RMS Carinthia was first laid down in Barrow-in-Furness in 1924 with the yard number Hull 586. Originally she had the name Servia but was renamed at the time of her launching on 24 February 1925. She made her maiden voyage on 22 August, 1925 from Liverpool to New York. At her launch she was the largest of the five post First World War intermediate size liners. On the Bosphorus at Constantinople, Turkey.