M.S Berengaria, Stern View

M.S Berengaria, Stern View

Image Details

Title M.S Berengaria, Stern View
Reference Number STH0001941
Photographer Unknown
Town or Village South Shields
Date 1920
Original Format Black and white photograph
Period The 1920s
Copyright South Tyneside Libraries
Further Information R.M.S Berengaria. Built as "Imperator" for the Hamburg-Amerika Line,
she was seized as part of war reparations and sold to the Cunard Line,
where she became the company's flagship. She was converted from coal
to oil burning engines and a complete overhaul was carried out by
Armstrong Whitworth & Co. on the Tyne.

She was an unlucky ship, and gained a reputation for catching fire,
due to faulty wiring. After a serious fire in March 1938 affecting the
first class lounge, in New York harbour. She was sold for scrap,
She was delivered to the Tyne at Jarrow. Her furniture and fittings
were auctioned in January 1939. However, the outbreak of the Second
World War meant that the men tasked with her demolition were required
for other duties. The hulk languished on the Tyne until 1946 when
eventually, her remains were towed to Rosyth for the final process of
dismantling.