RMS Mauretania was a British ocean liner built for the Cunard Line by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend on the River Tyne, England, launched in 1906. She was the world's largest ship until the launch of RMS Olympic in 1910. Mauretania captured the eastbound Blue Riband speed record on her maiden return voyage in December 1907, then claimed the westbound record during her 1909 season and then held both speed records for 20 years.
The liner was requisitioned by the British government for military service during World War I as a hospital ship and troopship, and was returned to Cunard in 1919. Mauretania remained in service until September 1934, when Cunard-White Star retired her and she was scrapped in 1935 at Rosyth.
Background
In 1897 the German liner became the largest and fastest ship in the world. With a speed of , she captured the Blue Riband from Cunard Line's and . Germany came to dominate the Atlantic, and by 1906 they had five four-funnel superliners in service, four of them owned by North German Lloyd.
At around the same time the American financier J. P. Morgan's International Mercantile Marine Co. was attempting to monopolise the shipping trade, and had already acquired Britain's other major transatlantic line, the White Star Line.
In the face of these threats the Cunard Line was determined to regain the prestige of dominance in ocean travel not only for the company, but also for the United Kingdom. By 1902, Cunard Line and the British government reached an agreement to build two superliners, and Mauretania, with a guaranteed service speed of no less than . The British government was to loan £2,600,000 (equivalent to £ in ) for the construction of the ships, at an interest rate of 2.75%, to be paid back over twenty years, with a stipulation that the ships could be converted to armed merchant cruisers if needed. Further funding was secured when the Admiralty arranged for Cunard to be paid an annual subsidy as a Royal Navy Reserve Merchant Vessel (which also authorised both ships to fly the Blue Ensign), additional to the mail contract.
Design and construction Mauretania and Lusitania were both designed by Cunard naval architect Leonard Peskett, with Swan Hunter and John Brown working from plans for an ocean greyhound with a stipulated service speed of twenty-four knots in moderate weather, as per the terms of the mail subsidy contract. Peskett's original configuration for the ships in 1902 was a three-funnel design, when reciprocating engines were destined to be the powerplant. A giant model of the ships appeared in Shipbuilder's magazine in this configuration. Cunard decided to change power plants to Parsons' new turbine technology, and the ship's design was again modified when Peskett added a fourth funnel to the ship's profile. Construction of the vessel finally began with the laying of the keel in August 1904. By tradition, the hull was painted in a light grey colour for photographic purposes during her launch; a common practice of the day for the first ship in a new class, as it made the lines of the ship clearer in the black-and-white photographs. Her hull was painted black before her maiden voyage.
In 1906, Mauretania was christened and launched by the Duchess of Roxburghe. The ship's name was taken from the ancient Roman province of Mauretania on the northwest African coast, not the modern Mauritania to the south. Similar nomenclature was also employed by Mauretanias sister ship , which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania, across the Strait of Gibraltar in Portugal.
At the time of her launch, Mauretania was the largest moving structure ever built, and slightly larger in gross tonnage than Lusitania. The main visual differences between Mauretania and Lusitania were that Mauretania was five feet longer and had different vents. Mauretania also had two extra stages of turbine blades installed in the forward turbines, giving a slightly higher top speed than Lusitania. Mauretania and Lusitania were the only ships with direct-drive steam turbines to hold the Blue Riband; in later ships, reduction-geared turbines were mainly used. Mauretanias usage of the steam turbine was the largest application yet of the then-new technology, developed by Charles Algernon Parsons. During speed trials, these engines caused significant vibration at high speeds; in response, Mauretania received strengthening members aft and redesigned propellers before entering service, which reduced vibration.
Mauretania was designed to suit Edwardian tastes. The ship's interior was designed by the architect Harold Peto, the public rooms were fitted out by two notable London design houses – Ch. Mellier & Sons and Turner and Lord, with twenty-eight different types of wood, along with marble, tapestries, and other furnishings such as the stunning octagon table in the smoking room. Wood panelling for the first class public rooms was supposedly carved by three hundred craftsmen from Palestine but this seems unlikely, unnecessary and was probably executed by the yard or subcontracted, as were the majority of the second and third class areas. The multi-level first-class dining saloon of straw oak was decorated in Francis I style and topped by a large dome skylight. A series of elevators, then a rare new feature for liners, with grilles composed of the relatively new lightweight aluminium, were installed next to Mauretanias walnut grand staircase. A new feature was the Verandah Café on the boat deck, where passengers were served beverages in a weather-protected environment, although this was enclosed within a year as it proved unrealistic.
Early career (1906–1914)
Stormy beginning Mauretania departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907 under the command of Captain John Pritchard, but failed to capture the Blue Riband, due to a rough storm. Whilst weathering that storm, the spare anchor on the forecastle broke free, necessitating its resecurement, there was also minor damage to the superstructure. On the return voyage (30 November – 5 December 1907), however, she captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic, with an average speed of .
On 23 December 1907, Mauretania was again at New York City and moored to Pier 54 in the North River when a squall with high winds struck, causing mooring posts on Pier 54 to give way. Mauretania went partially adrift, and her bow swung around and struck several barges which were bringing her coal and taking off ashes; the barges Roan and Tomhicken and the boats Eureka 32 and Eureka 36 were damaged and the barge Ellis P. Rogers was lost. In subsequent litigation, Cunard was found liable for damages and injuries.
On 24 March 1908, the bridge was badly damaged when it was hit by an 80-foot (24.4-metre)-tall rogue wave. Six bridge windows were smashed, injuring an officer. In May of the same year she damaged her propellers, losing two blades.
In September 1908, during another stormy Atlantic crossing to New York, Mauretania entered a trough between two 'colossal' waves, exposing her propellers. Unhindered by water, they spun wildly and one of the low pressure-driven propellers lost a blade due to the immense centrifugal forces. The unbalanced propeller caused severe vibrations described as a 'hammering on Mauretania'''s sides', just as the ship plummeted into the wave trough, causing a panic among the passengers. The engines were stopped, the damaged propeller was disabled, and the crossing continued without issue.
Blue Riband capture In September 1909, Mauretania captured the Blue Riband for the fastest westbound crossing—a record that was to stand for more than two decades. In December 1911, as in New York City in December 1910, Mauretania broke loose from her moorings while in the River Mersey and sustained damage that caused the cancellation of her special speedy Christmas voyage to New York. In a quick change of events Cunard rescheduled Mauretanias voyage for Lusitania, which had just returned from New York, under the command of Captain James Charles. Lusitania completed Christmas crossings for Mauretania, carrying travellers back to New York. Mauretania was on a westbound voyage from Liverpool to New York, beginning 13 April 1912, and was docked at Queenstown, Ireland, at the time of the disaster. Mauretania was transporting Titanics cargo manifest carried by registered mail. Traveling on Mauretania at the time was the chairman of Cunard, A. A. Booth, who organised a vigil for the Titanic victims.
In July 1913, King George and Queen Mary were given a special tour of Mauretania, then Britain's fastest merchant vessel, adding further distinction to the ship's reputation.
Explosion during annual refit On 26 January 1914, while Mauretania was in the middle of annual refit in Liverpool, three men were instantly killed and eight injured when a gas cylinder exploded while they were working on one of her steam turbines. One of those injured later died of their injuries, bringing the number of those killed to four in total.
At an inquest on 13 February 1914, it was determined that the explosion was the result of an oxygen cylinder being accidentally mis-identified as a coal gas cylinder and being delivered with mixed contents.
Damage to the ship was minimal; she was repaired in the new Gladstone drydock and returned to service two months later.
First World War (1914–1919) Outbreak and passenger service After Great Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Mauretania made a dash for safety in Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 6 August. Shortly after, she and Aquitania were requisitioned by the British government to become armed merchant cruisers, but their huge size and massive fuel consumption made them unsuitable for the duty, and they resumed their civilian service on 11 August. Unlike Lusitania, she was not repainted in dark greys with black funnels, with those precautionary measures not being deemed advisable for Mauretania. Due to lack of passengers crossing the Atlantic, Mauretania was out of service in Liverpool at the time that Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat.
Government service Cunard planned to replace the sunken Lusitania on the Transatlantic run with Mauretania, but instead she was requisitioned by the British government to serve as a troop ship, carrying British soldiers during the Gallipoli campaign. The liner avoided falling prey to German U-boats due to 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 the Aquitania and White Star's Britannic, to treat the wounded until 25 January 1916. In medical service the vessel was painted white with buff funnels and large medical cross emblems surrounding the vessel and possibly illuminated signs starboard and port. Seven months later, Mauretania once again became a troop ship late in 1916 when requisitioned 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 around 35,000 American troops to Europe from New York, with around 5,000 per voyage.
During the war Mauretania received dazzle camouflage, a type of abstract colour scheme designed by Norman Wilkinson in 1917 in an effort to confuse enemy ships. The last of her schemes was a geometric design mostly consisting of blues and greys with some black. She was returned to her Cunard livery from her camouflage scheme in February 1919.
Post-war career (1919–1934)Mauretania returned to civilian service on 21 September 1919, now serving on the Southampton to New York route. Her busy sailing schedule prevented her from having an extensive overhaul scheduled in 1920.
Conversion from coal to oil