RMS Franconia (1922)
RMS Franconia was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line from 1922 to 1956. The liner was second of three liners named Franconia which served the Cunard Line, the others being built in 1910 and the third Franconia in 1963.
Pre-war
She was launched on 21 October 1922 by the John Brown & Co shipyard at Clydebank, Scotland. Her maiden voyage was between Liverpool and New York in June 1923; she was employed on this route in the summer months until World War II. In the winter she was used on world cruises.On 26 December 1926, Franconia ran aground at San Juan, Puerto Rico and was refloated three days later.
She had a collision in Shanghai harbour in April 1929 with an Italian gunboat and a Japanese cargo steamer.
American songwriter Cole Porter, composed the song "Begin the Beguine", while aboard the Franconia from Kalabahi, Dutch East Indies, to Fiji in 1935.
Wartime service
In September 1939, she was requisitioned as a troopship after refitting at Liverpool. She had a collision off Malta with the French troopship Marietta Pacha and was escorted to Malta by the armed merchant cruiser. The ship was repaired in time to take part in the Norwegian campaign. On 16 June 1940, while en route to St Nazaire as part of Operation Aerial, she was damaged by near-misses from German bombs and was escorted back to Liverpool for repairs.Later in the war, she took troops to India and took part in landings at Madagascar, North Africa, Italy and the Azores. In 1945 she was used as a headquarters ship for Winston Churchill and the British delegation at the Yalta Conference. At the end of the war in Europe, Franconia made several trips across the Atlantic carrying returning US troops and refugees. After VJ Day she was employed repatriating British troops, including freed prisoners of war, from India. During her government service, she had covered and carried 189,239 military personnel.