RMS Majestic (1914)

For other ships with the same name, see Majestic (ship).
"RMS Majestic" redirects here. For the earlier White Star liner, see RMS Majestic (1889).
"SS Bismarck" redirects here. For the German battleship, see German battleship Bismarck.

Photograph of RMS Majestic by F. G. O. Stuart, c. 1922
History
Germany
NameSS Bismarck
NamesakeOtto von Bismarck
OwnerHamburg America Line
BuilderBlohm & Voss
Laid down1913
Launched20 June 1914
FateAwarded to the White Star Line in 1920 as war reparations for the sinking of HMHS Britannic
United Kingdom
NameRMS Majestic
Owner
Operator
Port of registryLiverpool (1922-1936)
Maiden voyage11 May 1922
In serviceApril 1922
Out of service19 September 1939
RenamedHMS Caledonia (23 April 1937)
FateCaught fire and sank on 29 September 1939 and scrapped 1943
General characteristics
Class and typeImperator-class ocean liner
Tonnage56,551 GRT, 26,324 NRT
Length956.0 ft (291.4 m)
Beam100.1 ft (30.5 m)
Draft36 ft (11.0 m)
Installed power
  • 48 boilers
  • 66,000 shp (49,000 kW)
Propulsion4 Parsons steam turbines, 4 screws
Speed23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph) 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) (maximum)
Capacity
  • 2,145 passengers:
  • 750 first class
  • 545 second class
  • 850 third class
NotesNever served the Hamburg America Line that it was built for. Largest ocean liner ever operated independently under the White Star Line flag.

RMS Majestic was a British ocean liner working on the White Star Line’s North Atlantic run, originally launched in 1914 as the Hamburg America Liner SS Bismarck. At 56,551 gross register tons, she was the largest ship ever operated by the White Star Line under its own flag and the largest ship in the world until completion of SS Normandie in 1935.

The third and largest member of German Hamburg America Line's trio of transatlantic liners, her completion was delayed by World War I. The liner never sailed under the German flag except on her sea trials in 1922.[1] Following the war, she was finished by her German builders, handed over to the allies as war reparations and became the White Star Line flagship RMS Majestic, replacing the sunk HMHS Britannic. She was the second White Star ship to bear the name, the first being the RMS Majestic of 1889.

She served successfully throughout the 1920s but the onset of the Great Depression made her increasingly unprofitable. She managed to struggle through the first half of the 1930s before being sold off for scrapping to Thos. W. Ward. The British Admiralty took possession of her before demolition commenced after an agreement was reached with White Star and Thomas Ward. She served the Royal Navy as the training ship HMS Caledonia before catching fire in 1939 and sinking. She was subsequently raised and scrapped in 1943.[2]

  1. ^ "RMS MAJESTIC". Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  2. ^ "RMS MAJESTIC THE DETAILS". Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.