Four Funnel Liner

A four funnel liner, four funnelled liner or four stacker is an ocean liner with four funnels. The SS Great Eastern, launched on 31 January 1858 (a full 40 years ahead of any comparable ships), was the only ocean liner to sport five funnels. As one funnel was later removed, the Great Eastern, by default, became the first ocean liner to have four funnels. The SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, launched on 4 May 1897, was the next ocean liner to have four funnels and was one of the first of the golden era of ocean liners that become prominent in the early- to mid-20th century. The most famous four funnel liners are the RMS Titanic, which sank after striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage on 15 April 1912, and the RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed on 7 May 1915 during the First World War.

In all, fifteen four funnel liners were built (five were built and owned by Germany, nine by the UK, and one by France): the Great Eastern in 1858 and the remaining fourteen between 1897 and 1922. Four of these were sunk during the World Wars, and apart from the Titanic, the remainder were scrapped. RMS Mauretania was the fastest of all four funnelled liners. The last four funnelled liner ever built was the SS Windsor Castle but two funnels were removed making RMS Aquitania the last four funnel liner in service; the Aquitania was the largest of all the four funnel liners and the only one to survive service during both World Wars.