RMS Ausonia (ship, 1922)
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The RMS Ausonia (II) was an ocean liner put into service in 1922 by the British shipping company Cunard Line , which was used in passenger and mail traffic between Great Britain and Canada . In 1965 the ship was scrapped.
history
Until World War II
The Ausonia was launched on March 22, 1921 at Armstrong-Whitworth in Newcastle . It was completed that same June and left Liverpool on August 31 for its maiden voyage to Montreal . She was one of six sister ships of the "A" class that the Cunard Line put into service in the first half of the 1920s. The others were the RMS Andania (II), the RMS Aurania (III), the RMS Antonia , the RMS Alaunia (II) and the RMS Ascania (II).
The ship was the RMS Ascania very similar, only the bridge was slightly different. Like all other "A" ships, she only had cabin and 3rd class and ran a speed of 15 knots.
She soon switched to the London - Canada route. Her two sister ships RMS Andania and RMS Antonia were also used there from now on. Usually the route ran from London via Southampton to Quebec / Montreal , but sometimes the Ausonia also went to Hamburg . In winter, when the St. Lawrence River was frozen, the trip ended in Halifax instead of Quebec / Montreal.
In 1927 the accommodations were divided into cabin, tourist and 3rd class. At that time the RMS Alaunia , the RMS Ascania and the RMS Andania provided the weekly service from London via Southampton and Cherbourg to Quebec and Montreal. In the same year the RMS Andania moved to Liverpool as the port of departure and the Aurania went to London in 1928. This shows that the ships could be rearranged at will. The Ausonia completed its voyages in the 1920s and 1930s without any significant incidents.
In World War II
After the beginning of the war , the "A" ships were drafted because of their size, which was considered suitable, and converted to auxiliary cruisers . The Ausonia was prepared for this at Vickers-Armstrong on the Tyne . She received eight six-inch guns and a number of three-inch anti-aircraft weapons. After satisfactory trials, HMS Ausonia ran to Portsmouth and then to Halifax, Nova Scotia . Here she took up her new job as an escort vehicle for convoys. The ship took on this dangerous mission for the following years, escorting eastbound convoys to a sea position south of Iceland , bunkering in Hvalfjord on Iceland and then escorting westbound convoys to Halifax again.
In 1941/42 the Ausonia was overhauled at the shipyard and then went on patrols in the southern Atlantic. The need for auxiliary cruisers decreased in these years and in June 1942 the British Admiralty Cunard bought the ship to have it converted into a workshop ship in Portsmouth. The large guns were removed and replaced by smaller defensive weapons.
The ship was operational again in May 1944 and was stationed in Kilindini near Mombasa , later in Aden and Trincomalee . Here the crew repaired numerous damaged ships and land vehicles. She stayed in these waters until 1946 and returned to Britain on August 2nd.
After the Second World War
For a certain time the HMS Ausonia belonged to the reserve fleet in Gareloch , but was then moved to Chatham , Sheerness and Rosyth . During the shipyard time in Chatham, which lasted from 1951 to 1954, the boilers were replaced, among other things.
Until June 1957 the ship was laid up in Millwall . After clearing the sea in Devonport , it ran into the Mediterranean, where it was supposed to replace the HMS Ranpura as a workshop ship in Malta . The HMS Ausonia arrived there in October 1958 and stayed with the Navy until the end of her service. From June 1962 she was the flagship of the flag officer of the British Mediterranean Fleet and served as accommodation and workshop for the British 5th submarine division.
Gradually, the British military presence in Malta was reduced and on August 7, 1964, the HMS Ausonia returned to Portsmouth. In September 1965 it was sold to Spanish abandoners and towed to Castellon , where it was scrapped.
Regular scheduled services
- London - Southampton - Quebec - Montreal
- London - Southampton - Halifax (Winter)