RMS Mauretania (1906)

The famous Mauretania
Owners:	Cunard Line
Builders:	Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson yards in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne
Laid down:	Unknown
Launched:	September 20, 1906
Christened:	Unknown
Maiden voyage:	November 16, 1907
Fate:	Scrapped, 1935.
General Characteristics
Tonnage:	31,938
Length:	790 feet (275.2 m)
Beam:	88 feet (29.6 m)
Power:	Steam turbines, 68,000 shaft horsepower (51 MW), designed speed 25 knots (46 km/h),
Propulsion:	Four quadruple screw propellers
Speed:	27 knots
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, Newcastle upon Tyne, 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 name Mauretania was originated from a Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa (named after the Maure tribe, after whom the Moors were named), not related to the modern Mauritania.

Beginning

Mauretania was often mistaken for Lusitania

In 1897 the German liner Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the largest and fastest ship in the world. With a speed of 22 knots, 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 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. Fortunately, the damage was minimal and she eventually 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 was initially requested by the British government to became an armed merchant cruiser, but their huge size and massive fuel consumption makes them unsuitable for the duty, they eventually resumed their civilian service. However, in August 1915, Mauretania was again ordered by the British government to served as a troopship in order to carried British troops to the Mediterranean during the Gallipoli campaign. With a combination of zig-zag maneuver and high speed, she reduced her risk to become a prey for German U-boats. Unfortunately, Gallipoli campaign was a failure and the Allied force suffered 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 troopship when requestioned by the Canadian government to carried Canadian troops from Halifax to Liverpool. Her war duty was not over yet 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 civilan service on September 21, 1919. Her busy sailing schedule prevented her for having a massive overhaul scheduled in 1920. However, in 1921, Cunard Line forced her out of the service when the fire broke out in the first class cabin and decided to give her a much needed overhaul. Like RMS Olympic, her boilers was converted from coal burning to oil burning. In 1922 she returned to service and later she broke her own Atlantic record with a speed of 26 knots. 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. In August 27, 1929, Mauretania collided with a train ferry near Robbins Reef, fortunately, no one were 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 in 1934, Mauretania, along with Olympic, Majestic and other aging ocean liners, had to be retired in order to make room for 81,000 tonnes Queen Mary.

The Mauretania is remembered in a song "A-Firing the Mauretania", with versions collected separately by Redd Sullivan and Hughie Jones. They both start "In 19 hundred and 34, I ... got a job on the Mauretania"; but then go on to say "shovelling coal from morn till night" (not possible in 1924 if she had been converted to 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.

See also

*Comparison with the Olympic class

External link

*Maritimequest RMS Mauretania Photo Gallery