Cunard-White Star Line

Cunard-White Star Line Limited

Industry	Transportation
Predecessor	White Star Line Cunard Line
Founded	10 May 1934; 89 years ago (10 May 1934)
Defunct	31 December 1949; 74 years ago (31 December 1949)
Successor	Cunard Line
Headquarters	Liverpool, United Kingdom
Area served	Transatlantic
Key people	Percy Bates (Chairman)
Owner	Cunard Line (62%) and White Star Line (38%)
Footnotes / references House Flag

Cunard-White Star Line, Ltd, was a British shipping line which existed between 1934 and 1949.^[1]

History

The company was created to control the joint shipping assets of the Cunard Line and the White Star Line after both companies experienced financial difficulties during the Great Depression. Cunard White Star controlled a total of twenty-five ocean liners (with Cunard contributing fifteen ships and White Star ten). Both Cunard and White Star were in dire financial trouble, and were looking to complete enormous liners: White Star had Hull 844 –Oceanic – and Cunard had Hull 534, which would later become RMS Queen Mary. In 1933, the British government agreed to provide assistance to the two competitors on the condition that they merge their North Atlantic operations.^[2] The agreement was completed on 30 December 1933. The merger took place on 10 May 1934, creating Cunard-White Star Limited. White Star contributed ten ships to the new company while Cunard contributed fifteen. Due to this arrangement, and since Hull 534 was Cunard's ship, Cunard owned 62% of the new company, with White Star owning the remaining 38%. White Star vessels flew the White Star flag over the Cunard flag while Cunard vessels flew the Cunard flag over the White Star flag.

Being in a better financial and operating state than White Star, Cunard began absorbing White Star assets and as a result, most of the White Star vessels were quickly disposed of or sent to the shipbreakers. White Star's Australia and New Zealand service ships were transferred to the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line in 1934 and RMS Olympic was retired and sold for scrap the following year, along with Cunard's RMS Mauretania. White Star's flagship RMS Majestic, the largest ship in the world until 1935, was sold in 1936.

In 1947, Cunard acquired White Star’s 38% share in the company and on 31 December 1949 the company had dropped the White Star name and was renamed Cunard Line.^[3] Both the Cunard and White Star house flags were flown on the company's liners at the time of the merger and thereafter. However, the Cunard flag was flown over the White Star flag on the last two White Star liners, MV Georgic and MV Britannic. Georgic was scrapped in 1956, while Britannic made the final Liverpool–New York crossing of any White Star vessel from New York on 25 November 1960, and returned to Liverpool for the final time before sailing under her own power to the ship breakers. She was the last White Star liner in existence, leaving the passenger tender SS Nomadic, which was also owned by the company until 1934, as the last White Star Line ship afloat.

Despite this, all Cunard Line ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags on their masts until late 1968. This was most likely because Nomadic remained in service with Cunard until 4 November 1968, and was sent to the breakers' yard, only to be bought for use as a floating restaurant. After this, the White Star flag was no longer flown, the White Star name was removed from Cunard operations and all remnants of both White Star Line and Cunard-White Star Line were retired.^[4][5] Cunard operated as a separate entity until 1999, when it was fully acquired by Carnival Corporation.

Fleet

Ship	Built	In service for Cunard-White Star Line	Tonnage	Image
Mauretania (1)	1907	1934–35	31,950 GRT
Adriatic	1907	1934-35	24,541 GRT
Olympic	1911	1934–35	46,439 GRT
Ceramic	1913	1934-42	18,400 GRT
Berengaria	1913	1934–38	51,950 GRT
Homeric	1913	1934–35	35,000 GRT
Aquitania	1914	1934–49	45,650 GRT
Majestic	1914	1934–36	56,551 GRT
Scythia	1921	1934–49	19,700 GRT
Samaria	1922	1934–49	19,700 GRT
Laconia	1922	1934–42	19,700 GRT
Antonia	1922	1934–42	13,900 GRT
Ausonia	1922	1934–42	13,900 GRT
Lancastria	1922	1934–40	16,250 GRT
Franconia	1922	1934–49	20,200 GRT
Doric	1923	1934–35	16,484 GRT
Aurania	1924	1934–42	14,000 GRT
Carinthia	1925	1934–40	20,200 GRT
Ascania	1925	1934–49	14,000 GRT
Alaunia	1925	1934–42	14,000 GRT
Calgaric	1927	Never entered service (owned 1934)	16,063 GRT
Laurentic	1927	1934–36	18,724 GRT
Britannic	1929	1934–49	26,943 GRT
Georgic	1932	1934–49	27,759 GRT
Queen Mary	1936	1936–49	80,750 GRT
Mauretania (2)	1938	1938–49	35,738 GRT
Queen Elizabeth	1940	1940–49	83,650 GRT
Media	1947	1947–49	13,350 GRT
Parthia	1947	1947–49	13,350 GRT
Caronia	1949	1949	34,200 GRT

References