View source for RMS Moldavia

{{coord|50|23.13|N|0|28.72|W|display=title}}
{{Infobox ship
|Ship image=[[File:RMS Moldavia.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=RMS ''Moldavia''
|module={{Infobox ship career|embed=yes
|Ship name=RMS ''Moldavia''
|Ship owner=P&O Steam Navigation Co
|Ship builder= [[Caird & Company]], Greenock, Scotland
|Ship yard number=301
|Ship fate=Purchased by the Admiralty in 1915 and converted into an armed merchant cruiser.
}}
|module2={{Infobox ship career|embed=yes
|Ship country=[[United Kingdom]]
|Ship name= HMS ''Moldavia'' 
|Ship acquired=1915
|Ship fate=Torpedoed and sunk on 23 May 1918 off Beachy Head in the English Channel.
}}
|module3={{Infobox ship characteristics|embed=yes
|Ship class= Passenger ship
|Ship tonnage= 9,500 tons
|Ship length={{convert|520|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|58.3|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draught={{convert|24.8|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=[[Steam engine#Multiple expansion engines|Triple expansion steam engine]]
|Ship speed=18.5 knots
|Ship capacity=348 first class passengers <br> 166 saloon class passengers
}}
}}

The '''RMS ''Moldavia''''' was a passenger steamship owned by the P&O Line.<ref name="shipping">{{cite web| title = SS Moldavia| publisher = Shipping Times| url = http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=15332| accessdate =20 July 2009}}</ref> She was launched on 28 March 1903 and traveled the England to Australia route via the Suez Canal.

The ''Moldavia'' was purchased by the [[Admiralty]] in 1915 and converted into an [[Armed merchantman|armed merchant cruiser]]. She was torpedoed and sunk on 23 May 1918 off Beachy Head in the English Channel by a single torpedo from [[U-boat]] [[UB-57]]. At the time of her sinking she was being used as a [[troopship]] for United States troops.<ref name="shipping" /><ref>{{cite web| title = Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company / P&O Line| work = The Fleets| publisher = The Ships List| url = http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/pando.html| accessdate =20 July 2009}}</ref> Fifty-six Americans soldiers were lost in the sinking.

==Construction==
The ''Moldavia'' was constructed by [[Caird & Company]] of Greenock, Scotland for the 
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Her yard number was 301 and she was launched on 28 March 1903. The completed ship was {{convert|520|ft|m|abbr=on}} in length, a beam of  {{convert|58.3|ft|m|abbr=on}} and a draught of {{convert|24.8|ft|m|abbr=on}}. The gross tonnage for the ''Moldavia'' was 9,500.<ref name="shipping" /> Coal storage was 2,000 tons and cargo approximately 3,500 tons. The ''Moldavia'' was constructed for 348 first and 166 saloon class passengers.<ref>{{cite book| last = Fletcher| first = R. A. 
| title = The Building of Steel Ships page 293| work = Steam-ships
| publisher = Sidgwick & Jackson, LTD| year = 1910| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=rvQOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA293&lpg=PA293&dq=Caird+%26+Company+-+Moldavia&source=bl&ots=_28ADz4E9x&sig=ZC4oGFtKYcsgL-7V8DiyxwBKi9o&hl=en&ei=ywJlSoWJGaONtgfe18D1Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5| accessdate =20 July 2009}}</ref>

==History==
{{Empty section|date=November 2014}}
==See also==
* Recreational diving
* Shipwrecks
* [[List of shipwrecks]]
* [[58th Infantry Regiment (United States)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Wikipedia|RMS Moldavia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moldavia}}
[[Category:Wreck diving sites in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Clyde-built ships]]