RMS Adriatic (1906)

RMS Adriatic underway in Belfast harbour, April 1907
History
United Kingdom
Name	RMS Adriatic
Namesake	Adriatic Sea
Owner	Oceanic Steam Nav Co.
Operator	1907 - 1934: White Star Line 1934: Cunard-White Star Line
Port of registry	Liverpool
Route	Liverpool–Cobh–New York (1907) (1911-1919) (1922-1934) Southampton-Cherbourg-New York (1907-1911) (1919-1921)
Builder	Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number	358
Launched	20 September 1906
Completed	25 April 1907
Maiden voyage	8 May 1907
In service	1907
Out of service	1935
Identification	UK official number 1294061 Code letters HKNW (until 1933) Call sign GLSJ (1934 onward)
Fate	Scrapped in Onomichi, 1935
General characteristics
Class and type	Big Four
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	24,541 GRT, 15,638 NRT
Length	729 ft (222 m)
Beam	75.6 ft (23.0 m)
Depth	52.6 ft (16.0 m)
Decks	4
Installed power	16 000 hp
Propulsion	2 × Quadruple-expansion engines 2 × Propellers
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h) (max)
Range	5000 nmi
Boats & landing craft carried	20 lifeboats
Capacity	2,825 passengers: 425 First Class 500 Second Class 1900 Third Class 51,120 cu ft (1,448 m3) refrigerated cargo
Crew	557

RMS Adriatic was a British ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was the fourth of a quartet of ships of more than 20,000 GRT, dubbed The Big Four. The Adriatic was the only one of the four which was never the world's largest ship. However, she was the largest, the fastest, and the most luxurious of the Big Four, being the first ocean liner to have an indoor swimming pool and Victorian-style Turkish baths.^[1]

She began her career on the brand new route from Southampton to New York before joining, from 1911, her sister ships on the secondary route from Liverpool. They were in fact slow liners intended to provide a service at moderate prices. When World War I broke out, the Adriatic was among the ships that continued their civilian transatlantic service, while carrying many provisions. In 1917, she was requisitioned and served as a troop transport.

After the war, she was refitted several times and was gradually used for cruises, which became her main services in the 1930s. When Cunard Line and White Star Line merged in 1934, she was quickly deemed unnecessary and sold at the end of the year. She was scrapped in Osaka in 1935.