RMS MAURETANIA (1906)

The ''Mauretania''
Career	British Blue Ensign
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 feet (240.8 m)
Beam:	88 feet (26.8 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, 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 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.

Contents

Beginning

World War I

Post-war and demise

See also

Sources

External links

Beginning

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 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 the 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. 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. 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 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