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RMS Mauretania (1906)
Encyclopedia
RMS
Mauretania (also known as the "Maury") was an ocean liner
designed by Leonard Peskett
and built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson
at Wallsend
, Tyne and Wear
for the British Cunard Line
, and launched on 20 September 1906. At the time, she was the largest and fastest ship in the world. Mauretania became a favourite among her passengers. After capturing the Blue Riband
for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1907 inaugural season, Mauretania held the speed record for twenty-two years.
The ship's name was taken from Mauretania
, an ancient Roman province on the northwest African coast, not related to the modern Mauritania
. Similar nomenclature was also employed by Mauretania' s sister ship, the Lusitania
, which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania, across the Strait of Gibraltar
. the region that now is Portugal.
In 1897 the German liner became the largest and fastest ship in the world. Eventually Germany was dominating the Atlantic and by 1906 they had five four funnels
superliner
s, four of them being owned by the same company and part of the so called "Kaiser class
".
With a speed of 22 knots (43 km/h), it captured 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 the 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, with a guaranteed service speed of no less than 24 knots (47 km/h), the British government were to loan £2,600,000 (£ as of ), for the construction of Mauretania and Lusitania 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; also to fund these ships further the admiralty arranged for Cunard to be paid an additional £150,000 per year to their mail subsidy.
with Swan Hunter
and John Brown
working from the plans for an ocean greyhound with a stipulated service speed of twenty-four knots in moderate weather for her mail subsidy contract. Peskett's original configuration for the ships in 1903 was a three-funnel design when reciprocating engines were destined to be the powerplant. A giant model of the ships in this configuration appeared in Shipbuilder's magazine. Cunard in 1904 decided to change powerplants to Parson's new turbine technology and Peskett then implemented a fourth funnel to the ship's profile as the ships design was again modified before construction of the vessel finally began.
In 1906, Mauretania was launched by the Duchess of Roxburghe
. At the time of her launch, she was the largest moving structure yet built, and slightly larger in gross tonnage than her sister Lusitania. The main visual differences between Mauretania and Lusitania was that Mauretania was five feet longer and had different vents (Mauretania had cowl vents and the Lusitania had oil drum-shaped vents). Mauretania also had two extra stages of turbine blades in her forward turbines making her slightly faster than the Lusitania. The Mauretania and Lusitania were the only ships with direct-drive steam turbine
s to hold the Blue Riband; in later ships, reduction-geared turbines were mainly used. Mauretanias usage of the steam turbine was the largest yet application 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 and redesigned propellers before entering service, which reduced vibration.
Mauretania was designed to suit Edwardian tastes, with twenty eight different types of wood used in her public rooms, along with marble, tapestries, and other furnishings. Wood paneling for her first class public rooms was meticulously carved by three hundred craftsmen from Palestine
. The multi-level first class dining saloon was decorated in Francis I
style and topped by a large dome
skylight. A series of elevators, then a rare new feature for liners, were installed next to Mauretanias grand staircase. A new feature was the Verandah Café on the boat deck, where passengers were served beverages in a weather-protected environment.
Mauretania left Liverpool
on her maiden voyage
on 16 November 1907 under the command of her first captain, John Pritchard 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 two decades. 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 under the command of captain James Charles which had just returned from New York. Lusitania herself completed Christmas crossings for her sister, carrying revellers back to New York. In 1912 both 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. On 26 January 1914, while Mauretania was in the middle of annual refit in Liverpool, four men were killed and six 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.
were requested 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. Later, due to lack of passengers crossing the Atlantic, Mauretania was laid up in Liverpool until May 1915, when her sister ship Lusitania was sunk by a German 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. As a troopship, Mauretania received dazzle camouflage
, a form of abstract colour scheming, in an effort to confuse enemy ships.
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 25 January 1916. In medical service the vessel was painted white with large medical cross
emblems surrounding the vessel. Seven months later, Mauretania once again became a troop ship 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 thousands of American troops, the ship was known by the Admiralty as HMS Tuberose until the end of the war, but the vessel's name was never changed by Cunard. The dazzle painting was not used when Mauretania served as a hospital ship.
noticed that Mauretania struggled to maintain her regular Atlantic service speed. Although the ship's service speed had improved and it now burned only 750 short tons (669.6 LT) of oil per 24 hours, compared to 1000 short tons (892.9 LT) of coal previously, it was not operating at her pre-war service speeds. On one crossing in 1922 the ship managed an average speed of only nineteen knots. Cunard decided that the ship's once revolutionary turbines were in desperate need of an overhaul. In 1923, a major re-fitting was begun in Southampton. The Mauretanias turbines were dismantled. Halfway through the overhaul, the shipyard workers went on strike and the work was halted, so Cunard had the ship towed to Cherbourg, France where the work was completed at another shipyard. In May 1924, the ship returned to Atlantic service.
In 1928 Mauretania was modernised with new interior design and in the next year her speed record was broken by a German liner, the Bremen
, with a speed of 28 knots (55 km/h). On 27 August, Cunard
permitted the former ocean greyhound to have one final attempt to recapture the record from the newer German liner. She was taken out of service and her engines were modified to produce more power to give a higher service speed; however, this was still not enough. The Bremen simply represented a new generation of ocean liners that were far more powerful and technologically advanced than the aging Cunard liner. Even though Mauretania did not beat her German rival, the ship beat her own speed records both eastbound and westbound. In 1929 Mauretania collided with a train ferry near Robbins Reef Light. No one was killed or injured and her damage was quickly repaired. In 1930, with a combination of the Great Depression
and newer competitors on the Atlantic run, Mauretania became a dedicated cruise ship
. When Cunard Line merged with White Star Line
in 1934, Mauretania, along with Olympic
, Majestic and other aging ocean liners, were deemed surplus to requirements and withdrawn from service.
Cunard
withdrew Mauretania from service following a final eastward crossing from New York to Southampton
in September 1934. The voyage was made at an average speed of 24 knots (47 km/h), equalling the original contractual stipulation for her mail subsidy. She was then laid up at Southampton alongside the former White Star Line
flagship Olympic
, her twenty-eight years of service at a close.
In May 1935 her furnishings and fittings were put up for auction and on 1 July that year she departed Southampton for the last time to T.W Wards shipbreakers
at Rosyth
. One of her former captains, the retired commodore Sir Arthur Rostron
, captain of the RMS Carpathia
during the RMS Titanic rescue, came to see her on her final departure from Southampton. Rostron refused to go aboard Mauretania before her final journey, stating that he preferred to remember the ship as she was when he commanded her.
En route to Rosyth Mauretania stopped at her birthplace the Tyne for half an hour, where she drew crowds of sightseers and was boarded by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle
. The mayor bid her farewell from the people of Newcastle, and her last captain, A.T. Brown, then resumed his course for Rosyth
. With masts cut down to fit, the ship passed under the Forth Bridge and was delivered to the breakers.
In order to prevent a rival company using the name and to keep it available for a future Cunard White Star liner, arrangements were made for the Red Funnel
Paddle Steamer Queen to be renamed Mauretania in the interim.
The demise of the beloved Mauretania was protested by many of her loyal passengers, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt
who wrote a private letter arguing against the scrapping.
Some of the furnishings from the Mauretania were installed in a bar/restaurant complex in Bristol
called the Mauretania Bar
(now Java Bristol), situated in Park Street
. The lounge bar was panelled with mahogany
, which came from her first class library. The neon sign on the south wall still advertises the "Mauretania," and her bow lettering was used above the entrance. Additionally, fittings from the first class reading-writing room have been incorporated into the board room at Pinewood Studios
, west of London. The oak panelled interior of The Oak Bar in Dame Street in Dublin, Ireland was originally fitted on the Mauretania.
Maple panelling from one of the staterooms can be found in the Nont Sarahs Pub, New Hey Road (A640), Scammonden, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
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.
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
Mauretania (also known as the "Maury") was an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
designed by Leonard Peskett
Leonard Peskett
Leonard Peskett, OBE was the Cunard Line's Senior Naval Architect and Designer and the designer of sister ships RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, as well as their 'half-sister,' RMS Aquitania, and the RMS Carmania....
and built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...
at Wallsend
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
, Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
for the British Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
, and launched on 20 September 1906. At the time, she was the largest and fastest ship in the world. Mauretania became a favourite among her passengers. After capturing the Blue Riband
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1907 inaugural season, Mauretania held the speed record for twenty-two years.
The ship's name was taken from Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
, an ancient Roman province on the northwest African coast, not related to the modern Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
. Similar nomenclature was also employed by Mauretania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
, which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania, across the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
. the region that now is Portugal.
Overview
Four funnel liner
A four funnel liner, four funnelled liner or four stacker is an ocean liner with four funnels. The SS Great Eastern, launched on January 31st 1858 , became the only ocean liner to ever sport five funnels. As one funnel was later removed, the Great Eastern, by default, became the first ocean liner...
superliner
Superliner
Superliner may refer to:*Superliner - an ocean liner of more than 10,000 gross tons*Superliner - a double decker passenger car used by Amtrak*Mack Super-Liner - a heavy-duty truck manufactured by Mack Trucks...
s, four of them being owned by the same company and part of the so called "Kaiser class
Kaiser class ocean liner
The Kaiser class ocean liners or Kaiserklasse refer to four transatlantic ocean liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a German shipping company. Built by the AG Vulcan Stettin between 1897 and 1907, these ships were designed to be among the largest and best appointed liners of their day...
".
With a speed of 22 knots (43 km/h), it captured the Blue Riband
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
from Cunard Line's Campania
RMS Campania
RMS Campania was a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Scotland, and launched on Thursday, 8 September 1891....
and Lucania
RMS Lucania
RMS Lucania was a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Scotland, and launched on Thursday, 2 February 1893....
. At around the same time American financier J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
’s International Mercantile Marine Co.
International Mercantile Marine Co.
The International Mercantile Marine Co., originally the International Navigation Co., was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. The end result was heavy losses for Morgan....
was attempting to monopolize the shipping trade, and had already acquired Britain's other major transatlantic line White Star
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
. In the face of these threats the 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, with a guaranteed service speed of no less than 24 knots (47 km/h), the British government were to loan £2,600,000 (£ as of ), for the construction of Mauretania and Lusitania 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; also to fund these ships further the admiralty arranged for Cunard to be paid an additional £150,000 per year to their mail subsidy.
Design and construction
The Mauretania and her sister Lusitania were both designed by Cunard naval architect Leonard PeskettLeonard Peskett
Leonard Peskett, OBE was the Cunard Line's Senior Naval Architect and Designer and the designer of sister ships RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, as well as their 'half-sister,' RMS Aquitania, and the RMS Carmania....
with Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...
and John Brown
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
working from the plans for an ocean greyhound with a stipulated service speed of twenty-four knots in moderate weather for her mail subsidy contract. Peskett's original configuration for the ships in 1903 was a three-funnel design when reciprocating engines were destined to be the powerplant. A giant model of the ships in this configuration appeared in Shipbuilder's magazine. Cunard in 1904 decided to change powerplants to Parson's new turbine technology and Peskett then implemented a fourth funnel to the ship's profile as the ships design was again modified before construction of the vessel finally began.
In 1906, Mauretania was launched by the Duchess of Roxburghe
Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe
Anne Emily Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe VA OBE was born Anne Emily Spencer-Churchill, and was the daughter of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, who served in Conservative governments as Lord President of the Council and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland...
. At the time of her launch, she was the largest moving structure yet built, and slightly larger in gross tonnage than her sister Lusitania. The main visual differences between Mauretania and Lusitania was that Mauretania was five feet longer and had different vents (Mauretania had cowl vents and the Lusitania had oil drum-shaped vents). Mauretania also had two extra stages of turbine blades in her forward turbines making her slightly faster than the Lusitania. The Mauretania and Lusitania were the only ships with direct-drive steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s to hold the Blue Riband; in later ships, reduction-geared turbines were mainly used. Mauretanias usage of the steam turbine was the largest yet application of the then-new technology, developed by Charles Algernon Parsons
Charles Algernon Parsons
Sir Charles Algernon Parsons OM KCB FRS was an Anglo-Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the steam turbine. He worked as an engineer on dynamo and turbine design, and power generation, with great influence on the naval and electrical engineering fields...
. During speed trials, these engines caused significant vibration at high speeds; in response, Mauretania received strengthening members and redesigned propellers before entering service, which reduced vibration.
Mauretania was designed to suit Edwardian tastes, with twenty eight different types of wood used in her public rooms, along with marble, tapestries, and other furnishings. Wood paneling for her first class public rooms was meticulously carved by three hundred craftsmen from Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. The multi-level first class dining saloon was decorated in Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
style and topped by a large dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
skylight. A series of elevators, then a rare new feature for liners, were installed next to Mauretanias grand staircase. A new feature was the Verandah Café on the boat deck, where passengers were served beverages in a weather-protected environment.
Early career
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
on her maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
on 16 November 1907 under the command of her first captain, John Pritchard 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
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
for the fastest westbound crossing—a record that was to stand for more than two decades. In December 1910 Mauretania broke loose from her moorings while in the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
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 under the command of captain James Charles which had just returned from New York. Lusitania herself completed Christmas crossings for her sister, carrying revellers back to New York. In 1912 both King George
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
were given a special tour of Mauretania, then Britain's fastest merchant vessel, adding further distinction to the ship's reputation. On 26 January 1914, while Mauretania was in the middle of annual refit in Liverpool, four men were killed and six 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 on 4 August 1914, Mauretania and AquitaniaRMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania was a Cunard Line ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage to New York on 30 May 1914...
were requested 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. Later, due to lack of passengers crossing the Atlantic, Mauretania was laid up in Liverpool until May 1915, when her sister ship Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat.
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
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. As a troopship, Mauretania received dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage, also known as Razzle Dazzle or Dazzle painting, was a camouflage paint scheme used on ships, extensively during World War I and to a lesser extent in World War II...
, a form of abstract colour scheming, in an effort to confuse enemy ships.
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
, along with her fellow Cunarder Aquitania
RMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania was a Cunard Line ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage to New York on 30 May 1914...
and White Star's Britannic
HMHS Britannic
HMHS Britannic was the third and largest of the White Star Line. She was the sister ship of and , and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was launched just before the start of the First World War and was laid up at her builders in Belfast for many months before...
, in order to treat the wounded until 25 January 1916. In medical service the vessel was painted white with large medical cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
emblems surrounding the vessel. Seven months later, Mauretania once again became a troop ship when requisitioned by the Canadian government to carry Canadian troops from Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
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, the ship was known by the Admiralty as HMS Tuberose until the end of the war, but the vessel's name was never changed by Cunard. The dazzle painting was not used when Mauretania served as a hospital ship.
Post-war career
Mauretania returned to civilian service on 21 September 1919. Her busy sailing schedule prevented her from having an extensive overhaul scheduled in 1920. However, in 1921 Cunard Line removed her from service when fire broke out on E deck and decided to give her a much needed overhaul. She returned to the Tyne shipyard of her birth, where her boilers were converted to oil firing, and returned to service in March 1922. CunardCunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
noticed that Mauretania struggled to maintain her regular Atlantic service speed. Although the ship's service speed had improved and it now burned only 750 short tons (669.6 LT) of oil per 24 hours, compared to 1000 short tons (892.9 LT) of coal previously, it was not operating at her pre-war service speeds. On one crossing in 1922 the ship managed an average speed of only nineteen knots. Cunard decided that the ship's once revolutionary turbines were in desperate need of an overhaul. In 1923, a major re-fitting was begun in Southampton. The Mauretanias turbines were dismantled. Halfway through the overhaul, the shipyard workers went on strike and the work was halted, so Cunard had the ship towed to Cherbourg, France where the work was completed at another shipyard. In May 1924, the ship returned to Atlantic service.
In 1928 Mauretania was modernised with new interior design and in the next year her speed record was broken by a German liner, the Bremen
SS Bremen (1929)
The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line to work the transatlantic sea route. The Bremen was notable for her bulbous bow construction, high-speed engines, and low, streamlined profile. At the time of her construction, she and her sister ship were...
, with a speed of 28 knots (55 km/h). On 27 August, Cunard
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
permitted the former ocean greyhound to have one final attempt to recapture the record from the newer German liner. She was taken out of service and her engines were modified to produce more power to give a higher service speed; however, this was still not enough. The Bremen simply represented a new generation of ocean liners that were far more powerful and technologically advanced than the aging Cunard liner. Even though Mauretania did not beat her German rival, the ship beat her own speed records both eastbound and westbound. In 1929 Mauretania collided with a train ferry near Robbins Reef Light. No one was killed or injured and her damage was quickly repaired. In 1930, with a combination of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and newer competitors on the Atlantic run, Mauretania became a dedicated cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
. When Cunard Line merged with White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
in 1934, Mauretania, along with Olympic
RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic was the lead ship of the Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included Titanic and Britannic...
, Majestic and other aging ocean liners, were deemed surplus to requirements and withdrawn from service.
Retirement
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
withdrew Mauretania from service following a final eastward crossing from New York to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
in September 1934. The voyage was made at an average speed of 24 knots (47 km/h), equalling the original contractual stipulation for her mail subsidy. She was then laid up at Southampton alongside the former White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
flagship Olympic
RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic was the lead ship of the Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included Titanic and Britannic...
, her twenty-eight years of service at a close.
In May 1935 her furnishings and fittings were put up for auction and on 1 July that year she departed Southampton for the last time to T.W Wards shipbreakers
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
. One of her former captains, the retired commodore Sir Arthur Rostron
Arthur Rostron
Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD, RNR was a Captain for the Cunard Line and was the master of the ocean liner RMS Carpathia when it rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic which sank on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg.Captain Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach the...
, captain of the RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
during the RMS Titanic rescue, came to see her on her final departure from Southampton. Rostron refused to go aboard Mauretania before her final journey, stating that he preferred to remember the ship as she was when he commanded her.
En route to Rosyth Mauretania stopped at her birthplace the Tyne for half an hour, where she drew crowds of sightseers and was boarded by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. The mayor bid her farewell from the people of Newcastle, and her last captain, A.T. Brown, then resumed his course for Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
. With masts cut down to fit, the ship passed under the Forth Bridge and was delivered to the breakers.
In order to prevent a rival company using the name and to keep it available for a future Cunard White Star liner, arrangements were made for the Red Funnel
Red Funnel
The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, which trades as Red Funnel, is a ferry company that carries passengers and vehicles on routes between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight...
Paddle Steamer Queen to be renamed Mauretania in the interim.
The demise of the beloved Mauretania was protested by many of her loyal passengers, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
who wrote a private letter arguing against the scrapping.
Legacy
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
called the Mauretania Bar
Mauretania Public House
The Mauretania Public House is on Park Street, Bristol.It was built in 1870 by Henry Masters, with a rear extension being added in 1938 by WH Watkins...
(now Java Bristol), situated in Park Street
Park Street, Bristol
Park Street is a main street in Bristol, England, linking the city centre to Clifton. It forms part of the A4018.The building of Park Street started in 1761 and it was Bristol's earliest example of uniformly stepped hillside terracing. The street runs from College Green up a steep incline...
. The lounge bar was panelled with mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
, which came from her first class library. The neon sign on the south wall still advertises the "Mauretania," and her bow lettering was used above the entrance. Additionally, fittings from the first class reading-writing room have been incorporated into the board room at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, west of London. The oak panelled interior of The Oak Bar in Dame Street in Dublin, Ireland was originally fitted on the Mauretania.
Maple panelling from one of the staterooms can be found in the Nont Sarahs Pub, New Hey Road (A640), Scammonden, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
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.
See also
- Comparison with the Olympic class
- RMS Mauretania (1938)RMS Mauretania (1938)RMS Mauretania was launched on 28 July 1938 at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead, England and was completed in May 1939. A successor to RMS Mauretania , the second Mauretania was the first ship built for the newly formed Cunard White Star company following the merger in April 1934 of the Cunard...
- RMS Queen MaryRMS Queen MaryRMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
Further reading
- Jordan, Humfrey, Mauretania
- Layton, J. Kent, Atlantic Liners: A Trio of Trios
External links
- Tyne & Wear Archives Service Mauretania website
- Tyne & Wear Archives Service main website
- Mauretania Home at Atlantic Liners
- Maritimequest RMS Mauretania Photo Gallery
- RMS Mauretania, 1911(by Alfred StieglitzAlfred StieglitzAlfred Stieglitz was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form...
)