Interesting, I hadn't heard of that. Either way, it must have been exciting (if not a bit intimidating) to travel to a new country aboard such a huge and famous liner. Was she traveling alone?
The event in 1920 wasn't really a fire onboard. It was an incident that occurred during her first crossing as an oil burning ship. During that crossing, and having just left Queenstown, Ireland, a pressure control valve on one of the boilers blew off and it hit and killed a third engineer apprentice, whose last name was Barkway. He was buried at sea shortly after the incident.
@Reksio 1164 it's even more annoying when it's a ship with less than four funnels, one time I showed my grandmother a picture of the Queen Mary and she thought it was Titanic.
I actually have a 1925 Aquitania passenger list, well two of them. One of them was for passengers embarking at Cherbourg for the same voyage as the main passenger list.
Wow, I’d heard of this ship before, but didn’t know her full story - being involved in both world wars and surviving both is amazing. It’s funny, when I think about ships at war, I always imagine the great battleships or aircraft carriers, but it’s so interesting to see the important role ocean liners played as well. Thanks so much for making these informative videos and sharing the history of these great machines!
Many liners were used throughout both wars as armed merchant cruisers, hospital ships and troop carriers. A huge number were destroyed by submarines and aircraft.
Aquitania's history is second to none, and it more than makes up for the minor shortcomings in her exterior design. I really think THAT'S why this great Cunard Liner is growing on you. It's why she became my favorite.
The SS United States is the last of the ocean liners and is docked here in philly. They don't seem to know what to do with it. A museum would be great.
Beautiful elegance of this liner remained always kind of a kickside player in the majestic North Atlantic epic liners stage. She deserves this video and many others. Thanks for your work.
being a huge fan of the Aquitania, I highly appreciate videos dedicated to a forgotten Gem (especially considering the fact that I can't find a full documentary on the liner) keep making great videos!
A remake of this particular video is in the works, so stay tuned. This was my pilot video and I don't think it's up to par with the rest of my videos (especially the more recent ones).
Kinda sad that they just cut up a ship that lived through 2 world wars. Seems like it would've been better used as a floating museum or something. Such a waste I think.
I've recently discovered your videos, and I absolutely love them! These old ships were nothing short of amazing! Please, PLEASE do a video of my favorite ship of all time, the Great Eastern! She was an amazing ship, and definitely deserves your attention!
My great grandmother travelled from England to Halifax aboard the Aquitainia in October 1946. She was 18 years old and it was just one part of her journey from Holland to Canada where she would reunite with her husband whom she just married 6 months prior. He was a Canadian soldier stationed near her home. He returned to Canada a week after their wedding to prepare for her arrival in 6 months. She left everything behind, she took a train to Rotterdam, from there she boarded the Lady Rodney to England and then the Aquitainia to Halifax, and finally another train from Halifax to Alberta. Where my family still lives:))
My father sailed back from Europe as a Canadian soldier after the war, and my mother and I, born in Belgium, sailed on her to Halifax in the winter of 1945. I was six months old. I don't know if this is where I got my love of sailing, but my parents' stories of their experiences on the Aquitania certainly contributed. I have visited the Queen Mary in California, have sailed on the Queen Elizabeth ( the first one) and the Queen Mary2 for many transatlantic crossings.Hope to do so again soon. Loved this short history of a great ship. Thank you. .
@@TheBabybelle1 - Why would anyone lie about that. I have a card given to me at the end of the voyage recording the weather conditions each day. 🤷♀️ On the flip side of the card is a picture of the ship. The most amazing and moving moment was … as the ship was being guided away by the tugboats, someone on the dock started to sing “Now is the Hour”. Everyone on the dock suddenly started to join in and tears soon followed on both sides (the dock and the ship). That moment will stay with me forever!
My mother also travelled on this same ship, from Southampton to Halifax, on July 27, 1948. Onward from there, by train to Toronto, where she met up with her fiance, my Dad. Nice memories.
@@nottiification 'There's a "t" in Britain you know.' Yes, this is an excellent series of documentaries, bringing back to vivid life the golden age of transatlantic travel, but it would be the icing on the cake if the 't' that has disappeared from a number of words, could make a re-appearance.
Yeah, I noticed that too. He kept getting the decade she entered service confused with her trooping service during World War 2. By the way, Aquitania actually began her World War 2 duties in late 1939, when she made the first troop crossings of the Atlantic with Canadian troops carried over to Gourock Scotland.
I heard him say that also but I assumed it was a mistake. He also said the ship underwent massive renovation in 1932 and that Cunard had planned to retire her in 1914...eight years later. I'm assuming what he meant was that Cunard had planned to retire her in 1940, which would have been eight years after her 1932 renovation.
Barbaranne, Where in Canada did you arrive in 1946? My aunt sailed on RMS Aquitania in 1947 as a War Bride from Liverpool to Canada and I never asked her which port she arrived in. She did tell me that the Aquitania was still painted in her war-time anti-dazzle paint. Christopher
@@barbaranneboyer4796 Better late than never Barbaranne! Thank you for your reply. She was well nick-named "The Ship Beautiful". That's a good "Claim to Fame" you have! Christopher x 👍
My late father was one of the many thousands of troops carried overseas to serve during WW2. He often spoke affectionately about Aquitania as "the old tub", probably because he was one of the very few who didn't get seasick, even while pitching and rolling in the Great Australian Bight. Col, NZ
My dad served on the Aquitaine from 1916 to the end of WWI, On the trip to Europe he was a steward and from Europe to America/Canada he was a surgeons assistant because on that run it was a hospital ship. Dad joined the British merchant marine in 1915 when he was 13. In 1916 when he was 14 he was taken into the Royal Navy aa an able seaman,
Fred Orman isn’t that incredible. My grandfather was from Newfoundland and he served in the British Navy during the Great War. He was only 15 but had his parents hand written permission slip when he arrived on the dock, so they put him on the boat to go to England. I think of how young my children or myself were at 15. The very idea of one of us leaving home to go to sea during wartime? That’s ‘crazy talk’ as they say.
My dad was from Southampton England. He was 13 in 1915 when he went to sea aboard the Ulrica, a small channel steamer that worked the channel ports carrying war supplies. In 1916 he joined the Royal Navy as an able seaman. On the eastbound run he was a steward and westbound the Acquitania was a hospital ship and dad was rated as a surgeons assistant. In 1912 my granddad took the family to the Southampton docks to see the Titanic sail. When the war started textiles
Great video. It means a bit more to me now since I just found out from my brother that our father crossed on the Aquitania from NY-to-Southampton sometime 1936-37 when returning home after his studies in Colorado. My dad never talked much about it.
While that's very interesting to us, back then it was just a way of life! Granted, many people did appreciate the grandeur and adventure of crossing on a liner, particularly the large and famous ones like Aquitania.
Sailed on the aquitania from southhampton,to Halifax in 1949. My mother was a war bride.Remember getting hell from room steward for pulling my toy fire engine down the hallway with its bell ringing .Sailed on the Carinthia, and back to New York in 1956. on the Queen Mary ,It was a rough trip and did not find the ship as nice as the Carithia.
It's interesting that Aquitainia had a reputation for having an ugly exterior. She was considered way too boxy because the superstructure appeared too big for the ship, and her decks appeared cluttered because of all the vents.
I've always thought that Aquitania was relatively unattractive (compared to most of the other 4- and 3-funnel liners). Like I said at the end of the video, though, her aesthetic has grown on me. Thanks for commenting!
@@TheGreatBigMove no problem! I read somewhere that Aquitainia looked even more boxy than it was because it didn't have a "raised forecastle" like the Olympic class liners had, which made them look more lean despite being a similar size.
He is not a pirate. He is the captain of the Flying Dutchman. He is still the captain of the Flying Dutchman today. The Dutchman must always have a captain.
I don't know that Britannic and Aquitania were ever photographed together. You might be thinking of a photograph where HMHS Aquitania is in the background and Olympic in the foreground.
@@TheGreatBigMove you might go right. It did look like britanic white ship with the red crossed on its side. Yes i do beleive i saw Olympic also in the video
The pictures at 3:21/3:25 are actually Aquitania during WWII. Her bridge, criticised by her officers for being too low to see over her bow, was raised up one deck in her 1919-20 refit.
Super rad and thank you for posting this great information and well informing! It has increased my devotion to these lovely four stack vessels.. Bring em back!!
Thank you so much for this thought provoking content! I have learned so much from your channel since i discovered it. My only regret is not discovering it earlier. Keep it up!
My dad sailed in this ship just after the war. He was called up for the Royal Navy, but entered service just after the war ended. He served on minesweepers cleaning up allied mines along the Irish Sea. Then he was on a minesweeper as it sailed to the USA as part of the return of lease lend ships. His return to the UK was in Aquitania from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He told me of seeing German names etched into the decks by German POWs in the area where he slept. Dad would have enjoyed your video, but he passed away in 2007.
She seems to have been much safer too, than the White Star Line ships. Olympic had like 5 collisions, and most probably know what happened to the other two (Titanic and Britannic). Too bad they didn't save Aquitania for a hotel or something.
RMS Titanic and RMS Aquitania were the most beautiful Edwardian era Ocean Liners. RMS Queen Mary and SS Normandie were the most beautiful art deco Ocean Liners.
@@hawkeyeten2450 In White Star Lines Defense: The issues with RMS Olympic was with smaller ships. Her size cause many smaller vessels that got to close to collide with her . The most famous being the collision with HMS Hawke in 1911. HMHS Britannic was a tragedy but was far safer that RMS Titanic. Both Olympic and Britannic had huge overhauls in safety measure after the sinking of Titanic ( more lifeboats , new electric davits that could launch lifeboats faster, a new double hull, changes to their expansion joints ,and higher water tight compartments). even during Britannic's sinking , all but 30 of her passengers were saved (over 1000 saved). It a shame because Britannic would have been the White Star Lines equivalent of RMS Aquitania . She was the largest of the three sisters ,yet never saw service as an Ocean Liner, thus never proving herself. You really cant use Britannic as a bad example when so many others sank during ww1.
Yes--if I recall (without looking it up again), Olympic was larger than Aquitania in terms of GRT by some tiny amount. Perhaps something like 200 GRT. I think the difference between Olympic and Titanic was greater which is interesting.
@@BlueEyedCubTN Yeah, Britannic was significantly modified from her original design and the result was that she was by far the biggest of the Olympic class ships and even bigger than Aquitania.
@@TheGreatBigMove GRT are a weird way to measure anyway...Want more GRT...add some enclosed sheds on open decks.. Granted...simply adding a bunch of sheds that serve no purpose would´ve been a hillarious way to make a ship "bigger"
I'll likely be doing a revised, enhanced version of this video in the future. This was my first video (a pilot, if you will), so the quality is not on par with my more recent videos. Glad you enjoyed it, though.
If you haven't seen it already, I have an entire video on the differences between ocean liners and cruise ships. Check it out on my channel if you're interested.
The ship definitely had an extraordinary career.. and even though I'm not a huge fan of Cunard ships because I personally think white star ship's just look better.. This ship definitely kicked ass its Olympic even though Olympic didn't serve in world war II.. Awesome video..
Ironically ,both companies eventually merged in 1934 due to economic losses in the great depression. After that point you see ships like the RMS Queen Mary , MV Britannic, MV Georgic , etc.. Olympic was scrapped in 1934 because of her aging infrastructure and potential costs to upgrade her. an example would be the fact that both 2nd and 3rd class only had two communal bathrooms (with only two bathtubs ) in each class. This being a time where most new ships had on suit bathrooms. This not to mention most ships at the time switched over to oil burning boilers which were more efficient and cost saving than coal.
That's a Resume 👌 should have been kept as a museum, ocean liner, gunner, military transport. A legend. I wonder: when the ship was repurpose as military transport, and then again as ocean liner , what happened with all the interior decoration, tables, etc?
No if any ship from that era should have been preserved it should have been the olympic as a floating hotel. They could have filmed titanic onboard and it would have been a huge money maker after the movie came out
Near the end of his life, my Gran's third husband told my brothers and me the story of how he and a friend were able to sneak aboard the Aquitania. They were fifteen, and she was moored in Southampton with no visible attendants. On a whim they ran up the gangway and got into the ship. They got as far as a smoking lounge before they were apprehended by stewards. Old Ralph still smiled at the memory... it more than made up for the trouble he and his friend got into!
I still think the Aquitania should've been saved and preserved as the last four funnel ocean liner. :( They should've given her the Queen Mary treatment. I lowkey hope one day four funnel ship designs make a comeback in a more retro-modernist fashion.
I cringe when I re-watched this video. Maybe that's a good sign that I've been improving, but it's still hard to watch my older content. Glad you like it, though.
I'm pleased you emphasise the difference between cruise ships and passenger liners. You could emphasise the difference by saying that liners don't necessarily carry passengers: cargo liners, as with passenger liners, are ships that are engaged on line voyages i.e. regular voyages between two ports, usually calling at other ports en route to load or discharge cargo.
I have an entire video on the difference between ocean liners and cruise ships. I know most people aren't interested in maritime or ships, but it's always a surprise to me that people can't use common sense to realize the difference.
The only issue with that is a ships continued maintenance after retirement. The RMS Queen Mary (1934) has been used as a hotel since the late 1960s when she was retired. She has largely been neglected to the point where engineers believe that if nothing is done , she may soon sink and collapse within the next decade. It would take a few million dollars at this point to do a full restoration. She should have been dry docked rather than just docked. Keeping her in water is only doing her hull damage.
It's funny how u said that in the end I always found Aquitania quite ugly myself but was great watching and learning so much about her. Served in both World Wars
A few of my family sailed on her in the 1920s. Not sure who, but I believe they must have been some of my grandmother's aunts and uncles with their parents. Found an old photo album with several cool photos of the ship.
Mark Chirnside's book about RMS Aquitania has extensive interior shots. The single berth First Class cabins made a hospital ward look luxurious. Even the Regal Suites looked sharply cramped with too small rooms and too much furniture. I was surprised at how claustrophobic the interiors appeared. I certainly would've booked RMS Olympic's single berth First Class over RMS Aquitania's. Also, the width of the latter was still narrower than the Olympic class, meaning she was a greyhound at sea, rolling, bobbing, and pitching. The one amazing thing about RMS Aquitania was the substanial space and amenities devoted to Second Class! I don't think I've ever seen such a variety of public rooms. Even the dining room had a musician's balcony.
Aquitania was not a greyhound, only designed to be marginally faster than the Olympic class, and was also known to be a very stable ship. I have Chirnside's (excellent) book as well; personally I don't see overmuch difference in the size of First Class single berths, but perhaps that's just me.
my Grandmother came over on the Aquitania..... the rounabout way thru Iceland\Greenland led too much worry on my grandfathers side waiting for the ship thinking it was hit by u-boats
I agree, Aquatania's career brings to mind the Hunter S. Thompson quote “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
@@mayaishizaki hmm perhaps, just seems weird to keep it in there, but I suppose it gives us something to chase if we want to see that photo... Great video though 🙂
I can't particularly say it's any uglier or more beautiful than most other ships of its size and time, however I can see how people find her beautiful with that white and gold interior, it's stunning and elegant! Certainly the most gorgeous interior of a ship period imo
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This was the pilot video for this channel and I decided to remake it. Here is part 1 of the remake: ruclips.net/video/1fmotfhL6gE/видео.html
Started out in the Edwardian era and almost made it to the Jet Age. Amazing!
She did make it to the jet age, the de Havilland Comet first prototype flew in 1949 which was the first passenger jet liner that went into production
My great-grandmother came to the US on the Aquitania in 1920. There’s a story in her diary that there was a fire onboard during the voyage.
Interesting, I hadn't heard of that. Either way, it must have been exciting (if not a bit intimidating) to travel to a new country aboard such a huge and famous liner. Was she traveling alone?
wow ... how interesting; and probably terrify for her.
The event in 1920 wasn't really a fire onboard. It was an incident that occurred during her first crossing as an oil burning ship. During that crossing, and having just left Queenstown, Ireland, a pressure control valve on one of the boilers blew off and it hit and killed a third engineer apprentice, whose last name was Barkway. He was buried at sea shortly after the incident.
My Great Grand Dad was on the Aquitania in 1915 in WWI travelling to & fro to the Dardanelles
Other people: It must be the Titanic.
Me: You fools! That is the Aquitania.
@Reksio 1164 that sounds even worse...didn't Normandie only have 3 funnels?
@@potatopants4691 Yep
@@anormalcommentor9452 And she was alot more good looking!
@@award3007 IMO, I hated the clean bow but other than that, Beautiful!
@Reksio 1164 it's even more annoying when it's a ship with less than four funnels, one time I showed my grandmother a picture of the Queen Mary and she thought it was Titanic.
I actually have a 1925 Aquitania passenger list, well two of them. One of them was for passengers embarking at Cherbourg for the same voyage as the main passenger list.
That's cool.
Wow, I’d heard of this ship before, but didn’t know her full story - being involved in both world wars and surviving both is amazing. It’s funny, when I think about ships at war, I always imagine the great battleships or aircraft carriers, but it’s so interesting to see the important role ocean liners played as well. Thanks so much for making these informative videos and sharing the history of these great machines!
I also think it's very interesting that ocean liners were used to help the war efforts. Thanks for watching!
Many liners were used throughout both wars as armed merchant cruisers, hospital ships and troop carriers. A huge number were destroyed by submarines and aircraft.
Their greatest defense was speed.
Literally every ship from the first half of the twentieth century:
Exists
Millennials: oh yeah that’s the titanic
Ikr! I show a picture of an ocean liner to my best friend and he says "oh, it's the Titanic" and I'm like, no NO, NO ITS NOT
I showed my classmate a picture of Lusitania. They said it was Titanic.
AndyHappyGuy oof lol
Nemesis Dylan not me
I love the britannic
@@gabriel1088_
**mauretania as a hospital ship**
Oh YeAh ThAt's BrItAnNiC
Aquitania's history is second to none, and it more than makes up for the minor shortcomings in her exterior design. I really think THAT'S why this great Cunard Liner is growing on you. It's why she became my favorite.
She's gorgeous. So heartbreaking these ships aren't preserved theme park style.
They didn't know ocean liners are going to disappear.
The SS United States is the last of the ocean liners and is docked here in philly. They don't seem to know what to do with it. A museum would be great.
Ranch Dressing if they were then it would probably be a repeat of jurrasic park (that’s a joke if they were alive!)
GeeCoach35 HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE QUEEN MARY?
IJN Yamato most likely talking about liners built pre 1930s
Beautiful elegance of this liner remained always kind of a kickside player in the majestic North Atlantic epic liners stage.
She deserves this video and many others.
Thanks for your work.
Yes she does and thank you for watching!
being a huge fan of the Aquitania, I highly appreciate videos dedicated to a forgotten Gem
(especially considering the fact that I can't find a full documentary on the liner)
keep making great videos!
As a huge fan boy of the Golden Age of Transatlantic Liners, I so appreciate this channel.
A remake of this particular video is in the works, so stay tuned. This was my pilot video and I don't think it's up to par with the rest of my videos (especially the more recent ones).
Kinda sad that they just cut up a ship that lived through 2 world wars. Seems like it would've been better used as a floating museum or something. Such a waste I think.
Im more sad about olympic
Ronald Schmal D:
A museum ship would have been great, a bit of history everybody could go and see.
Yeah, very sad
@Joe there was, onto a meeting below I think
My most favorite four funneled ship among the Big Three of Cunard. Excellent narrative voice.
I've recently discovered your videos, and I absolutely love them! These old ships were nothing short of amazing!
Please, PLEASE do a video of my favorite ship of all time, the Great Eastern! She was an amazing ship, and definitely deserves your attention!
I will definitely be doing Great Eastern at some point!
My great grandmother travelled from England to Halifax aboard the Aquitainia in October 1946. She was 18 years old and it was just one part of her journey from Holland to Canada where she would reunite with her husband whom she just married 6 months prior. He was a Canadian soldier stationed near her home. He returned to Canada a week after their wedding to prepare for her arrival in 6 months. She left everything behind, she took a train to Rotterdam, from there she boarded the Lady Rodney to England and then the Aquitainia to Halifax, and finally another train from Halifax to Alberta. Where my family still lives:))
My father sailed back from Europe as a Canadian soldier after the war, and my mother and I, born in Belgium, sailed on her to Halifax in the winter of 1945. I was six months old. I don't know if this is where I got my love of sailing, but my parents' stories of their experiences on the Aquitania certainly contributed. I have visited the Queen Mary in California, have sailed on the Queen Elizabeth ( the first one) and the Queen Mary2 for many transatlantic crossings.Hope to do so again soon. Loved this short history of a great ship. Thank you.
.
I usually don't like history but when it includes liners and so, I like it. This is a very good Video.
7:17 I've never seen this photo before. It's sad but still really cool to see.
Thank you for such professional, and thorough history lesson video. Good job! Great narrative voice, too!
I know it's quite off topic but do anybody know of a good website to watch new series online?
@Chandler Pablo i use Flixzone. Just search on google for it :)
@Pedro Tucker Yup, been watching on FlixZone for years myself :D
@Pedro Tucker thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :) Appreciate it !
@Chandler Pablo Glad I could help xD
My grandparents and uncles immigrated to Canada in 1948/49 on the Aquitaina before the ship was broken up. Thanks for the History!
@James … Do you know what month? I did the same thing in the Fall of 1948.
I sailed, from England to Canada, on this beautiful liner in 1948; very close to the end of her illustrious ‘career’!
@@TheBabybelle1 - Why would anyone lie about that. I have a card given to me at the end of the voyage recording the weather conditions each day. 🤷♀️ On the flip side of the card is a picture of the ship. The most amazing and moving moment was … as the ship was being guided away by the tugboats, someone on the dock started to sing “Now is the Hour”. Everyone on the dock suddenly started to join in and tears soon followed on both sides (the dock and the ship). That moment will stay with me forever!
My mother also travelled on this same ship, from Southampton to Halifax, on July 27, 1948. Onward from there, by train to Toronto, where she met up with her fiance, my Dad. Nice memories.
@@ladyvictoria3000 - My mother and I did the same in late September 1948.
Aquitania exist:
RUclips: thats bad lets blur this
0:37
so youtube did the blurring?
It was a painted picture of Meuritania...
@@Oystein87 Never heard of Meuritania, is it another sister of the Cunard ships?
@@Major_Bomber187 ruclips.net/video/rNhm7k5ijtI/видео.html
0:35
Aquitania... What a Great Name for a Ship, at least one big ship served a long and meaningful life without getting sunk.
Is everyone gonna ignore the way my mans said Gallipoli?
Gally poley
I picked that up straight away, Ive always pronounced it Gal-Lip-all-lee
Or the dates he got wrong.
Also cant stand the way he says Britain.
Theres a "t" in Britain you know.
@@nottiification
'There's a "t" in Britain you know.'
Yes, this is an excellent series of documentaries, bringing back to vivid life the golden age of transatlantic travel, but it would be the icing on the cake if the 't' that has disappeared from a number of words, could make a re-appearance.
Did he say that Aquitania's WW2 service began in "1914" instead of "1940"?
Yeah, I noticed that too. He kept getting the decade she entered service confused with her trooping service during World War 2. By the way, Aquitania actually began her World War 2 duties in late 1939, when she made the first troop crossings of the Atlantic with Canadian troops carried over to Gourock Scotland.
I heard him say that also but I assumed it was a mistake. He also said the ship underwent massive renovation in 1932 and that Cunard had planned to retire her in 1914...eight years later. I'm assuming what he meant was that Cunard had planned to retire her in 1940, which would have been eight years after her 1932 renovation.
7:10 he says 1915 when I think he means 1950.
1913-1950 pacetime,ww1 and ww2
Yeah, I heard him say that too, or maybe he said 1940 but it sounded really close to 1914.
l came with my War Bride mother from England to Canada in 1946. It's lovely to know Aquitania 's history thank you
Barbaranne, Where in Canada did you arrive in 1946?
My aunt sailed on RMS Aquitania in 1947 as a War Bride from Liverpool to Canada and I never asked her which port she arrived in.
She did tell me that the Aquitania was still painted in her war-time anti-dazzle paint.
Christopher
@@waysidetavern sorry for the delay . Pier 1, August 1946 Halifax,Nova Scotia .😷🇨🇦😀
@@barbaranneboyer4796 Better late than never Barbaranne! Thank you for your reply. She was well nick-named "The Ship Beautiful". That's a good "Claim to Fame" you have! Christopher x 👍
Germans: lets not torpedo the Aquitania she is too majestic to sink.
jelly boy LOL
NOW THATS FUNNY!!
jelly boy Oof Oof Oof Oof
Didn't stop them from sinking Lucy.
Lusitania: wtf germans im majestic too
My late father was one of the many thousands of troops carried overseas to serve during WW2. He often spoke affectionately about Aquitania as "the old tub", probably because he was one of the very few who didn't get seasick, even while pitching and rolling in the Great Australian Bight. Col, NZ
My dad served on the Aquitaine from 1916 to the end of WWI, On the trip to Europe he was a steward and from Europe to America/Canada he was a surgeons assistant because on that run it was a hospital ship. Dad joined the British merchant marine in 1915 when he was 13. In 1916 when he was 14 he was taken into the Royal Navy aa an able seaman,
Fred Orman isn’t that incredible. My grandfather was from Newfoundland and he served in the British Navy during the Great War. He was only 15 but had his parents hand written permission slip when he arrived on the dock, so they put him on the boat to go to England. I think of how young my children or myself were at 15. The very idea of one of us leaving home to go to sea during wartime? That’s ‘crazy talk’ as they say.
My dad was from Southampton England. He was 13 in 1915 when he went to sea aboard the Ulrica, a small channel steamer that worked the channel ports carrying war supplies. In 1916 he joined the Royal Navy as an able seaman. On the eastbound run he was a steward and westbound the Acquitania was a hospital ship and dad was rated as a surgeons assistant.
In 1912 my granddad took the family to the Southampton docks to see the Titanic sail. When the war started textiles
My dad crossed the Pond on the Aquitania in either 1936 or 1937 after his studies in the US.
Its aquitania not aquitanine
Great video. It means a bit more to me now since I just found out from my brother that our father crossed on the Aquitania from NY-to-Southampton sometime 1936-37 when returning home after his studies in Colorado. My dad never talked much about it.
While that's very interesting to us, back then it was just a way of life! Granted, many people did appreciate the grandeur and adventure of crossing on a liner, particularly the large and famous ones like Aquitania.
Aquatania's design is far more pleasing than those top heavy pieces of junk that ply the Caribbean these days.
Litearly bricks on the Sea
Don't be such a prick
@@milesprower2944 what's the problem?
True, although the Costa series of cruise ships are a bit stylish
@@edin5317 and disney lol
Love Aquitania, thanks for making this
Agreed.
Even though you have a re-make of this video, I still love this video.
Sailed on the aquitania from southhampton,to Halifax in 1949. My mother was a war bride.Remember getting hell from room steward for pulling my toy fire engine down the hallway with its bell ringing .Sailed on the Carinthia, and back to New York in 1956. on the Queen Mary ,It was a rough trip and did not find the ship as nice as the Carithia.
a friend of mine was a passenger on her last east bound crossing and had fond memories of this ship.
She was one of the great ships!
so you both are now like seniors?
My Scottish mother came to Canada (disembarked at Halifax) in 1949 on the Aquitania on what I was told was the ship's final voyage.
It's interesting that Aquitainia had a reputation for having an ugly exterior. She was considered way too boxy because the superstructure appeared too big for the ship, and her decks appeared cluttered because of all the vents.
I've always thought that Aquitania was relatively unattractive (compared to most of the other 4- and 3-funnel liners). Like I said at the end of the video, though, her aesthetic has grown on me. Thanks for commenting!
@@TheGreatBigMove no problem! I read somewhere that Aquitainia looked even more boxy than it was because it didn't have a "raised forecastle" like the Olympic class liners had, which made them look more lean despite being a similar size.
I find that ironic given what she was nicknamed later on and also what most ocean liner fans think about modern ship designs.
@@milesprower2944 She's still attractive in her own way and far more attractive than most modern ships.
I never thought that Aquitania was too boxy, or that her superstructure as too high, but her bridge and vents always annoyed me for some reason.
Excellent video!!! Well enunciated making it a pleasure to listen to. Those ships were from an age of grandeur such as we will never see again.
Dennis Challinor Thank you! I appreciate your feedback.
Most welcome. Well earned!!!
Captain will turner! I see he quit being a pirate and became a ocean line captain
Underrated comment is underrated
I thought someone would notice boot straps bill
He is not a pirate. He is the captain of the Flying Dutchman. He is still the captain of the Flying Dutchman today. The Dutchman must always have a captain.
I have got two new favorite ships from your channel Ill de France and Aquitania
Your absolutely right it is heartbreaking. more were not preserved.
When britanic and this ship were side by side, that was a beautiful pic!
I don't know that Britannic and Aquitania were ever photographed together. You might be thinking of a photograph where HMHS Aquitania is in the background and Olympic in the foreground.
@@TheGreatBigMove you might go right. It did look like britanic white ship with the red crossed on its side. Yes i do beleive i saw Olympic also in the video
The pictures at 3:21/3:25 are actually Aquitania during WWII. Her bridge, criticised by her officers for being too low to see over her bow, was raised up one deck in her 1919-20 refit.
Thank you, I have never heard of the grand old lady, I learned something new today, please keep up the great work. M
Super rad and thank you for posting this great information and well informing! It has increased my devotion to these lovely four stack vessels..
Bring em back!!
Thank you so much for this thought provoking content! I have learned so much from your channel since i discovered it. My only regret is not discovering it earlier. Keep it up!
My dad sailed in this ship just after the war. He was called up for the Royal Navy, but entered service just after the war ended. He served on minesweepers cleaning up allied mines along the Irish Sea. Then he was on a minesweeper as it sailed to the USA as part of the return of lease lend ships. His return to the UK was in Aquitania from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He told me of seeing German names etched into the decks by German POWs in the area where he slept. Dad would have enjoyed your video, but he passed away in 2007.
She was probably the most beautiful and elegant looking liners of them all! I would have loved to sail on her!
She seems to have been much safer too, than the White Star Line ships. Olympic had like 5 collisions, and most probably know what happened to the other two (Titanic and Britannic). Too bad they didn't save Aquitania for a hotel or something.
@@hawkeyeten2450 Olympic was still very lucky compared to her sisters though.
Titanic was most beautiful and elegant liners. It sunk tho. Calling an ship unsinkable actually makes it sink xD.
RMS Titanic and RMS Aquitania were the most beautiful Edwardian era Ocean Liners. RMS Queen Mary and SS Normandie were the most beautiful art deco Ocean Liners.
@@hawkeyeten2450 In White Star Lines Defense:
The issues with RMS Olympic was with smaller ships. Her size cause many smaller vessels that got to close to collide with her . The most famous being the collision with HMS Hawke in 1911. HMHS Britannic was a tragedy but was far safer that RMS Titanic. Both Olympic and Britannic had huge overhauls in safety measure after the sinking of Titanic ( more lifeboats , new electric davits that could launch lifeboats faster, a new double hull, changes to their expansion joints ,and higher water tight compartments). even during Britannic's sinking , all but 30 of her passengers were saved (over 1000 saved). It a shame because Britannic would have been the White Star Lines equivalent of RMS Aquitania . She was the largest of the three sisters ,yet never saw service as an Ocean Liner, thus never proving herself. You really cant use Britannic as a bad example when so many others sank during ww1.
She was technically the 3rd Largest ship in the World as RMS Olympic still had higher gross tonnage. Granted she was longer than Olympic.
Yes--if I recall (without looking it up again), Olympic was larger than Aquitania in terms of GRT by some tiny amount. Perhaps something like 200 GRT. I think the difference between Olympic and Titanic was greater which is interesting.
Britannic was even bigger, but she never saw commercial service. She was completed as a hospital ship, then struck a mine during WWI and sank quickly.
@@BlueEyedCubTN Yeah, Britannic was significantly modified from her original design and the result was that she was by far the biggest of the Olympic class ships and even bigger than Aquitania.
The Aquitania had aft decks that ran almost to her stern. Titanic, Olympic, and Britannic did not have this feature.
@@TheGreatBigMove GRT are a weird way to measure anyway...Want more GRT...add some enclosed sheds on open decks..
Granted...simply adding a bunch of sheds that serve no purpose would´ve been a hillarious way to make a ship "bigger"
My great grandad went to Gallipoli on this ship. William Weedon, landing in Gallipoli August 7th 1915!! He was one of the lucky one's who returned.
Thanks for this informative & interesting video on "The Ship Beautiful". My compliments to you Chap! 👍👍
I'll likely be doing a revised, enhanced version of this video in the future. This was my first video (a pilot, if you will), so the quality is not on par with my more recent videos. Glad you enjoyed it, though.
@@TheGreatBigMove I look forward to your "revised" version...
Thank you for touching on the different functions of cruise ships and liners. That subject sparks hateful debate.
If you haven't seen it already, I have an entire video on the differences between ocean liners and cruise ships. Check it out on my channel if you're interested.
0:18 look at the size of that ship! wow ship posters back then were way off. even the humans look like large Ants!
"nO tHaTs tHe tItAnIc"
Once I showed someone a picture of the QE2 and they asked "Is that the Titanic?"
@@KeepCalmContemplateYourChoices lol
Blazing FireFlair I HATE YOU
@@chucklittle1180 What? You know I was doing a joke.
Blazing FireFlair oh
What an awesome ship!
Another excellent video, thank you. I’m subscribed.
Agreed excellent video.
She was the last four funnel ocean liner
Interesting how successful the Aquatania was in the interwar period, even set against more modern and faster rivals.
Most underrated ship in history
Your channel is really awesome! I hope you get more subs soon!
I agree poki atgoogle.
This channel is everything 11 year old me needed.
RamblerClassicMan same!
Lovely looking ship.Great documentary😎👍!
The ship definitely had an extraordinary career.. and even though I'm not a huge fan of Cunard ships because I personally think white star ship's just look better..
This ship definitely kicked ass its Olympic even though Olympic didn't serve in world war II..
Awesome video..
Ironically ,both companies eventually merged in 1934 due to economic losses in the great depression. After that point you see ships like the RMS Queen Mary , MV Britannic, MV Georgic , etc.. Olympic was scrapped in 1934 because of her aging infrastructure and potential costs to upgrade her. an example would be the fact that both 2nd and 3rd class only had two communal bathrooms (with only two bathtubs ) in each class. This being a time where most new ships had on suit bathrooms. This not to mention most ships at the time switched over to oil burning boilers which were more efficient and cost saving than coal.
That's a Resume 👌 should have been kept as a museum, ocean liner, gunner, military transport. A legend. I wonder: when the ship was repurpose as military transport, and then again as ocean liner , what happened with all the interior decoration, tables, etc?
That stuff would normally be sold at auction...
She should of been preserved because of her service 🙏. RIP
No if any ship from that era should have been preserved it should have been the olympic as a floating hotel. They could have filmed titanic onboard and it would have been a huge money maker after the movie came out
My great great uncle was in the Royal Canadian artillery. He took Aquitania in 1917 to France and then home in 1919.
These four stackers were beautiful I wish these shipping companies saved one to show us how beautiful they were
Near the end of his life, my Gran's third husband told my brothers and me the story of how he and a friend were able to sneak aboard the Aquitania. They were fifteen, and she was moored in Southampton with no visible attendants. On a whim they ran up the gangway and got into the ship. They got as far as a smoking lounge before they were apprehended by stewards. Old Ralph still smiled at the memory... it more than made up for the trouble he and his friend got into!
That's rather funny. Do you remember when they did it?
I love how you talk of ocean liners as you would a person
At the QE2 museum i think they also have aquitania’s bell
I wish we still lived in the days of the great liners God they where beautiful
A well-done wonderful video, thumbs up and I have subscribed.
Thank you! See you on the next video! Next up is Olympic one week from today, April 2nd.
@@TheGreatBigMove I will be here buddy.
I still think the Aquitania should've been saved and preserved as the last four funnel ocean liner. :( They should've given her the Queen Mary treatment. I lowkey hope one day four funnel ship designs make a comeback in a more retro-modernist fashion.
So good I watched this twice!
I cringe when I re-watched this video. Maybe that's a good sign that I've been improving, but it's still hard to watch my older content. Glad you like it, though.
@@TheGreatBigMove the narrative is very informative and complete. Ps how a video on famous shipbuilders?
@@mrpeel3239 I'm looking into a doing a video on Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I just need to read up some more on him first.
Ah, my dad has asked me why I’m so great at ship history is because of the great big move and searching up and watching videos :D
I'm pleased you emphasise the difference between cruise ships and passenger liners. You could emphasise the difference by saying that liners don't necessarily carry passengers: cargo liners, as with passenger liners, are ships that are engaged on line voyages i.e. regular voyages between two ports, usually calling at other ports en route to load or discharge cargo.
I have an entire video on the difference between ocean liners and cruise ships. I know most people aren't interested in maritime or ships, but it's always a surprise to me that people can't use common sense to realize the difference.
Ships like her should have been made floating docked hotels
The only issue with that is a ships continued maintenance after retirement. The RMS Queen Mary (1934) has been used as a hotel since the late 1960s when she was retired. She has largely been neglected to the point where engineers believe that if nothing is done , she may soon sink and collapse within the next decade. It would take a few million dollars at this point to do a full restoration. She should have been dry docked rather than just docked. Keeping her in water is only doing her hull damage.
My grandma immigrated to Canada from Ukraine on this ship back in 1943. I never knew the history of the ship
Really
0:36 why did you blured out mueritania its so weird
I was wondering also o_0
Probably got told it was licenced footage and easier to blur out the sequence than edit it out
0:36 he burned it but I got it
@@Kamina1703 yea probably but it's old footage
Well done, subscribed based on this alone
So did I Francisco Quinones. :)
It's funny how u said that in the end I always found Aquitania quite ugly myself but was great watching and learning so much about her. Served in both World Wars
A few of my family sailed on her in the 1920s. Not sure who, but I believe they must have been some of my grandmother's aunts and uncles with their parents. Found an old photo album with several cool photos of the ship.
Mark Chirnside's book about RMS Aquitania has extensive interior shots. The single berth First Class cabins made a hospital ward look luxurious. Even the Regal Suites looked sharply cramped with too small rooms and too much furniture. I was surprised at how claustrophobic the interiors appeared. I certainly would've booked RMS Olympic's single berth First Class over RMS Aquitania's. Also, the width of the latter was still narrower than the Olympic class, meaning she was a greyhound at sea, rolling, bobbing, and pitching.
The one amazing thing about RMS Aquitania was the substanial space and amenities devoted to Second Class! I don't think I've ever seen such a variety of public rooms. Even the dining room had a musician's balcony.
i guess they devoted more luxury to the public rooms. :I
Aquitania was not a greyhound, only designed to be marginally faster than the Olympic class, and was also known to be a very stable ship. I have Chirnside's (excellent) book as well; personally I don't see overmuch difference in the size of First Class single berths, but perhaps that's just me.
My father immigrated to the US on the Aquitania. He boarded at Cherbourg.
3:21 I'm impressed she could survive being that close to a black hole, the first funnel isn't even budging...
Yeah what the flying fuck is that?
It looks like a solar eclipse
could you make a video on the RMS Majestic
Absolutely! I can't promise how soon, though.
@@TheGreatBigMove Thank you
0:37 Why was nearly the entire screen blurred out?
Excellent documentary - and thanks for not wrecking the story with disruptive music...
A legend says Aquitania has been refitted and is carrying the troops in WW3.
Great video!
my Grandmother came over on the Aquitania..... the rounabout way thru Iceland\Greenland led too much worry on my grandfathers side waiting for the ship thinking it was hit by u-boats
The saddest endings to a ship I’ve heard of are Normandie and RMS Queen Elizabeth
I agree, Aquatania's career brings to mind the Hunter S. Thompson quote “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
Me: *shows picture of estonia*
*_IS THAT TITANIC?_*
How the hell did they screw that up...?
Å very pleasing design than those big squares that we call cruise ship
Why is the moritania blurred out?
@@mayaishizaki hmm perhaps, just seems weird to keep it in there, but I suppose it gives us something to chase if we want to see that photo... Great video though 🙂
Why is the picture at 0:37 blurred out?
Copyright reasons
@@heatherchandler724 yeah I saw that too. What was behind it to be Copyright worthy?
What engine does rms aquitania use, did she use reciprocating engines or a low pressure Parsons steam turbine
You need more subs and more ocean liner videos.
More ocean liner videos are on the way, so stay tuned. Share with your friends!
@@TheGreatBigMove YES
I will be back to check them out.
I can't particularly say it's any uglier or more beautiful than most other ships of its size and time, however I can see how people find her beautiful with that white and gold interior, it's stunning and elegant! Certainly the most gorgeous interior of a ship period imo
At 0:36 to 0:42 why was the picture of RMS Mauretania and what I presume to be RMS Lusitania in the background blurred? Just curious. :/
Caleb McFarland Potential copyright issue. Hope it’s not too distracting