1903 – 1909 / Also known as Republic (II) / Launched for the Dominion Line, the Columbus was soon transferred to White Star and was renamed Republic. She became the world’s greatest ship-loss thus far, when she sank after a collision with the Italian ship Florida.
1900s
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1904 – 1933 / Third in White Star’s ‘Big Four’ quartet, the second Baltic was launched as the world’s largest ship. She had a long career as a popular vessel, and served as a troop transport during World War I. She ended her days at the shipbreakers in Japan.
1905 – 1932 / Cunard’s first Caronia was the company’s hitherto largest ship, although no record-breaker in terms of speed. Her career was prosperous, and she served in World War I both as an armed merchant cruiser and a troopship. Her end came at the shipbreakers in Osaka.
1905 – 1955 / Also known as Drottningholm, Brasil, and Homeland / A long-lived ship, the Virginian would see almost 50 years of service under different flags and names. She lived through two world wars, and was the oldest ship in transatlantic service when she was retired.
1905 – 1957 / Also known as America (I) / A German competitor in terms of size and luxury, the Amerika was seized and used as an allied troop transport during World War I. Her post-war career was under the American flag, but as her age caught up with her, she was finally sent to the breakers.
1905 – 1932 / Partially an experimental ship, the Carmania was fitted with turbines to test their feasibility. While never a record-breaker herself, she paved the way for the famous greyhounds Lusitania and Mauretania.
1906 – 1931 / Also known as Empress of Scotland (I) / Entering service as the largest ship in the world, the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria focused on size and comfort rather than speed. Sailing in HAPAG livery for eight years, the ship was transferred to Canadian-Pacific after World War I but was done in by fire in late 1930.
1906 – 1914 / Although not as famous as her larger contemporaries, the Empress of Ireland made tragic history when she collided and sank in the St. Lawrence River, with the loss of over 1,000 lives.
1907 – 1934 / The final ship of White Star’s ‘Big Four’, the Adriatic was actually the first ship to be both longer and larger than the fabled Great Eastern. Serving with distinction through the first world war, she was later relegated to less prestigious routes and finally sent to the breakers in Japan.
1907 – 1940 / The last of the German ‘Four Flyers’, the career of Kronprinzessin Cecilie ended when she was confiscated by the US for military use in World War I. Afterwards, she languished in Chesapeake Bay for almost 20 years before being scrapped.