HMT Aragon

Aragon in 1908 as a civilian ocean liner
History
United Kingdom
Name	RMS Aragon (1905–14) HMT Aragon (1915–17)
Namesake	The Spanish Kingdom of Aragon
Owner	Royal Mail Steam Packet Co
Operator	Royal Mail SP Co (1905–14) Royal Navy (1915–17)
Port of registry	Belfast
Route	Southampton – Buenos Aires (1905–14)[2]
Builder	Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number	367
Launched	23 February 1905[1]
Completed	22 June 1905
Maiden voyage	14 July 1905
Out of service	30 December 1917
Identification	UK Official number 120707 Code letters HCST Call sign MBN
Fate	Sunk by torpedo 30 December 1917
General characteristics
Class and type	RMSP "A" series
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	9,588 GRT;[3][4] 6,038 NT[1][4]
Length	513.2 ft (156.4 m)[3]
Beam	60.4 ft (18.4 m)[3]
Depth	31.0 ft (9.4 m)[3]
Installed power	762,[5] 827[3] or 875[1] NHP
Propulsion	Quadruple expansion steam engines;[3] Twin screw propellers[6]
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h)[3] or 16 knots (30 km/h)[1][4]
Boats & landing craft carried	12 lifeboats, 1 dinghy, 1 gig
Capacity	As liner: 306 1st class[1][4] 66 2nd class[1][4] 632 3rd class[1][4]
Crew	As troop ship: 200[3]
Armament	2 × stern-mounted QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns (from 1913)[6]
Notes	sister ships: Amazon, Avon, Araguaya, Asturias

HMT Aragon, originally RMS Aragon, was a 9,588 GRT^[3] transatlantic Royal Mail Ship that served as a troop ship in the First World War. She was built in Belfast, Ireland in 1905 and was the first of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's fleet of "A-liners"^[7] that worked regular routes between Southampton and South American ports including Buenos Aires.^[2]

In 1913 Aragon became Britain's first defensively armed merchant ship ("DAMS") of modern times. In the First World War she served as a troop ship, taking part in the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. In 1917, a German submarine sank her in the Mediterranean, killing 610 of the personnel aboard.