Between 1920 and the entry into service of the Queen Mary in 1936, Berengaria was the pride of the Cunard fleet. Originally built for the Hamburg-Amerika Line at the Vulcan Werft shipyard at Hamburg on the river Elbe, and initially named Imperator she was launched on 23 May 1912. As she was launched only five weeks after the Titanic disaster, changes had been made both in hull design and equipment on board in order to increase safety. Imperator was then the world’s largest ship.
Operated by the Hamburg-Amerika Line she departed Cuxhaven for her maiden voyage on 11 June 1913 for New York via Southampton.
On the outbreak of World War One she was laid up at Hamburg, and remained inactive throughout more than four years. Following the Armistice Imperator was allocated to the United States for temporary use as a transport alongside Vaterland, now renamed Leviathan. Employed mainly for troop repatriation this service continued until she was decommissioned in early 1919 when she was re-allocated to British Control to be operated by Cunard.
Extensive repairs were needed, and these were carried out at Liverpool from mid-December until the end of February 1920. Her maiden voyage was most unsatisfactory mainly due to unresolved stability problems so again she was taken out of service. This also gave the opportunity for her conversion from coal to oil burning.
The ship was renamed Berengaria after the English Queen Berengaria of Navarre, wife of Richard the Lionheart, in February 1921.
Of 52,117grt and displacement of 53,000 tons, her length was 906ft, beam 98ft and draft 35ft. Her passenger capacity of 4,234 was made up of 908 first class, 592 second 962 third and 1,772 steerage; her crew totalled 1,180. Steam was generated at 265 lbs/in2 by 46 water tube boilers of Vulcan Yarrow design, originally coal burning, later converted to oil fired in 1921. Her four direct drive steam turbines by AEG-Vulcan/Parsons produced 60,000shp for a speed of 24 knots.
Her service was marred by a number of fires and groundings, but she survived until 1938 when she was sold for scrapping at Jarrow. Due to the heavy workloads in the yards during World War Two, the demolition was not completed until 1946.
