Aquitania

Great view. Cunard still preferred the cluttered upperdecks compared to the clean look of the Olympic Class. The lifeboat davits were also a bit 'messy' on the lovely Aquitania.

Hi lasuvidaboy, I agree that the Wellin Davit would have been a better design to have used throughout the ship. She had a few of them on the stern to be able to move inboard mounted boats across the deck. They looked better because they were mounted flush with the deck and no part of them hung over or were mounted to the sides of the ship.

Clyde (cunard61)

Clyde, what are those bundles hanging over the side two decks below the boat deck?

Hi Dave, those are scramble nets that are to be used during an abandon ship order. They're really just cargo nets that have been rolled up and secured to the deck they are intended to serve. When the securing lines are cut, the nets unroll by gravity down the side of the ship, and allow troops, ect. to make a quick evacution. They remained in use on the Aquitania until the numbers she was carrying finally began to go down, and the number onboard could all be evacuated in the lifeboats. There's a picture of troops leaving the sinking troopship President Coolidge which illustrates the use of scramble nets just like these. Link:http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/282768/title/president-coolidge/cat/523

Clyde (cunard61)