RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their shipyard in Wallsend, England.
The Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 from Liverpool to Boston, and continued on this route before being transferred to Mediterranean service in 1904. In April 1912, she became famous for rescuing survivors of the rival White Star Line's RMS Titanic after the latter struck an iceberg and sank with a loss of 1,496 lives in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Carpathia navigated the ice fields to arrive two hours after the Titanic had sunk, and the crew rescued 705 survivors from the ship's lifeboats.
The Carpathia was sunk on 17 July 1918 after being torpedoed three times by the German submarine U-55 off the southern Irish coast with a loss of five crew members.
The name of the ship comes from the mountain range of the Carpathians.
1918Jul, 17
The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; five lives are lost.
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Events on 1918
- 3Mar
World War I
Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi. - 2May
Chevrolet Motor Company
General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware. - 24Jun
Montreal
First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto. - 4Jul
Nicholas II of Russia
Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date). - 9Nov
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates after the German Revolution, and Germany is proclaimed a Republic.