Arguably the most successful of the great pre-1914 North Atlantic liners, as well as being regarded by many as the most handsome of all the legendary 'four-stackers', Aquitania was undeniably the longest-lived of that glamorous breed of ocean greyhounds. Conceived as a consort to Lusitania and Mauretania, Cunard ordered her from John Brown's Clydebank yards in December 1910 where she was launched on 21st April 1913. Named for the ancient Roman province in south-west France, her design was broadly similar to her two sisters, although she was significantly larger in every respect. Registered upon completion at 45,647 tons gross, she measured 901 feet in length with a 97 foot beam, but was never intended to outstrip Lusitania and Mauretania in terms of speed. Powered by quadruple screws driven from Parsons-Brown 62,000shp. steam turbines, she was designed to cruise at 23 knots, in fact achieving an effortless 24 knots on her trials. Sumptuously fitted out and with accommodation for 618 First, 614 Second and 1,998 Third class passengers, she carried a crew of 972 and entered service amidst high expectations thanks to the reputations of her two older sisters.

Clearing Liverpool on 30th May 1914 for her maiden voyage to New York, she was only to complete three round trips before being requisitioned by the government in August 1914 upon the outbreak of the Great War. Designed and built under Armiralty supervision, it had always been expected that, in time of war, Aquitania would assume the guise of an armed merchant cruiser, but in the event, as with others like her, she proved far too large for this role. Slightly damaged in a collision within a month of beginning her wartime career, she returned to Liverpool and was laid up until the spring of 1915 when she began work transporting troops for the offensive at Gallipoli. Soon converted into a hospital ship for the same campaign, she resumed trooping in 1916, was laid up for most of 1917 but back in service in 1918 carrying troops from the U.S.A. to France. Between June and November 1919, she ran a brief 'austerity service' between Southampton and New York but was sent to Armstrong, Whitworth's yards at Newcastle, that December for a major post-war refit including conversion to oil-firing.

Returning to regular commercial sailings in July 1920, her splendid decor attracted passengers immediately and she soon settled down to become one of the most popular liners on the North Atlantic over the next two decades. Apart from the occasional Mediterranean cruise in the early years of the Depression, Aquitania remained a stalwart on the Atlantic ferry and, after 1936, became the new Queen Mary's running mate whilst Queen Elizabeth was under construction. With the latter destined for completion in 1940, it was intended that Aquitania be scrapped when the second 'Queen' entered service, but this plan was abandoned when the Second World War began in September 1939. Converted into a troop transport for the second time in her life, she spent the next eight years carrying 300,000 servicemen all over the world, the sole survivor of the Edwardian giants and the only one to serve in both World Wars. 1948 found her ferrying war brides to Canada prior to being returned to Cunard for yet another post-war 'austerity service'. Hastily refitted and repainted in traditional livery, although never restored to her former magnificence, she maintained a one-class Southampton to Halifax service for a further year and a half before being finally withdrawn in December 1949. After three million miles and thirty-five years at sea, her scrapping at Faslane in the spring of 1950 brought the era of the majestic 'four-stackers' to an end and thereby closed a notable chapter in the history of North Atlantic navigation.