Cunard-White Star Line, Ltd, was a British shipping line which existed between 1934 and 1949.^[1]

Cunard-White Star Line Limited

Industry	Transportation
Predecessor	White Star Line Cunard Line
Founded	10 May 1934; 91 years ago (1934-05-10)
Defunct	31 December 1949; 75 years ago (1949-12-31)
Successor	Cunard Line
Headquarters	Liverpool, United Kingdom
Area served	Transatlantic
Key people	Percy Bates (Chairman)
Owner	Cunard Line (62%) and White Star Line (38%)
Footnotes / references House Flag

The company was created to control the joint shipping assets of theCunard Line and theWhite Star Line after both companies experienced financial difficulties during theGreat Depression. Cunard White Star controlled a total of twenty-fiveocean liners (with Cunard contributing fifteen ships and White Star ten). Both Cunard and White Star were in dire financial trouble, and were looking to complete enormous liners: White Star had Hull 844 –Oceanic – and Cunard had Hull 534, which would later becomeRMS Queen Mary. In 1933, the British government agreed to provide assistance to the two competitors on the condition that they merge their North Atlantic operations.^[2] The agreement was completed on 30 December 1933. The merger took place on 10 May 1934, creating Cunard-White Star Limited. White Star contributed ten ships to the new company while Cunard contributed fifteen. Due to this arrangement, and since Hull 534 was Cunard's ship, Cunard's shareholders owned 62% of the new company, with the remaining 38% being owned for the benefit of White Star's creditors. White Star vessels flew the White Star flag over the Cunard flag while Cunard vessels flew the Cunard flag over the White Star flag.

Being in a better financial and operating state than White Star, Cunard began absorbing White Star assets and as a result, most of the White Star vessels were quickly disposed of or sent to the shipbreakers. White Star's Australia and New Zealand service ships were transferred to the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line in 1934 andRMS Olympic was retired and sold for scrap the following year, along with Cunard'sRMS Mauretania. White Star's flagshipRMS Majestic, the largest ship in the world until the completion ofSSNormandie in 1935, was sold in 1936.

In 1947, Cunard acquired White Star’s 38% share in the company and on 31 December 1949 the company had dropped the White Star name and was renamedCunard Line.^[3] Both the Cunard and White Star house flags were flown on the company's liners at the time of the merger and thereafter. However, the Cunard flag was flown over the White Star flag on the last two White Star liners,MV Georgic andMV Britannic.Georgic was scrapped in 1956, whileBritannic made the final Liverpool–New York crossing of any White Star vessel from New York on 25 November 1960, and returned to Liverpool for the final time before sailing under her own power to the ship breakers. She was the last White Star liner in existence, leaving the passenger tenderSS Nomadic, which was also owned by the company until 1934, as the last White Star Line ship afloat.

Despite this, all Cunard Line ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags on their masts until late 1968. This was most likely becauseNomadic remained in service with Cunard until 4 November 1968, and was sent to the breakers' yard, only to be bought for use as a floating restaurant. After this, the White Star flag was no longer flown, the White Star name was removed from Cunard operations and all remnants of both White Star Line and Cunard-White Star Line were retired.^[4][5] Cunard operated as a separate entity until 1972, when it was acquired byTrafalgar House, a British industrial and shipping conglomerate. After Trafalgar house was acquired byKværner Cunard was put up for sale and by 1999 had been purchased byCarnival Corporation.

• Cunard White Star History and Ephemera GG Archives