Lusitania & Mauretania: Cunard's Revolutionary Liners

when the white star line was acquired by the american international mercantile marine company in 1902 the british royal navy was getting concerned that it would not have access to enough large ocean liners in the event of a war ocean liners being considered an important component of military strategy at the time cunard saw an opportunity in the royal navy's anxiety the company approached the navy requesting subsidies to build two new express liners capable of at least 24 and a half knots and having a large carrying capacity the navy agreed to provide funds if the ships would be able to meet a few additional requirements they had to have double bottoms and watertight subdivision for safety coal bunkers positioned so as to protect the engine rooms and reinforced decks to support the potential installation of guns finally the ships would also have to remain under british ownership if cunard could meet these requirements the government would provide a low-interest loan of 2.6 million pounds in addition to an annual operating subsidy of 150 000 pounds which would prove to be important given the expense of operating ships at such a high speed the requirements particularly the 24 and a half knot speed requirement were stringent but cunard plays the order for two new ships with financial support from the government the first ship to be named lusitania after the roman province consisting of parts of modern day portugal and spain would be built on the river clyde by the john brown company while her running mate mauritania named after another roman province would be built on the river tine by swann hunter and wiggum richardson limited the keel of lusitania was laid down on august 17 1904 in scotland and the keel of mauritania was laid down the very next day in england but the construction process of both ships was a little different than it might have been early on emphasis was placed on the forward end of each ship leaving the after ends relatively behind schedule this is because an important decision was yet to be finalized what type of engines would be installed on the new liners the speed requirement of 24 and a half knots mandated a lot of power and there was an engine that could meet the demand but it was an experimental engine which had only been proven at a much smaller scale the parsons steam turbine engine had been tested on a tiny vessel named turbinia built specifically for the purpose of testing the engine and a few smaller liners such as the 11 000 gross register ton victorian and the turbine engines had been successful on these ships but to build two great expensive and critical liners around an engine system which remained untested at the scale of lusitania and mauritania would have been a tremendous risk for cunard and the navy especially since kunar did not have any experience with turbine driven ships luckily cunard had two smaller identical ships available to test the parsons steam turbine engine those ships though would not be completed until the end of 1905 and so the builders of lusitania and mauritania were stalling eventually those two ships carmania and coronia were completed and put to sea and it soon became clear that the parsons steam turbine engine did work at the scale of a large ocean liner and it allowed for faster speeds without higher fuel consumption in this case it allowed carmania the ship with the steam turbine engine to cruise at a full knot faster than coronia the ship equipped with a conventional quadruple expansion engine in the case of lusitania and mauritania it would certainly allow the ships to meet their 24 and a half knot speed requirement construction on the after end could proceed and gradually the ships came to life as the one inch thick hull plating was riveted to the frame revealing the classic tumble home which had been incorporated into the ship's design tumble home is the slanting of the hull outward as it approaches the waterline which improves stability and gives ships a traditional aesthetic lusitania was launched first in june 1906 she had a three-month head start on her sister which was launched in september of 1906. for the next year plus the incomplete shells of the ships were fitted with their engines and boilers interiors funnels and rigging even if the ships were being completed side by side it would have taken a keen eye to spot the differences between the two but there were a few mauritania had a rounded stern as opposed to lusitania's more square stern this added about five feet to her overall length making mauritania the longer ship she was also the larger ship at 31 938 gross registered tons mauritania was about 400 tons larger than her sister lusitania's ventilators were of a more discreet hinge top design which gave her a cleaner look than her sister but lusitania's ventilators were not as well suited for the harsh atlantic as the traditional cowl ventilators of mauritania and they had to be replaced frequently beneath the waterline mauritania drew an additional one and a half inches on her sister and was equipped with four bladed propellers rather than three bladed propellers like her sister the four bladed propellers would later prove to be more efficient and ultimately allow mauritania to capture the blue ribbon from her sister as soon as she was given the chance the most notable distinction between the two sisters though would not be apparent to the public until both ships were in service although the layout was more or less the same the interior design differed substantially between the ships which would create a unique atmosphere aboard each one lusitania's interior was designed by james millar and was based on the georgian and louis xvi styles there was a lot of white with gold trim and a general lightness to the public rooms of the ship mauritania's interiors on the other hand were designed by harland pedo who was possibly inspired by the interior design of hamburg america's ship ss america mauritania had a darker tone with plentiful oak and mahogany being used lusitania was completed in the summer of 1907. on her builders trial it was confirmed that lusitania would meet the speed requirements of cunard and the royal navy but that speed came at a price at high speed the after end of the ship in particular vibrated excessively to the point where certain areas of the ship would be practically uninhabitable so lusitania returned to clydebank where modifications were made before the official trials and heading off to cunard most notably some of the public second-class rooms were reinforced with beams and arches to stiffen that section of the ship these modifications reduced the appeal of the rooms affected and only moderately reduced vibration lusitania's official sea trials in 1907 though were a tremendous success producing 70 000 horsepowers at full steam the ship at times exceeded 26 knots surpassing the requirement of 24 and a half knots by a significant margin needless to say cunard accepted lusitania the next month and in september lusitania sailed from liverpool on her maiden voyage with 200 000 spectators wishing her bon voyage from the shore the first voyage though was not necessarily as glorious as her owners might have hoped the voyage was dampened by pesky fog and despite being the fastest ship in the world she arrived off sandy hook 32 minutes shy of the speed record lusitania's arrival in new york was still met with praise and enthusiasm from the public she was both the fastest and the largest ship in the world and was a spectacle in every way yet she would only bask in this glory for as long as she lacked a sibling mauritania is not without her own problems though around the time of her older sister's maiden voyage her builders took her to sea for her preliminary trials they discovered vibration problems of similar magnitude to those of lusitania but at the forward superstructure rather than the stern during a high-speed run the commander ordered the engine slowed later when he was asked why he said because i was being shaken off my bridge mauritania went back in for renovations and fortunately did not require quite as much modification as her sister between mauritania's later official trials and her maiden voyage lusitania was able to capture the blue ribbon from the germans and became known as a four-day boat meaning that she could make a crossing in less than five days the first leg of mauritania's voyage from liverpool in november 1907 was less successful than that of lusitania she battled strong westerlies and although she powered through them with steadfast speed she pitched and rolled uncomfortably in doing so at one point a wave broke free a spare anchor on the bow and the ship had to heave too in other words slow down and head into the wind so that the crew could secure the anchor it took 24 minutes and killed whatever hope remained for a record made in crossing this hindrance did not hold mauritania back for long though on her return crossing from new york mauritania did beat lusitania's eastbound record and so marked the beginning of a fierce sibling rivalry the blue ribbon would change hands between the two ships a few times with lusitania firmly holding onto the westbound record and mauritania the eastbound record eventually though mauritania took the blue ribbon from her sister once and for all and she would hold on to that coveted if intangible prize for 20 more years somehow keeping it out of reach of newer liners until the bremen came along in 1929 lusitania and mauritania would go on to earn a reputation for speed and reliability two critical characteristics of a successful express liner one of the trade-offs though was that they were not always the most comfortable despite their fine finishings and amenities they were long and narrow so they pitched and rolled more than other ships their bows were also designed to plow through waves rather than ride over them which allowed for greater speed in rough conditions but also wet conditions on board and the occasional bad run-in with a rogue wave nonetheless both ships were remarkably popular not equally popular though despite being the less revered ship in hindsight lusitania was the more popular ship among passengers of the day it might be fair to assume that this was due to the different interiors since this is what would have been most noticeable for passengers perhaps the lighter and airier decor was more popular with the ladies who often made the travel arrangements cunard's dual express liner service across the atlantic though was missing something a third ship despite all their speed and reliability a third ship was still necessary in order to offer a weekly service between liverpool and new york cunard's solution was the aquitania a much larger ship more in line with white star line's olympic class aquitania would be much more comfortable and luxurious than lusitania and mauritania but her 24 knot service speed would be sufficient for her to keep up with the demanding schedule but aquitania would not enter service until june 1914. not only did this leave lusitania and mauritania without a proper running mate for seven years but the long-awaited establishment of a three-ship express service coincided with the outbreak of world war one two months later the moment the british admiralty had been waiting for was finally here merchant ships including the specially built lusitania and mauritania could finally be put to the test as armed merchant cruisers it quickly became apparent though that the large merchant ships did not make good warships ships other than lusitania and mauritania had demonstrated that the conceptual armed merchant cruiser was awkward expensive and limited in range the admiralty almost immediately abandoned the idea of using liners as warships but it had already pressed mauritania into service and so she sat empty and idle her fine finishings removed awaiting a decision as to her potential utility meanwhile lusitania continued her trent atlantic service her schedule reduced to one round-trip voyage per month and six of her boilers were taken offline reducing her service speed to 21 knots and the name of saving fuel but she remained the fastest liner on the england to new york route lusitania's speed was thought to be the best defense against germany's new naval weapon of choice the u-boat initially her status as an unarmed passenger ship was thought to have added a layer of protection but several british merchant ships had been sunk by german u-boats since the war began germany had begun placing ads in american newspapers warning citizens of the neutral united states that it would be dangerous to travel on ships of belligerent nations one of these warnings appeared directly adjacent to an advertisement for lusitania's may 1 1914 eastbound crossing from new york to liverpool the warning served as a reminder that a state of war existed between britain and germany and that any civilians who sailed aboard a british ship did so at their own risk but when lusitania departed new york she was as full as she had been on any other wartime crossing and the passenger list included many americans some had heeded the warning of the newspaper that day and cancelled in favor of the departure of an old american line ship new york which was only a few hours later but most stuck to their original plans mostly made months in advance this particular voyage of lusitania was notably asocial for a transatlantic crossing but on the morning of the scheduled arrival in liverpool passengers were dressed up and giddy with anticipation of arriving ashore but this was the most dangerous part of the voyage the irish coast appeared on the horizon captain william turner was aware that 12 allied ships had been sunk by german u-boats since lusitania's departure from new york and that submarine activity had been reported off fastnet the waters the ship was now entering as a precaution he had 22 lifeboats swung out so that they could be launched more quickly if necessary but turner continued on actually at a reduced speed due to some patchy fog and closer to shore than would have been optimal for safety from u-boats as many passengers were enjoying lunch some passengers were on deck to spot the torpedo racing toward the ship it struck at 14 10 after a rapid and violent sinking the ship was gone within 18 minutes 1195 were lost including 123 americans whose deaths contributed to the intensifying political climate in the united states which eventually allowed it to join the war as her sister was sinking mauritania was carrying her first load of troops to the war front at gallipoli the admiralty had since found a use for her and all the requisition to merchant ships instead of asking them to perform a task for which they were never designed fighting they were asked to do exactly what they were intended for carry huge numbers of people swiftly and efficiently and mauritania carried out this role effectively transporting over 50 000 troops over the course of the war she also briefly served as a hospital ship during the gallipoli campaign her officers were also effective in keeping the great ships safe during the war the ship not having suffered any major damage during the dangerous time one of her captains david dao even saved mauritania from suffering the same fate as her sister when he spotted the telltale sign of her torpedo ordered the helm hard deport and avoided a fatal blow having made it to the end of the war mauritania returned to her rightful owner cunard and re-entered passenger service in march 1920 but she was not her old self on her first commercial voyage since the war mauritania averaged 17.81 knots pitiful given her potential the war had taken its toll and mauritania needed work but cunard was desperate for revenue by this time even though mauritania's reputation was in decline it took a fire in first class to force cunard to pull the ship from service at which point they took the opportunity to convert her from a coal burning ship to an oil burning ship this improved her speed but did not return her to her former glory her turbine engines were old and tired and badly needed an overhaul work on the turbines was almost complete when the english workers went on strike forcing cunard to use french labor to complete the task moving the ship with the engines disassembled though would be no easy task under the command of captain arthur rostron famous for his role in rescuing the titanic survivors in 1912 mauritania made her way across the english channel for sherbert france undertow by six dutch tugboats at one point the wind shifted unexpectedly and the tugs were overpowered sending mauritania slowly drifting backwards toward the rocky shore the entire ship could have been lost but captain rostrin was confident that the tide would turn just in time to avert a financial disaster and he was right with the work on her engines complete mauritania returned to service for what may be considered the best years of her life much of this time was spent under the command of captain arthur rostron who is now one of the most senior captains of cunard and would soon be the lion's commodore the fact that rostron had command of mauritania said as much about mauritania as it did about rostron mauritania's original running mate lusitania was gone but now she had aquitania and cunard had received hamburg america's massive liner imperator as a reparation which they renamed berengaria mauritania aquitania and barangaria were a formidable trio on the express route between southampton and new york mauritania even broke her own pre-war speed record when she crossed the atlantic eastbound at an average speed of 26.25 knots capturing the blue ribbon from herself captain arthur rostron details this remarkable late career speed record in his autobiography he coordinated with the chief engineer at the start of the voyage they were going for the record but it was kept under wraps because anything could have happened and perhaps rostron known to personify his favorite ships wanted to save mauritania from any embarrassment but many of you are probably familiar with the betting that occurred among passengers as to the distance traveled over a given day at sea to allow for this daily mileage was made available by the officers to the passengers day one was a record the wind was calm and the sea smooth day two was a record and by day three passengers were paying attention one passenger even asked rostran over dinner if he was going for the speed record tight lipped roster and denied it and just said oh no just out to do our best that's all cunard had always been coy about record-breaking ambitions so as not to appear reckless or unprofessional needless to say rostron got a speed record and that was the record that stayed on the books until bremen finally snatched the blue ribbon from mauritania after all those years even when she was past her prime mauritani was famously beloved by the public u.s president franklin delano roosevelt spoke of mauritania in a way that few ships are spoken about he described her as having a soul he said quote not for one minute did i ever fail to realize that if there was ever a ship which possessed the thing called soul the mauritania did every ship has a soul but the mauritania had one you could talk to in 1926 mauritania underwent a major renovation which refurbished the public room's 100 staterooms and installed additional private bathrooms an amenity that the public had come to expect more of in the years since mauritania's construction but after the market crash of 1929 the weakened economy and the diminished passenger traffic in addition to new competition in the form of new and modern ships on the atlantic reduced mauritania's profitability cunard was forced to send mauritania on more and more cruising voyages taking europeans to the mediterranean and americans to the caribbean for part of the year eventually she was repainted white so that she would be better suited for what was becoming her primary role in tropical waters she was even reduced to taking americans on so-called booze cruises which brought americans far enough away from american shores so that they could evade prohibition laws although the americans might have considered this to be a noble cause indeed these endeavors kept mauritania in service but eventually she was just too outdated to compete in the market of large passenger liners she was withdrawn from service in september 1934 and laid up in southampton where she rested for nearly a year before having her furnishings auctioned off and she was sold for scrap in july 1935. it was a sad and nostalgic moment for many of her former passengers and crew but it was also sad even for the public at large who adored what was one of the most iconic ocean liners ever conceived captain arthur rostron perhaps mauritania's most ardent supporter saw the ship off but would not board her later writing in his memoirs that he preferred to remember her as she was in her best days [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The Great Big Move

Views: 299,069

Keywords: lusitania, Mauretania, Cunard, ocean liner, titanic, white star, white star line, ship, U-boat

Id: rNhm7k5ijtI

Length: 20min 14sec (1214 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 08 2020