RMS Mauretania (1906)

The Mauretania
Career
Nationality:	British
Owners:	Cunard Line
Builders:	Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson yards in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear
Laid down:	1904
Launched:	September 20, 1906
Christened:	September 20, 1906, by the Duchess of Roxburghe
Maiden voyage:	November 16, 1907
Fate:	Scrapped, 1935 at Rosyth Scotland.
General characteristics
Tonnage:	31,938
Length:	790 ft (240.8 m)
Beam:	88 ft (26.8 m)
Propulsion:	Direct-action Steam turbines (two high pressure, two low pressure), 68,000 shaft horsepower (51 MW) later increased to 90,000 SHP, designed speed 25 knots (46 km/h), Four shafts turning manganese bronze screws. Astern turbines ("elements") on inboard shafts only
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h) speed higher in sprints
Passenger Capacity:	2165: 563 first class, 464 second class, 1138 third class
Crew:	802

RMS Mauretania (also known as "Maury"), sister ship of the Lusitania, was an ocean liner built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, and was launched on September 20 1906. At the time, she was the largest and fastest ship in the world. Particularly notable was her steam turbine propulsion, which was a revolutionary development in ocean liner design. Mauretania became a favourite among the passengers because of her luxury, speed and safety. The ship's name was taken from Mauretania a Roman Province on the North-East African Coast, not related to the modern Mauritania. Similar nomenclature was also employed by Mauretania's sister ship, the RMS Lusitania, which was named after the Roman province directly above Mauretania, across the Strait of Gibraltar.

Beginning

Mauretania during a speed trial off St Abbs Head

In 1897 the German liner Kaiser Wilhelm der Große became the largest and fastest ship in the world. With a speed of 22 knots (41 km/h), it snatched the Blue Riband from Cunard Line's Campania and Lucania. At around the same time American financier J. P. Morgan’s International Mercantile Marine Co. was attempting to monopolize the shipping trade, and had already acquired Britain's other major transatlantic line White Star. In the face of these threats Cunard Line was determined to regain the prestige of ocean travel back not only to the company, but also to Great Britain. In 1903, Cunard Line and the British government reached an agreement to build two superliners, the Lusitania and Mauretania, which would be not only the fastest ships in the world, but also the largest and the most luxurious of all. The British government were to lend £ 2,600,000 for the construction with a stipulation that the ships could be converted to Armed Merchant Cruisers if needed. In 1906, Mauretania was launched by the Duchess of Roxburghe. The main difference between the Mauretania and the Lusitania was that the Mauretania was five feet longer and had different vents (Mauretania had cowl vents and the Lusitania had oil drum shaped vents). Mauretania was also fitted with propellers of larger diameter and with more blades, making her slightly faster than the Lusitania. The Mauretania and Lusitania were the only ships with direct-drive steam turbines to hold the Blue Riband; later ships had reduction-geared turbines.

She left Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907, and later that month captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic with an average speed of 23.69 knots (43.87 km/h). In September, 1909, the Mauretania captured the Blue Riband for the fastest westbound crossing - a record that was to stand for more than 20 years. Her record was broken by the German ocean liner, Bremen, in 1929. In December 1910 Mauretania broke loose from her moorings while in the Mersey River and attained damage that caused the cancellation of her special speedy Christmas voyage to New York. In a quick change of events Cunard rescheduled Mauretania's voyage for Lusitania which had just returned from New York. Lusitania herself completed Maury's voyage returning Christmas revellers back to New York. In January 26, 1914, while Mauretania was in the middle of annual refit in Liverpool, four men were killed and six were injured when a gas cylinder exploded while they were working on one of her steam turbines. The damage was minimal and she returned to service two months later.

World War I

Shortly after Great Britain declared war on Germany in August 4 1914, Mauretania and her sister Lusitania were requested by the British government to become an armed merchant cruiser, but their huge size and massive fuel consumption made them unsuitable for the duty; leading to them resuming their civilian service on August 11. Later, due to lack of passengers crossing the Atlantic, Mauretania was laid up in Liverpool until May of 1915, when her sister ship Lusitania was sunk by U-boat. Mauretania was about to fill the void left by Lusitania, but she was ordered by the British government to serve as a troopship to carry British troops during the Gallipoli campaign. She avoided becoming prey for German U-boats because of her high speed and the seamanship of her crew. When combined forces from the British empire and France began to suffer heavy casualties, Mauretania was ordered to serve as a hospital ship, along with her fellow Cunarder Aquitania and White Star's Britannic, in order to treat the wounded until January 25, 1916. Seven months later, Mauretania once again became a troop ship when requestioned by the Canadian government to carry Canadian troops from Halifax to Liverpool. Her war duty was not yet over when the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, and she carried thousands of American troops until the end of the war.

Post-war and demise

Mauretania returned to civilian service on September 21, 1919. Her busy sailing schedule prevented her from having a massive overhaul scheduled in 1920. However, in 1921, Cunard Line forced her out of the service when fire broke out in the first class cabin and decided to give her a much needed overhaul. Like the RMS Olympic, her boilers were converted from coal to fuel oil. In 1922 she returned to service and later she broke her own Atlantic record with a speed of 26 knots (48 km/h). In 1928 Mauretania was modernised with new interior design and in the next year her speed record was broken by a German liner SS Bremen with a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h). On August 27, 1929, Mauretania collided with a train ferry near Robbins Reef; fortunately, no one was killed or injured and her damage was quickly repaired. In 1930, with a combination of the Great Depression and newer competition, Mauretania became a dedicated cruise ship to keep her busy. When Cunard Line merged with White Star Line in 1934, Mauretania, along with Olympic, Majestic and other aging ocean liners, had to be retired in order to make room for the 81,000 tonnes Queen Mary. The Mauretania is remembered in a song "Firing the Mauretania", with versions collected separately by Redd Sullivan and Hughie Jones. They both start "In 19 hundred and 24, I… got a job on the Mauretania"; but then go on to say "shovelling coal from morn till night" (not possible in 1924 as she was oil-fired by then); the number of "fires" is said to be either 64 or 34; but perversely the last verse on Hughie's version says "trimmers" not "stokers", so perhaps this is a reference to oil. Cunard withdrew the Mauretania from service following a final eastward crossing from New York to Southampton in September, 1934. The ship was laid up, her furnishings were sold at auction, and in July, 1935, the Mauretania headed for the breaker's yard at Rosyth. Some of the furnishings from the RMS Mauretania were installed in a bar/restaurant complex in Bristol called the Mauretania Bar (now Bar III), situated at the bottom of Park Street (the hill leading to the Wills Memorial Building of Bristol University) behind the Council House on College Green. The lounge bar was paneled with mahogany, which came from her 1st class library. The neon sign on the south wall still advertises the "Mauretania," and her bow lettering was used above the entrance. Additionally, the 1st class reading-writing room has become the board room at Pinewood Studios, west of London.

See also

• Comparison with the Olympic class

Sources

• Mauretania, by Humfrey Jordan
• Atlantic Liners: A Trio of Trios, by J. Kent Layton

External links

• Tyne & Wear Archives Service Mauretania website
• Tyne & Wear Archives Service main website
• Mauretania Home at Atlantic Liners
• Maritimequest RMS Mauretania Photo Gallery

•  • e Cunard ships
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Past ships	RMS Britannia (1840)  · SS Servia (1881)  · RMS Etruria (1884)  · RMS Umbria (1884)  · RMS Campania (1892)  · RMS Lucania (1893)  · RMS Carpathia (1903)  · RMS Carmania (1905)  · RMS Lusitania (1907)  · RMS Mauretania (1907)  · RMS Ascania (1911)  · RMS Albania (1911)  · RMS Laconia (1912)  · RMS Alaunia (1913)  · RMS Aquitania (1913)  · SS Orduna (1914)  · RMS Albania (1920)  · RMS Antonia (1921)  · RMS Scythia (1921)  · RMS Berengaria (1922)  · RMS Laconia (1922)  · RMS Lancastria (1922)  · RMS Majestic (1922)  · RMS Ascania (1923)  · RMS Aurania (1924)  · RMS Carinthia (1925)  · RMS Britannic (1929)  · RMS Olympic (1934)  · RMS Queen Mary (1936)  · RMS Mauretania (1939)  · RMS Queen Elizabeth (1940)  · RMS Caronia (1949)  · RMS Saxonia (1954)  · RMS Carinthia (1955)  · RMS Sylvania (1957)  · MS Cunard Adventurer (1971)  · MS Cunard Ambassador (1972)  · MS Cunard Countess (1975)  · MS Cunard Princess (1976)  · MS Sagafjord (1983)  · MS Caronia (1983)  · MS Royal Viking Sun (1994)