RMS Saxonia (1954)

Postcard of RMS Saxonia
History
Name	1954–1962: RMS Saxonia 1962–1973: RMS Carmania 1973–1999: SS Leonid Sobinov[1]
Owner	1954–1973: Cunard Line 1973–1990: Black Sea Shipping Company 1990–1999: Transorient Overseas[1]
Operator	1954–1971: Cunard Line 1973–1995: Black Sea Shipping Company[1]
Port of registry	1954–1963: Liverpool,  United Kingdom 1963–1973: Southampton,  United Kingdom 1973–1990: Odessa,  Soviet Union 1990–1999: Valletta,  Malta[1][2]
Builder	John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland
Yard number	692[1]
Launched	17 February 1954[1]
Completed	August 1954[1]
Maiden voyage	2 September 1954[1]
Out of service	6 October 1995[1]
Identification	Call sign: 9HDU3 (Carmania call sign : GSJS) IMO number: 5064324
Fate	Scrapped in Alang, India in 1999.[1]
General characteristics (as built, 1954)[2]
Class and type	Saxonia class ocean liner
Tonnage	21,637 GRT 8,836 DWT[1]
Length	608 ft (185 m)
Beam	80 ft (24 m)
Draught	28 ft (8.5 m)[1]
Installed power	24,500shp
Propulsion	Geared turbines from builders, Twin screw
Speed	20 knots (37.04 km/h; 23.02 mph)
Capacity	125 first class, 800 tourist class
Crew	461
General characteristics (as rebuilt, 1963)[1] Ship type=Ocean liner/cruise ship
Tonnage	22,592 GRT (1969, 21,370 GRT)
Capacity	117 1st class, 764 tourist class
Notes	Otherwise the same as built

RMS Saxonia was a British

Prior to World War II, Cunard's Canadian services had been maintained by a group of six similar 14,000 GRT liners of the Andania class built between 1922 and 1925. One of these was a war loss and another four were purchased by the Admiralty during the war and converted to naval repair ships. None of these ever returned to commercial service. This left Cunard with one ship, Ascania from its pre war Canadian fleet. She was joined in the post war service by three of the surviving units of the 20,000 GRT Scythia class which had been built for the Liverpool-New York service. Of the four, only Ascania was able to reach Montreal, draught causing the others to turn around at Quebec. With this unsatisfactory situation and the age of the ships, it was inevitable that the decision to build would be taken and at the end of 1951 Cunard announced its intention to order two new ships for the Canadian service (the other two came later). Saxonia was launched on 17 February 1954 by Lady Churchill, wife of the then Prime Minister, and revived a name previously used for the Cunard liner

In 1968, the ship had a major breakdown at the mouth of the

She was laid up at

References

External links

• Saxonia on Chris' Cunard Page