THE WHITE STAR LINE
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CORINTHIC was built in 1902 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 12367grt, a length of 500ft 4in, a beam of 63ft 4in and a service speed of 14 knots. Sister of the Athenic she was launched on 10th April 1902 and commenced her maiden voyage to New Zealand on 20th November. On the outbreak of the First World War she remained in commercial service until 1917-19 when she was operated under the Liner Requisition Scheme on the meat run but with troops in the third class accommodation. She returned to commercial service in 1920 and in 1929 was converted to Cabin and Third Class accommodation only. In August 1931 she made her final sailing to New Zealand before being sold for £10,250 to Hughes, Bolckow for demolition at Wallsend. The low scrap price was a consequence of the depression.

IONIC (2) was built in 1903 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 12352grt, a length of 500ft 4in, a beam of 63ft 4in and a service speed of 14 knots. Sister of the Athenic she was launched on 22nd May 1902 and commenced her maiden voyage to Wellington, New Zealand on 16th January 1903. In August 1914 she was requisitioned as a New Zealand Expeditionary Force troopship and on 31st December 1915 was missed by a torpedo when operating in the Mediterranean. Between 1917-19 she was operated under the Liner Requisition Scheme returning to commercial service on 31st January 1919. In 1927 she rescued the crew of the Grand Banks fishing vessel Daisy. Her accommodation was converted to Cabin and Third Class only in 1929 and in 1934 she was transferred to Shaw, Savill & Albion when Cunard - White Star was formed. On 9th September 1936 she commenced her 79th and final voyage to New Zealand and on her return to Avonmouth was transferred to the group's Norfolk and North America Steam Ship Co. She was sold for £31,500 on 6th January 1937 and broken up in Japan. Her bell is now in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

VICTORIAN/RUSSIAN was built in 1895 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 8825grt, a length of 512ft 6in, a beam of 59ft 3in and a service speed of 13 knots. She was launched on 7th July 1895 as the Victorian for Frederick Leyland & Co. for deployment as a mixed cargo and cattle carrier and commenced her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Boston on 7th September. In November 1899 she was requisitioned as a transport for Boer War service and was used mainly for carrying horses to South Africa which she did almost continuously until November 1902. On 28th February 1903 her management but not ownership was transferred within the IMMC group to White Star and on 24th April joined the other cattle boats on the Liverpool - New York service. During 1904 she remained in Leyland ownership but operated on the White Star service in their livery but in 1910 she was painted in the Leyland livery. In August 1914 she was renamed Russian on the instructions of the Admiralty in order to avoid confusion with Allan Line's Victorian. On 14th December 1916, during a voyage from Salonika to Newport in ballast, she was torpedoed and sunk by UB-43 210 miles east of Malta with the loss of 28 lives.

ARMENIAN was built in 1895 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 8825grt, a length of 512ft 6in, a beam of 59ft 3in and a service speed of 13 knots. Sister of the Victorian she was launched on 25th November 1895 as the Indian for Frederick Leyland & Co. but delivered in the following September as the Armenian, commencing her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Boston on 28th. From November 1899 until 1902 she served alongside her sister as a transport during the Boer War. On 20th March 1903 she was transferred to White Star management, but not ownership, and joined the cargo service between Liverpool and New York, the passenger service having been discontinued. In 1910 she reverted to the Leyland livery with a pink funnel. She commenced her last sailing on 3rd March 1914 prior to being briefly laid up before being deployed as a horse transport to France. On 28th June 1915 she was torpedoed and sun by U-24 off Trevose Head in Cornwall after the crew were allowed to abandon ship.

CUFIC (2) was built in 1895 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 8249grt, a length of 475ft 11in, a beam of 55ft 2in and a service speed of 11 knots. She was launched on 8th August 1895 as the American for the West India & Pacific Steamship Co. and commenced her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New Orleans, where cotton was loaded, on 9th October. In 1898 she was chartered to the Atlantic Transport Line for their New Orleans and Baltimore services. On 1st January 1900 the entire fleet of twenty ships was taken over by Frederick Leyland (1900) Ltd. which, at the time, had John Ellerman as chairman. Retaining her name she was deployed as a Boer War transport. In the following year the fleet was taken over by J. Pierpoint Morgan prior to his IMMC being incorporated in 1902. Within the IMMC Group she was transferred to White Star and renamed Cufic in 1904 and commenced her first voyage from Liverpool to Sydney on 21st May. In 1914 she was requisitioned by the government for war service and between 1917 19 was operated by the Shipping Controller under the Liner Requisition Scheme. On her release she reverted to the Australia trade where she remained until December 1923 when she was sold to G. Lombardo of Genoa for scrap. On 25th January 1924 she was sold to Soc. Anon. Ligure di Nav. a Vapore of Genoa who renamed her Antarctico and operated her until 1927 when she was sold on to Bozzo & Mortola. Renamed Maria Giulia she continued to trade until April 1930 when she was put up for sale. In November 1932 she was sold for scrap and broken up at Genoa.

TROPIC (2) was built in 1896 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 8262grt, a length of 475ft 11in, a beam of 55ft 2in and a service speed of 11 knots. Sister of the Cufic she was built as the European for the West India and Pacific Steamship Co. and commenced her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New Orleans on 9th July. On 1st January 1900 the entire fleet was taken over by Frederick Leyland (1900) Ltd and, with the same name, was used as a Boer War transport. In 1901 she became part of the IMMC Group and in 1904 was transferred to White Star ownership for deployment on the Australia service as the Tropic. On 12th December 1908 she collided with the Argonaut Steam Navigation Co's coaster Wyoming off the Skerries. When the First World War was declared in 1914 she remained on the Australia meat run and in May 1917 came under the control of the Shipping Controller within the Liner Requisition Scheme. She reverted to the Australia run in 1919 where she remained until 1923 when she was sold to Ditta L. Pittaluga of Genoa who retained her name. In the following year she was sold to Soc. Anon. Ligure de Nav. a Vapore of Genoa who renamed her Artico. Three years later she was sold back to Pittaluga who changed her name to Transylvania. After a further six years trading she was broken up at Genoa during 1933.

GALLIC (1 was built in 1894 by John Scott & Co. at Kinghorn, Fife with a tonnage of 416grt, a length of 150ft and a beam of 28ft 2in. She was built as the ferry Birkenhead for the Corporation of Birkenhead. Their last paddle steamer, she operated firstly on the Woodside-Liverpool service and later on the Rock Ferry-Liverpool route. Acquired by White Star in March 1907 she was renamed Gallic and stationed at Cherbourg when calls were made there after the ships were transferred to Southampton. In 1911 she was replaced by the Nomadic and Traffic and in the following year returned to Liverpool where she was used as the occasional baggage boat. She was broken up at Garston in the River Mersey during 1913.

LAURENTIC (1) was built in 1909 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 14892grt, a length of 550ft 4in, a beam of 67ft 4in and a service speed of 17 knots. Laid down in 1907 as the Alberta for the Dominion Line to compete with Allan Line and Canadian Pacific she was launched as the Laurentic on 9th September 1908. She was engined with the newly introduced turbines which proved to be so successful that later new buildings were similarly equipped. With her sister, the Megantic, they were the largest liners, but not the fastest, on the Canada run and marked White Star's entry to that route. The pair were marketed as 'The White Star - Dominion Joint Service'. She was delivered on 15th April 1909 and commenced her maiden voyage Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal on 29th April. With the Megantic and Dominion's Canada and Dominion they maintained a weekly service. In 1910 the wife murderer Dr. Crippen and his lover Ethel Le Neve fled to Canada on Canadian Pacific's Montrose using the name Robinson and nephew. When Crippen's identity became suspect Scotland Yard was wirelessed and Inspector Dew boarded the much faster Laurentic which arrived off Father Point, St. Lawrence in time to arrest Crippen before he could disembark and escape British jurisdiction (Crippen was a Canadian citizen). All three returned on the Megantic and Crippen was subsequently hanged for his crimes. It was also the first time that wireless was used in the apprehension of a criminal. In 1911 she broke the record for the Canadian run with a round trip time of 13 days 4 hrs. On 13th September 1914, when in Montreal, she became a Canadian Expeditionary Force troop transport for 1800 men and on 26th September made her first sailing from Montreal. She joined the famed 32 troopship convoy which carried 35,000 Canadian troops to Europe on 3rd October in Gaspe Bay and with 'Blue Squadron' which comprised Royal George, Lapland, Virginian and Tunisian, anchored off Plymouth on 14th October. In 1915 she was converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser. On 25th January 1917, during a voyage from Liverpool to Halifax with a secret cargo of £5,000,000 of gold bullion to pay for Canadian munitions, she hit two mines which had been laid by U-80 off Northern Ireland near Lough Swilley. She capsized and sank in 125ft of water with the loss of 354 lives out of a total complement of 475. Fifteen lifeboats managed to get clear but many of the occupants died of exposure in the severe winter conditions. On 9th February she was located by Commander G. C. Durant RN and a team of 12 divers in 20 fathoms and listing 60 degrees to port. Recovery was curtailed when gales broke up the hull and the gold bars fell into the bowels of the ship. Due to war needs the recovery operation was temporarily abandoned. During the five summers from 1919 to 1924 Commander Durrant and his team recovered £4,958,000 and at the final tally it was found that only 25 bars valued at £41,292 were not recovered. Over 5000 dives were made at a cost of only £128,000 and, as a result, Durrant was promoted to Captain and awarded the DSO and each diver received £6,739 and the OBE.

MEGANTIC was built in 1909 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 14878grt, a length of 550ft 4in, a beam of 67ft 4in and a service speed of 17 knots. Sister of the Laurentic she was laid down as the Albany for the Dominion Line but launched on 10th December 1908 as the Megantic. Propelled by conventional machinery she was used to measure comparisons with Laurentic's new turbines. Turbines proved to be more efficient but the cost of re-engining the Megantic was cost prohibitive and, in the event, quadruple expansion engines were perfectly adequate for her duties. Delivered on 3rd June 1909 she completed the requirement for four ships on the weekly White Star-Dominion Joint Service between Liverpool and Montreal and commenced her maiden voyage on 17th June. In 1910 she carried the wife murdered Dr Crippen from Canada to the UK after his arrest. On 3rd October 1914 she sailed from Gaspé as part of the famed 32 ship convoy which carried 35,000 Canadian troops to Europe accompanied by the warships Charybdis, Diane, Eclipse, Glory and Talbot. When the convoy was approaching the UK it was split into squadrons which had varying ports of disembarkation. The Megantic was allocated to White Squadron together with the Bermudian, Royal Edward and Franconia and proceeded to Plymouth where they were to arrive ahead of the Blue Squadron. On 14th October they anchored off Devonport. She was later placed on the Liverpool-New York route. In April 1915 she was used as a troopship with accommodation for 1800 men. On 24th February 1917 she was attacked by UB-43 but sustained no damage and in the following April was taken over under the Liner Requisition Scheme. She quickly returned to commercial service following the conclusion of World War One and made her first post war sailing from Liverpool to New York on 11th December 1918. During 1919 she was refurbished at Belfast and subsequently returned to the Canadian service with the Canada which had replaced the lost Laurentic. During the off-season she operated cruises between New York and the West Indies. In January 1920 she made one sailing on the White Star-Shaw Savill & Albion joint service carrying Government staff to Sydney before proceeding to Wellington. She was converted to Cabin Class in 1924 and in 1927 was chartered for one voyage to carry troops to Shanghai. On 22nd March 1928 she was transferred to the London - Le Havre - Halifax - New York service while the St Lawrence was ice bound and to Quebec and Montreal in the summer months which became her annual schedule. During 1930-31 she operated economy cruises together with the Adriatic, Calgaric and Laurentic (2). In May 1931 she reverted to the Liverpool-Quebec-Montreal service before being laid up in Rothesay Bay in the following July. She sailed for Osaka where she was broken up in February 1933.

ZEELAND/NORTHLAND was built in 1901 by John Brown & Co. at Clydebank with a tonnage of 11905grt, a length of 561ft 7in, a beam of 60ft 2in and a service speed of 15 knots. She was launched on 24th November 1900 for the Red Star Line flying the Red Ensign. Their largest ship she was ice strengthened forward which was a rare event at that time. Delivered on 5th April 1901 she commenced her maiden voyage from Antwerp to New York on 13th April flying the Belgian flag. In 1902 her controlling owners were the International Navigation Co. of New Jersey which, in February 1902, became the International Mercantile Marine Co (IMMC). She collided with Ropner's Hartlepool of the Straits of Dover in 1909 when both ships were deemed to be equally at fault. On 11th April 1910 she was transferred within the IMMC Group to White Star and pending the delivery of the Olympic was used as a replacement for the Republic which had been lost. She commenced her first sailing, in Red Star livery, from Liverpool to New York on 19th April and during the off season disembarked at Boston. On 14th September 1911 she reverted to Red Star under the British flag but in the following year was re-registered at Antwerp and flew the Belgian flag. In July 1914 she collided with Atlantic Transport's Missouri during a voyage to New York. On 11th September, following the closure of Antwerp due to wartime conditions, she was returned to White Star to replace ships requisitioned for Government service. As Southampton had become a military port she operated between Liverpool and New York and then Liverpool to Canada. In June 1915 she was taken over for trooping duties and as her name sounded too Germanic was renamed Northland with International Navigation Co. recorded as her owner. She reverted to the White Star-Joint Dominion service to Canada in August 1916 and after seven voyages was taken over by the Shipping Controller under the Liner Requisition Scheme in March 1917. Decommissioned in September 1919 she was refitted at Liverpool and Belfast during 1920 and refurnished in Antwerp before being renamed Zeeland and recommencing her Red Star sailings from Antwerp to New York with a call at Southampton on 18th August. Her terminal port in Europe became Hamburg in 1921and in 1924 she was converted to Tourist Class. In January 1927 she was sold to Atlantic Transport Line of Liverpool and renamed Minnesota. With the Megantic she made one trooping voyage to Shanghai with Royal Marines before being deployed on the London to New York route. In October 1929 she was sold to Thos. W Ward and during 1930 was broken up at Inverkeithing.

VADERLAND/SOUTHLAND was built in 1900 by John Brown & Co. at Clydebank with a tonnage of 11899grt, a length of 560ft 8in, a beam of 60ft 2in and a service speed of 15 knots. Sister of the Zeeland she was launched on 12th July 1900 for the International Navigation Co. and allocated to the Red Star Line flying the British flag. Delivered on 29th November she commenced her maiden voyage Antwerp- Southampton-Cherbourg-New York on 8th December. In 1903 she was registered at Antwerp and flew the Belgian flag. She also made frequent calls to Dover instead of Southampton. On 25th July 1914 she made her final pre-war sailing from Antwerp arriving in New York shortly before World War 1 was declared. When Belgium was overrun by the Germans in the August she was transferred to White Star Line and commenced her first sailing from New York to Southampton on 3rd September. In 1915 she was renamed Southland as the Dutch name 'Vaderland' was too similar to the German 'Vaterland'. At the same time she was transferred to the White Star-Dominion Joint Service from Liverpool to Canada and in the Spring was requisitioned as a troopship for the Dardenelles campaign. She carried troops to Mudros which was the British army's transhipment port from where the troops were taken to the beaches on warships or 'K' type landing barges. On 2nd September 1915 she was torpedoed by UB-14 whilst transporting 1,400 men of the 2nd Australian Division from Alexandria to Mudros and was assisted into port by HMS Racoon. By August she was back on the Liverpool to Montreal Joint Service route and when the Americans entered the war in April 1917 she was used for eastbound Atlantic trooping. On 4th June 1917 she was hit by two torpedoes from U-70 and sank 140 miles north-west of Tory Island with the loss of 4 lives.

BELGIC (3) was built in 1903 by New York Shipbuilding Corp. at Camden, New Jersey with a tonnage of 9748grt, a length of 490ft 5in, a beam of 58ft 2in and a service speed of 14 knots. She was completed as the Mississippi for the Atlantic Transport Line and equipped to carry cattle eastbound. Transferred within the IMMC Group to the Red Star Line in 1906 she was renamed Samland and flew the Belgian flag. Operating on the Antwerp-New York service she carried cargo only and no cattle. When the Nederland was scrapped she replaced her on the Philadelphia service. In the following year she was herself replaced on the Philadelphia route by the Gothland and returned to the Antwerp-New York run. On 30th August 1911 she was transferred to White Star Line ownership and renamed Belgic. Two years later, in 1913, she reverted back to the Red Star Line and Samland on the Antwerp- New York service. In 1930 she was laid up and in 1931 was broken up by Van Huyghen Fréres at Ghent.

OLYMPIC (2) was built in 1911 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 45324grt, a length of 882ft, a beam of 92ft 6in and a service speed of 21 knots. Her keel was laid down on 16th December 1908 in the yard vacated by the Laurentic. The berth had to be extended to accommodate the new keel and a new 150ft floating crane had to be built to facilitate the fitting out. Originally designed by A.M. Carlisle with three funnels, a fourth was added which was a dummy and only used for the galley uptakes. The first of three ships for a weekly service to New York, the Titanic and Britannic being her sisters, she was launched at 1100hrs on 20th October 1910. She took 62 seconds to become waterborne and reached 12.5 knots as she slid down the slipway. At the time of her launch she was the largest ship in the world but her sisters were both fractionally larger when completed. On 28th May 1911 she undertook her trials attended by the new tenders Nomadic and Traffic and five Alexandra Towing tugs. She was at Liverpool on 1st June with guests and was opened for inspection by the public. Her maiden voyage commenced on 14th June and she completed the run from Southampton to New York in 5 days 16 hrs 42 mins at an average speed of 21.17 knots. On 20th September when bound for New York under the command of Capt. Edwards Smith and pilot G. W. Bowyer she was rammed by the cruiser HMS Hawke in the Solent. The cruiser had attempted to pass astern of the Olympic but hit her abreast of the mainmast on the starboard side. HMS Hawke was towed stern first into Portsmouth and the Olympic with a 42ft gash below the waterline proceeded to Belfast for repairs which took 6 weeks. Amazingly, the Olympic was blamed for the accident as her size and speed had sucked the cruiser, whose initial separation distance exceeded that laid down by the Admiralty, off course. Litigation followed and although the case went to the House of Lords the verdict was upheld. In February 1912 she was overhauled at Belfast during which time a new propeller was fitted and she was photographed with the Titanic which was fitting out. Following the loss of the Titanic in April 1912 she completed five voyages before returning to Harland & Wolff for safety rebuilding which took six months. Her double bottoms were extended to the waterline, bulkheads were brought to full height and 28 additional lifeboats were added in accordance with the Court's recommendations. The cost was £250,000 which could almost have bought a new secondary liner and all the White Star ships were similarly treated as were all British liners which did not have sufficient lifeboats for the passengers. The rebuild increased her tonnage to 46439grt and during her absence the America Line undertook her sailings. In August 1914 she was requisitioned for use as a troopship and on 27th October , when inbound for the Clyde and off Tory Island, attempted to tow the mined and sinking battleship HMS Audacious into Loch Foyle. When the battleship began to founder she took off the crew and was subsequently required to wait in Loch Fyne for a week while the minefield, which had been laid by NDL's Berlin, was swept. She consequently acquired the distinction of being the largest Oceanic Steam Navigation ship to visit the Clyde. During September 1915 she trooped mainly to the Mediterranean under the white ensign, dazzle painted and equipped with a 6 inch gun. On 1st October she was chased by a U-boat and on 23rd and 26th February 1916 was missed by torpedoes when in the Mediterranean. On 12th May 1918, during her 22nd trooping voyage, she avoided a torpedo attack and proceeded to ram and sink U-103 off the Lizard. The survivors were picked up by the escorting American destroyer. On 8th December she carried 5000 Canadian troops home to Halifax. During 1919 she repatriated Canadian and US troops and all in all carried over 200,000 troops and steamed some 180,000 miles during her wartime service. Nicknamed 'Old Reliable' she returned to Harland & Wolff on 12 August where she was refurbished at a cost of £500,000. During the refurbishment she was converted to oil burning and, as a result, her engine room staff was reduced from 246 to 60. On 21st July 1920 she returned to the Southampton - New York service with the Adriatic and in the following year made her fastest crossing in 5 days 12 hrs 39 mins. In 1924, on 22nd March, she collided with Furness-Bermuda Line's Fort St. George and broke her stern post. During 1929 she ran 3.5 days 'Quick Trips' between New York and Halifax with the Majestic and their stay in New York lasted for one week. On 10th May 1934 she was taken over by Cunard-White Star and six days later rammed and sank the Nantucket Light vessel killing 8 people. She commenced her final sailing from New York to Southampton on 27th March 1935 and on 12th April was laid up at Southampton. In the following September she was sold to Sir John Jarvis for £100,000 and later re-sold to Metal Industries (Thos. W. Ward) for demolition and on the condition that she was broken up at Jarrow to relieve the unemployment there. After 24 years service she arrived at Jarrow on 13th October where she was dismantled down to waterline level. At the point, on 19th September 1937, she was towed to Inverkeithing for final dmolition.

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