia Commons
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1926 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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