 Mauretania in 1907 off the Tyne | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | RMSMauretania |
| Namesake | Mauretania |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |  Cunard Line |
| Port of registry |  Liverpool |
| Route |
|
| Ordered | 1904 |
| Builder | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson,Northumberland, England |
| Yard number | 735 |
| Laid down | 18 August 1904 |
| Launched | 20 September 1906 |
| Christened | 20 September 1906, by theDuchess of Roxburghe |
| Acquired | 11 November 1907 |
| Maiden voyage | 16 November 1907 |
| In service | 1907–1934 |
| Out of service | September 1934 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped in 1935 atRosyth, Scotland |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 31,938 GRT, 12,797 NRT |
| Displacement | 44,610tons |
| Length | 790 ft (240.8 m) |
| Beam | 88 ft (26.8 m) |
| Draft | 33 ft (10.1 m) |
| Depth | 33 ft 6 in (10.2 m) |
| Decks | 8 |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | Quadruple propeller installation |
| Speed | 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) ‐ 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) design service speed |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 802 |
| Armament | 12 ×QF 6-inch naval guns (for but not with) |
| Notes |
|
RMSMauretania was a Britishocean liner built for theCunard Line bySwan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson atWallsend on the River Tyne, England, launched in 1906. She was the world's largest ship until the launch ofRMSOlympic in 1910.Mauretania captured the eastboundBlue Riband speed record on her maiden return voyage in December 1907, then claimed the westbound record during her 1909 season. She held both speed records for 20 years.
She saw military service duringWorld War I as ahospital ship andtroopship, and was returned to Cunard in 1919.Mauretania remained in service until September 1934, whenCunard-White Star retired her. She was scrapped inRosyth in 1935.
RMS Lusitania, built byJohn Brown & Co,Clydebank, was her nearly identicalsister ship.
In 1897 the German linerSS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the largest and fastest ship in the world. With a speed of 22knots (41 km/h; 25 mph), she captured the Blue Riband from Cunard Line'sCampania andLucania. Germany came to dominate the Atlantic, and by 1906 they had fivefour-funnelsuperliners in service, four of them owned byNorth German Lloyd.
At around the same time the American financierJ. P. Morgan'sInternational Mercantile Marine Co. was attempting to monopolise the shipping trade, and had already acquired Britain's other major transatlantic line, theWhite Star Line.[2]: 11
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.[2]: 11 [3]By 1902, Cunard Line and the British government reached an agreement to build two superliners,Lusitania andMauretania,[2]: 11 with a guaranteed service speed of no less than 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph). The British government was to loan£2,600,000 (equivalent to £342 million in 2023)[4] 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 toarmed merchant cruisers if needed.[5]: 3 Further funding was secured when theAdmiralty arranged for Cunard to be paid an annual subsidy as a Royal Navy Reserve Merchant Vessel (which also authorised both ships to fly theBlue Ensign), additional to the mail contract.[5]: 3 [6][7]
Mauretania andLusitania were both designed by Cunard naval architectLeonard Peskett, withSwan Hunter andJohn 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 her 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 inShipbuilder's magazine in this configuration. Cunard decided to change power plants toParsons' newturbine 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.[8] 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.[9]
In 1906,Mauretania waschristened and launched by theDuchess of Roxburghe.[2]: 25 The ship's name was taken from the ancient Roman province ofMauretania on the northwest African coast, not the modernMauritania to the south.[2]: 24 Similar nomenclature was also employed byMauretania'ssister shipLusitania, which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania, across theStrait of Gibraltar[2]: 24 in Portugal.
At the time of her launch, she was the largest moving structure ever built,[10] and slightly larger in gross tonnage thanLusitania. The main visual differences betweenMauretania andLusitania were thatMauretania was five feet longer and had different vents.[5]: 44 Mauretania also had two extra stages of turbine blades in her forward turbines, making her slightly faster thanLusitania.Mauretania andLusitania were the only ships with direct-drivesteam turbines to hold the Blue Riband; in later ships, reduction-geared turbines were mainly used.[11]Mauretania's usage of the steam turbine was the largest application yet of the then-new technology, developed byCharles Algernon Parsons.[2]: 15 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.[2]: 38–39
Mauretania was designed to suitEdwardian tastes. The ship's interior was designed by the architectHarold Peto, and her public rooms were fitted out by two notable London design houses – Ch. Mellier & Sons and Turner and Lord,[12][2]: 31 with twenty-eight different types of wood, along with marble, tapestries, and other furnishings such as the stunning octagon table in the smoking room.[12][2]: 33–36 Wood panelling for her first class public rooms was supposedly carved by three hundred craftsmen fromPalestine 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.[2]: 33 The multi-level first-class dining saloon of straw oak was decorated inFrancis I style and topped by a large domeskylight.[2]: 33 A series of elevators, then a rare new feature for liners, with grilles composed of the relatively new lightweight aluminium, were installed next toMauretania's walnut grand staircase.[2]: 33 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.[12]
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Mauretania departedLiverpool 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 that broke free her spare anchor. She also suffered minor damage to her superstructure. On the return voyage, however, (30 November – 5 December 1907) she captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic, with an average speed of 23.69 knots (43.87 km/h; 27.26 mph).[2]: 41–43
On 23 December 1907,Mauretania was again at New York City and moored to Pier 54 in theNorth River when asquall with high winds struck, causing mooring posts on Pier 54 to give way.Mauretania went partially adrift, and herbow swung around and struck severalbarges which were bringing her coal and taking off ashes; the bargesRoan andTomhicken and the boatsEureka 32 andEureka 36 were damaged and the bargeEllis P. Rogers was lost. In subsequent litigation, Cunard was found liable for damages.[13][14]
On 24 March 1908, theMauretania had her bridge badly damaged when she was hit by an 80 foot (24.4 metre) tall rogue wave. Six bridge windows were smashed, injuring an officer.[15] She later damaged her propellers in May, losing two blades.[16]
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 onMauretania'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.[17]
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In September 1909,Mauretania captured the Blue Riband for the fastest westbound crossing—a record that was to stand for more than two decades.[2]: 41–43 In December 1911, as in New York City in December 1910,Mauretania broke loose from her moorings while in theRiver Mersey and sustained damage that caused the cancellation of her special speedy Christmas voyage to New York. In a quick change of events Cunard rescheduledMauretania's voyage forLusitania, which had just returned from New York, under the command of CaptainJames Charles.Lusitania completed Christmas crossings forMauretania,[5]: 120 carrying travellers back to New York.Mauretania was on a westbound voyage from Liverpool to New York, beginning 13 April 1912, and was docked atQueenstown, Ireland, at the time of theRMS Titanic disaster.Mauretania was transportingTitanic's cargo manifest carried by registered mail. Traveling onMauretania at the time was the chairman of Cunard, A. A. Booth, who organised a vigil for theTitanic victims.[18]
In July 1913,King George andQueen Mary were given a special tour ofMauretania, then Britain's fastest merchant vessel, adding further distinction to the ship's reputation.
On 26 January 1914, whileMauretania 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.[19]One of those injured later died of their injuries, bringing the number of those killed to four in total.[20]
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 acoal gas cylinder and being delivered with mixed contents.[20]
Damage to the ship was minimal; she was repaired in the new Gladstone drydock and returned to service two months later.[21][19]
After Great Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914,Mauretania made a dash for safety inHalifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 6 August. Shortly after, she andAquitania were requested by the British government to becomearmed merchant cruisers,[5]: 170–171 but their huge size and massive fuel consumption made them unsuitable for the duty,[22] and they resumed their civilian service on 11 August. Unlike her sister shipLusitania, she was not repainted in dark greys with black funnels, with those precautionary measures not being deemed advisable forMauretania.[23] Due to lack of passengers crossing the Atlantic,Mauretania was out of service in Liverpool at the time thatLusitania was sunk bya German U-Boat.[24]
Mauretania was planned to replace theLusitania on the Transatlantic run after the Lusitania was sunk, but she was ordered by the British government to serve as atroop ship to carry British soldiers during theGallipoli campaign.[22] 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 ahospital ship, along with theAquitania and White Star'sBritannic, to treat the wounded until 25 January 1916. In medical service the vessel was painted white with buff funnels and large medicalcross emblems[25] 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.[22]
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.[26]: 143
During the warMauretania receiveddazzle camouflage, a type of abstract colour scheme designed byNorman 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.[27] She was returned to her Cunard livery from her camouflage scheme in February 1919.[28]
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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.
In 1921, Cunard removed her from service when fire broke out on E deck and decided to overhaul the ship.[29] She returned to the Tyne shipyard where she was built, where her boilers were converted to oil firing,[2]: 342–345 and returned to service in March 1922. Cunard noticed thatMauretania struggled to maintain her regular Atlantic service speed.
With conversion, the engineering staff ofMauretania was reduced from 446 to 175, and enabled her to complete a full round trip from Southampton to New York and back without having to refuel.[30] It was estimated she would burn 600 long tons (610 t) of oil per 24 hours, compared to 1,000 long tons (1,000 t) of coal previously.[31]
In May 1922, she broke her record for an eastbound transatlantic crossing, demonstrating the success of her oil conversion.[32]
It was during these years her promenade was enclosed temporarily, and her funnels were modified to have an ovoid shape, making them look nearly identical toLusitania. Cunard decided that the ship's once revolutionary turbines were in desperate need of an overhaul.[29] In 1923, a major refitting was begun in Southampton.Mauretania's turbines were dismantled. Halfway through the overhaul, the shipyard workers went on strike and the work was halted, so Cunard had the ship towed toCherbourg, France, where the work was completed at another shipyard.[33] In May 1924, the ship returned to Atlantic service.[29]
The next several years would prove to Cunard that the changes made toMauretania had helped, and she was a very popular and successful vessel during this time. In 1928,Mauretania was refurbished with a new interior design and in the next year her speed record was broken by the German linerBremen,[2]: 255 with a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). On 27 August, Cunard permitted the former ocean greyhound to have one final attempt to recapture the record from the newer German liner, but even her best efforts could only come just short ofBremen's record. She was taken out of service and her engines were adjusted to produce more power to give a higher service speed; however, this was still not enough.Bremen represented a new generation of ocean liners that were far more powerful and technologically advanced than the aging Cunard liner.[2]: 255 Even thoughMauretania did not beat her German rival, the ship lost by just a fraction after decades of design improvement and beat all her own previous speed records both east and westbound. In November 1929, under the command of Captain Samuel Giles Spencer McNeilMauretania collided with a train ferry nearRobbins Reef Light after departing New York, damaging two hull plates on her port bow above the waterline. No-one was killed or injured, many of her passengers were asleep and awoke the next morning to find themselves back in New York under inspection. Her damage was quickly repaired and she departed again the next day.[34]
In 1930, with a combination of theGreat Depression and newer competitors on the Atlantic run,Mauretania became a dedicatedcruise ship[2]: 340 running six day cruises from New York toPier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[35] On 19 November 1930,Mauretania rescued 28 people and theship's cat of the Swedish cargo shipOvidia which foundered in the Atlantic Ocean 400nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) south east ofCape Race,Newfoundland.[36][37] In 1933, she was painted white for cruise service.[38] When Cunard Line merged with White Star Line in 1934,Mauretania, along withOlympic,Homeric, and other aging ocean liners, were deemed surplus to requirements and withdrawn from service.[39][40][41][42][43]
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Cunard White Star withdrewMauretania from service following a final eastward crossing from New York toSouthampton in September 1934. The voyage was made at an average speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), equaling the original contractual stipulation for her mail subsidy. She was then laid up at Southampton, her twenty-eight years of service at a close.[2]: 342
In May 1935 her furnishings and fittings were put up for auction by Hampton and Sons and on 1 July that year she departed Southampton for the last time to Metal Industriesshipbreakers atRosyth.[2]: 342 One of her former captains, the retired commodore SirArthur Rostron, captain ofRMS Carpathia during theTitanic rescue, came to see her on her final departure from Southampton. Rostron refused to go aboardMauretania before her final journey, stating that he preferred to remember the ship as she was when he commanded her.[44]
En route to Rosyth,Mauretania launched rockets off the coast ofScarborough overnight,[45] and stopped at her birthplace on the Tyne for half an hour, where she drew crowds of sightseers. Rockets were fired from her bridge, messages relayed, and she was boarded by theLord Mayor of Newcastle. The mayor bade her farewell from the people of Newcastle, and her last captain,A. T. Brown, then resumed his course forRosyth.[46]Approximately 30 miles north of Newcastle is the small seaport ofAmble, Northumberland. The local town council sent a telegram to the ship stating, "Still the finest ship on the seas." To whichMauretania replied with, "to the last and kindliest port in England, greetings and thanks."[47] Amble, to this day, is still known as 'Amble, the Friendliest Port', and this is still seen on signs when entering the town. With masts cut down to fit, the ship passed under theForth Bridge and was delivered to the breakers.[48]
Mauretania arrived at Rosyth in Fife in the early hours of 4 July 1935 during a half-gale, passing under Forth Bridge. She passed the entrance to the Metal Industries yards under the command oflocal pilots. A lone kilted piper, Piper Macgillivray of theBlack Watch, was present at the quayside, playingAuld Lang Syne (a traditional farewell song) for the popular vessel.[49]
Mauretania had her last public inspection on 8 July, 20,000 attended on 7 July, a Sunday, with Metal Industries charging one shilling for adults and sixpence for children, raising £375 for charity.[50] The access granted to visitors had to be severely limited, assouvenir hunters had broken into cabins to remove valuable fittings and panelling.[51]
Scrapping began shortly after and progressed quickly. She was cut up afloat in drydock, cut down almost to water level. She was then beached at the tidal basin at Metal Industries and her remaining structure was scrapped by June 1936.[52]
To prevent a rival company using the name and to keep it available for a future Cunard White Star liner, arrangements were made for theRed Funnel Paddle SteamerQueen to be renamedMauretania in the interim before the launch of the newRMS Mauretania in 1938, when the paddle steamer was renamed again toCorfe Castle, releasing the name.[53]
The demise of the belovedMauretania was protested by many of her loyal passengers, including PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, who wrote a private letter against the scrapping.[3]
The ship's bell is in the reception of theLloyd's Register,Fenchurch Street, London. Annually forRemembrance Day, Lloyds Register observe two minutes of silence and lay a wreath at its base in honour of servicemen and women.
Some of the furnishings fromMauretania were installed in a bar/restaurant complex inBristol called theMauretania Bar (now Illuminati Bristol), situated inPark Street. The bar was panelled with great quantities of richly carved and gilt old growth Africanmahogany, which came from her first class lounge.[54] The neon sign made for the 1937 opening on the south wall still advertisesMauretania and her bow lettering was used above the entrance.
Additionally, nearly the complete first class reading-writing room, with the original chandeliers and ornate gilt grilled bookcases, has been serving as the boardroom atPinewood Studios, west of London. The colour is no longer shimmeringsilver sycamore – it has been altered over the years to an amber.[3] According to a Channel 4 programme about coast properties the whole of the Second Class drawing room from the ship form the interior of a white and blue house overlooking Poole Harbour; the drawing room is overlooked by abalustraded circular veranda which is also original. Other panels and fittings were used to decorate the foyer and auditorium areas of the now defunct Windsor Cinema inCarluke.[55] Some of the timber panelling was also used in the extension (completed in 1937) of St John the Baptist's Catholic Church inPadiham, Lancashire.[56]
An original model ofMauretania is displayed at theSmithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. after a long stay on the retiredQueen Mary in Long Beach, California. Originally with a black hull, it was repainted to show her white cruising paint scheme in the 1930s after it was gifted to theQueen Mary by Franklin D. Roosevelt.[57]
Another scale model ofMauretania is displayed at theDiscovery Museum inNewcastle upon Tyne. It is still in its original colour scheme.
A large builder's model, showingMauretania in her white cruising paint scheme, is displayed in theMaritime Museum of the Atlantic's Cunard exhibit inHalifax, Nova Scotia. Originally a model ofLusitania, it was converted to representMauretania afterLusitania was torpedoed.[58]
Another large builder's model is situated aboard the ocean linerQueen Elizabeth 2, currently located inDubai.[59]
A model of the vessel which was commissioned by Cunard is now held in the collection of theNational Maritime Museum in Greenwich.[60]
Mauretania appears on one of the stained-glass windows ofNewcastle Cathedral as part of a memorial window to Andrew Laing.[61] Laing designedMauretania's engines.[62]
Mauretania is remembered in a song, "The fireman's lament" or "Firing theMauretania", collected by Redd Sullivan.[63] The song starts "In 19 hundred and 24, I ... got a job on theMauretania"; but then goes on to say "shovelling coal from morn till night" (not possible in 1924 as she was oil-fired by then).[30] The number of "fires" is said to be 64. Hughie Jones also recorded the song but the last verse of Hughie's version calls upon "all you trimmers" whereas Redd Sullivan's version calls upon "stokers".[63][i]
TheClive Cussler Isaac Bell novelThe Thief is set aboardMauretania. A terrible fire engulfs the forward storage area but it is brought under control.
Mauretania is also mentioned inRudyard Kipling's poem "The Secret of the Machines":
The boat-express is waiting your command!
You will find theMauretania at the quay,
Till her captain turns the lever 'neath his hand,And the monstrous nine-decked city goes to sea.
Mauretania is mentioned at the beginning ofJames Cameron's 1997 filmTitanic. When Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) says ofTitanic, “I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It doesn’t look any bigger than theMauretania”, her snobbish fiancé Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane) accurately says to her thatTitanic is “over a hundred feet longer” and that she is “far more luxurious” than her older competitor.
The historical novelMaiden Voyage by British writer Roger Harvey set in Newcastle in the 1900s gives an accurate account of the building ofMauretania and features characters involved with her turbine engines. The climax of two love stories and a thriller comes as the ship approaches New York on her maiden voyage.[64]
Mauretania is ship that Spencer Dutton used to return the message from his aunt to return to the Yellowstone Ranch in the American Western drama television series1923.
One of the episodes involving the ship takes place in the 1976 animated seriesCandy Candy. According to the plot, the main character, Candy White, goes to study from New York to London on theMauretania, and after a while, presumably on the same ship, Candy's lover, Terrus Granchester, leaves for New York.
The ship is the central piece of, and gives its title to, one of the adventure scenarios contained inThe Asylum & Other Tales, a 1983 sourcebook ofChaosium's tabletop roleplaying game,Call of Cthulhu.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Holder of theBlue Riband (westbound record) 1909–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Blue Riband (eastbound record) 1907–1929 | ||
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1907 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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