RMS Mauretania ( 1906 ) RMS " Mauretania " was an ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by Swan , Hunter & Wigham Richardson for the British Cunard Line , and launched on 20 September 1907 . She was the world ' s largest and fastest ship until the launch of the RMS " Olympic " in 1911 . " Mauretania " became a favourite among her passengers . After capturing the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1909 inaugural season , " Mauretania " held the speed record for twenty years . The ship ' s name was taken from Mauretania , an ancient Roman province on the northwest African coast , not the modern Mauritania which is now to the south . Similar nomenclature was also employed by " Mauretania " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s running mate , " Lusitania " , which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania , across the Strait of Gibraltar , the region that now is Portugal . Overview . 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 " Campania " and " Lucania " . Germany came to dominate the Atlantic , and by 1906 they had five four - funnel superliner s in service , four of them owned by North German Lloyd and part of the so - called " " Kaiser class " " . 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 the United Kingdom . In 1903 , Cunard Line and the British government reached an agreement to build two superliners , " Lusitania " and " Mauretania " , with a guaranteed service speed of no less than , the British government were to loan £ 2 , 600 , 000 ( £ as of 2018 ) , 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 cruiser s 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 . " Mauretania " and " Lusitania " were both designed by Cunard naval architect Leonard Peskett 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 power plants to Parson ' s new turbine technology and Peskett then added 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 ever built , and slightly larger in gross tonnage than " 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 " 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 " . " 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 . " Mauretania " ' s 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 . Its interior was designed by Harold Peto , architect , and was fitted out by several London companies , 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 that was designed to harness the positive energy of the solar system . A series of elevators , then a rare new feature for liners , were installed next to " Mauretania " ' s 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 . " Mauretania " departed 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 , " 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 " Mauretania " ' s voyage for " Lusitania " under the command of captain James Charles which had just returned from New York . " Lusitania " herself completed Christmas crossings for " Mauretania " , 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 . World War I . Shortly after Great Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914 , " Mauretania " and " Aquitania " were requested by the British government to become armed merchant cruiser s , 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 at the time that the " 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 . 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 . Cunard noticed that " Mauretania " struggled to maintain her regular Atlantic service speed . Although the ship ' s service speed had improved and it now burned only of oil per 24 hours , compared to 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 . " 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 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 . 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 . On 19 November 1930 , " Mauretania " rescued 28 people and the ship ' s cat of the Swedish cargo ship which foundered in the Atlantic Ocean south east of Cape Race , Newfoundland . 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 . Retirement and scrappage . 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 , 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 Metal Industries shipbreakers at Rosyth . One of her former captains , the retired commodore Sir Arthur Rostron , captain of the RMS " Carpathia " during the " 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 bade 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 " 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 " 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 " 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 original builder ' s model of " Mauretania " is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington , D . C . The ship ' s bell is currently located in the reception of the Lloyds Registry of Shipping , Fenchurch Street , London . Annually for Remembrance Day , Lloyds Register observe two minutes of silence and lay a wreath at its base in honour of servicemen and women . A large builder ' s model , showing of " Mauretania " in her white cruising paint scheme , is displayed in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ' s Cunard exhibit in Halifax , Nova Scotia . Originally a model of " Lusitania " , it was converted to represent " Mauretania " after " Lusitania " was torpedoed . Another large builders model is situated aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner , currently located in Dubai . This model was also originally " Lusitania " , and like the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ' s model , it was converted into " Mauretania " after " Lusitania " was lost . When inspecting the model , one can tell it was " Lusitania " by examining the bridge front , which is on the boat deck level ( " Mauretania " ` s Bridge was one deck higher ) . " Mauretania " is remembered in a song " The fireman ' s lament " or " Firing the Mauretania " , collected by Redd Sullivan . The song starts " In 19 hundred and 24 , I … got a job on the Mauretania " ; but then goes 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 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 " . The Clive Cussler Isaac Bell novel " The Thief " is set aboard " Mauretania " . A terrible fire engulfs the forward storage area but it is brought under control .