SS Laurentic (1927)

History
United Kingdom
Name	Laurentic
Owner	Oceanic Steam Nav Co (1927–34) Cunard-White Star Line (1934–40)
Operator	White Star Line 1927–34 Cunard-White Star Line 1934–39 Royal Navy 1939–40 (pennant F51)
Port of registry	Liverpool
Route	Liverpool – Québec – Montreal
Builder	Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number	470
Launched	16 June 1927
Completed	1 November 1927
Maiden voyage	12 November 1927
In service	1927
Out of service	1940
Identification	UK official number 149642 code letters KWPV (until 1933) call sign GNJT (1934 onward)
Fate	Torpedoed by U-99, 3–4 November 1940
Notes	The last steamship built for White Star Line and the last White Star Line ship to sink.
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	18,724 GRT 11,103 NRT
Length	578.2 ft (176.2 m)
Beam	75.4 ft (23.0 m)
Depth	40.6 ft (12.4 m)
Decks	4 decks
Propulsion	2 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines 1 × low-pressure steam turbine 3 × screws
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h)
Capacity	594 Cabin Class 406 Tourist Class 500 Third Class
Sensors and processing systems	submarine signalling wireless direction finding (by 1930)
Armament	as armed merchant cruiser: BL 6-inch Mk XII naval guns QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns

The second SS Laurentic was a 18,724 GRT steam ocean liner built in 1927 by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, for White Star Line.^[1] She was the last steamship to be built for White Star Line.^[2]

She sailed between Liverpool and Canada from 1927 to 1936. After the merger of the White Star Line with Cunard she was used mainly as a cruise ship. From December 1935 she was laid up in Liverpool.

In 1939 the Admiralty requisitioned her and had her converted into an armed merchant cruiser for the Royal Navy. On 3–4 November 1940 a U-boat torpedoed her off the west coast of Ireland when she was on a rescue mission for another ship that had been torpedoed. She sank with the loss of 49 of her complement.