RMS Ausonia, launched in 1921, was one of Cunard

Cunard Line

Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...

's six post-World War I "A-class" ocean liners for the Canadian service.

History

Ausonia was built in Newcastle by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.

Armstrong Whitworth

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...

, launched on 22 March 1921, and completed in June. She made her maiden voyage on 31 August 1921 from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 to Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, and the following season went into service on the London-Canada route.

In December 1938, the Ausonia carried about 50 American veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Abraham Lincoln Brigade

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....

 returning from the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

 from Le Havre, France, by way of England and Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving in New York City on 20 December 1938.

On 2 September 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 and converted into an armed merchant cruiser. On 3 June 1942 the Ausonia was converted to a repair ship. She was laid up during 1945. In 1958 she went to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 as repair ship for the Mediterranean Fleet. In September 1964 she was laid up at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

, and in August 1965 she was sold to be broken up at Castellon, Spain.