RMS Laconia (1921)

RMS Laconia
History
United Kingdom
Name	Laconia
Namesake	Laconia
Owner	1921–34: Cunard Line 1934–41: Cunard White Star Line
Operator	1921–34: Cunard Line 1934–41: Cunard White Star Line
Port of registry	Liverpool
Route	Liverpool – Boston – New York
Builder	Swan Hunter, Wallsend, England
Yard number	1125
Launched	9 April 1921
Completed	January 1922
Maiden voyage	25 May 1922
Identification	UK official number 145925 Code letters KLWT (1921–34) Call sign GJCD (1930–42)
Fate	Sunk, 12 September 1942
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	19,695 GRT 11,804 NRT
Length	601.3 ft (183.3 m)
Beam	73.7 ft (22.5 m)
Draught	32 ft 8 in (10.0 m)
Depth	40.6 ft (12.4 m)
Installed power	6 steam turbines, double reduction geared
Propulsion	Twin propellers
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity	Passengers: 350 1st class 350 2nd class 1,500 3rd class
Notes	54,089 cubic feet (1,531.6 m3) refrigerated cargo

RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner, built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson as a successor of the 1911–1917 Laconia. The new ship was launched on 9 April 1921, and made her maiden voyage on 25 May 1922 from Southampton to New York City. At the outbreak of the Second World War she was converted into an armed merchant cruiser, and later a troopship. She was sunk in the South Atlantic Ocean on 12 September 1942 by torpedoes. Like her predecessor, sunk during the First World War, this Laconia was also destroyed by a German submarine. Some estimates of the death toll have suggested that over 1,658 people were killed when the Laconia sank. The U-boat commander Werner Hartenstein then staged a dramatic effort to rescue the passengers and the crew of Laconia, which involved additional German U-boats and became known as the Laconia incident.