Lusitania (1907 - 1915 ; 31,550 tons ; Sunk off Ireland )

In the early 1900's Germany had possession of the Blue Riband and Cunard's main rival, the White Star Line, had been bought by J.P. Morgan and was now a US owned company. It was at this time that Cunard formulated plans for a two way shuttle of the north Atlantic. 

By 1903 Cunard had finalized plans with the British government for a loan of £2,600,000 to build two great liners at 30,000 tons and close to 800 feet each, with a top cruising speed of 24 knots. This  would ensure that Britain would once again have the Blue Riband in their hands and thus regain national pride.

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Lusitania was built at John Brown Co. in Scotland and her sister Mauretania was built at Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson in Newcastle England. These two ship would be built at the same time by rival ship builders in an attempt to put out the 'better ship.' Lusitania was slightly smaller and shorter then her sister but other than that, these ships looked very much alike on the outside. 

The most noticeable difference between the two was that Lusitania had canister like hinge topped air vents (which looked less cluttered but needed constant replacing due to damage on rough seas) whereas Mauretania used oversized  'question mark'  vents. These vessels had very different interiors, both luxurious. Lusitania had a "cool elegance" her rooms were done in plaster and wood giving her a lighter feel whereas Mauretania had dark wood.

September 7, 1907 R.M.S. Lusitania left Southampton on her maiden voyage for Queenstown and New York (It was estimated that over 200,000 people gathered to witness the ship's departure). On the Lusitania's second voyage she took the Blue Riband from the German ship Deutschland. The Lusitania and Mauretania would be the fastest on the Atlantic run,  they were nicknamed the Atlantic greyhounds.  In June 1908 the Lusitania's  three blade propellers were replaced with improved four blade versions and in November Captain William Turner was appointed to command the Lusitania, leaving his command only to take Aquitania on her maiden voyage in 1914.

August 4, 1914 Britain declared war on Germany throwing Lusitania into World War 1.  Admiralty requested Lusitania return to Liverpool for war duty, however upon arrival it was decided that they did not need the Lusitania as an armed merchant cruiser. Still, they paid for the ship to remain at Liverpool to be used at their disposal. She was returned to Cunard later that month and used on a monthly return voyage from Liverpool to New York. One can only wonder what her career would have been like had the been placed into military service along with her sister, Mauretania.

On May 1, 1915, Lusitania pulled away from Pier 54 in New York, amongst her passengers a sprinkling of famous and wealthy people. The cargo was entered on the manifest as foodstuffs, metal rods, ingots and boxes of cartridges. Controversy about the true nature of the cargo would persist for many years over whether she was carrying weapons bound for England. On May 7, Lusitania entered what was called the "danger zone", waters in which enemy submarines might be expected, so as precaution Captain Turner ordered  all the lifeboats to be swung out and all the bulkhead doors to be closed. Yet Captain Turner made two fatal mistakes, he slowed down because he was worried by fog, and  he maneuvered too close to shore, where enemy subs often lurked.

At 2.00 pm the passengers were finishing their lunch. At 2.15 pm Lusitania was 10 to 15 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, with the weather clear and the sea smooth. Captain Turner then heard someone shout, "There is a torpedo coming!" Immediately afterwards there was a small bang, like a door slamming, followed by a loud explosion on the starboard side, between the third and fourth funnels which tore a whole in her hull and ripped two lifeboats from their davits. (The second explosion thought at the time to be a second torpedo was  later confirmed as an internal explosion, the source of which is still being debated to this day). Captain Turner ordered the lifeboats readied as he tried to run his ship at full speed into the Irish coast, so mockingly close. 

The stricken Lusitania immediately took on a heavy list to starboard and only half the lifeboats could be launched. Several lifeboats launched in haste by an untrained crew overturned, spilling women and children into the cold sea. One person was sucked into one of the funnels and shot back out as the boiler exploded (he lived to tell the tale). Captain Turner remained on the bridge giving orders until the Lusitania foundered after 20 minutes taking 1,198 lives. Thankfully currents caused many of the survivors not in lifeboats to wash up on shore. Many people blamed Captain Turner, who survived, however others said he did the best he could and more.

The sinking outraged the USA who lost over 100 people, they could not believe how savage 20th century war had become. The fact that the Germans sank a civilian ship flying the then neutral US flag helped to awake the sleeping giant and inevitably the US declared war on Germany.

The Lusitania lies in just 295 feet of water making this ship easy picking. In the 1980's salvagers removed two of Lusitania bow anchors and three of the four bronze propellers. The Lusitania's hull is in one torn and twisted piece, split at the bow,  a sad echo of her former glory. The hull has collapsed to half it's original width and the decks have slid down to starboard. The superstructure has all but disappeared. The ship is also  covered in fishing nets making her hard to explore. ^ TOP

Mauretania (1907 - 1935 ; 31,938 ; Blue Ribband Holder)

In 1897 the Nordeutscher Lloyd ship "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" took the Blue Riband from Cunard's Campania and Lucania. Thereafter German ships held the trophy without challenge.

It was not until 1902 that negotiations began between the Government and Cunard with a view to building two super liners, the Lusitania and Mauretania, capable of winning back and holding the Blue Riband for Britain.

By 1903 an agreement had been reached whereby the Goverment lent £2,600,000 to Cunard to build two ships capable of 24 to 25 knots. In addition they agreed to make an annual payment to Cunard on the condition that the two ships were capable of being armed and that the Government would have a claim on their services in times of national emergency.

The Mauretania was launched by the Duchess of Roxburghe. It was a quadruple screw ship driven by direct-drive steam turbines. Although the propulsion machinery was identical to that of the Lusitania two modifications gave the Mauretania a slight edge over its sister. The diameter of the propeller blades was slightly larger and the turbines were fitted with more rows of blades. 

The Mauretania made its maiden voyage from Liverpool on 16 November 1907. Severe storms hampered the first voyage but the ship still arrived in New York in good time on 22 November. On 2 May 1908 the ship had left Liverpool when it was thought to have hit a submerged object. The propeller blades were damaged and Cunard took advantage of the situation, taking the opportunity to replace both inner shafts with four bladed propellers. A refit was also carried out at Canada Graving Dock later that year. The subsequent voyage left Liverpool on 23rd January 1909. By April of that year the Mauretania had captured both eastbound and westbound records and retained the Blue Riband for 20 years (until July 1929).

By 1909 the public was looking for faster crossings and once at their destination, a speedy land journey. As a result it was inevitable that ports closer to London than Liverpool were required and soon Fishguard was developed as a port of call for Atlantic liners. The Mauretania was the first Cunard liner to use this port, on 30th August 1909. At the end of 1909 the ships first Captain, John T. Pritchard, retired and Captain William Turner assumed command. The reputation of the ship attracted several prominent passengers. On a voyage during December 1910 Prince Albert and Prince Radziwell were amongst the passengers, along with Mr. Carlisle, the managing director of Harland and Wolff. In June 1911 the ship brought thousands of visitors to Britain for the Coronation of King George V.

In December 1913 the Mauretania returned to Liverpool for its annual overhaul, part of which involved work on the main propulsion turbines. On 26th January 1914, whilst men were working on the turbine blades, one of the gas cylinders exploded. Four men were killed and six were injured. The resulting fire was extinguished and the main damage was confined to the blades in the starboard turbine. The ship was not ready to rejoin the Atlantic service until March of that year. When Britain declared war on Germany, on 4th August 1914, the ship was on its way to New York. At the last minute the ship was diverted to Halifax and the Admiralty sent out an order requisitioning the ship as an armed merchant cruiser, as soon as it returned to Liverpool. On 11 August, however, the Mauretania and the Lusitania were released from Government duties.

The reduced demand for transatlantic passages meant that the ship was laid up at Liverpool on 26th August. After the loss of the Lusitania in May 1915 the Mauretania was required to return to service. Before it did, however, the Admiralty requisitioned the ship to transport troops during the Gallipoli campaign, later in May. During this period the ship made several voyages to Mudros Bay island of Lemnos, the Allied base for operations in the area. On one of these voyages the Mauretania was attacked by a submarine but managed to avoid the torpedo, largely due the ship's high speed. At the end of August it returned to Liverpool and was fitted out as a hospital ship. It then left Liverpool on 21st October to assist with the evacuation of the wounded from Gallipoli. The Mauretania made several further voyages as a hospital ship and completed its last voyage on 25th January 1916. 

This, however, was not the end of the ship's war service. On 29th September it was requisitioned again to carry Canadian troops. In October-November 1916 it made two voyages from Liverpool to Halifax carrying Canadian troops bound for France. After this it was laid up on the Clyde until 1918. In March 1918 it was again used as a troopship carrying over 30,000 American troops before the Armstice in November. After the end of the War the ship was used in the repatriation of American and Canadian troops. From 12th December it was decided that the Mauretania would now sail from Southampton and call at Cherbourg on its way to New York. It made its final trooping voyage on 28th June 1919 and was then refitted at Southampton.

On 21st September 1919 it sailed from Southampton on its first commercial voyage since World War I began. An overhaul, planned for 1920, was delayed as the demand for passenger services to Europe from America was so great. Whilst docked at Southampton, on 22nd July 1921, a fire broke out on board. The fire spread quickly and required the efforts of both the fire brigade and crew to extinguish it. The damage caused was confined to the first class cabin area. It was decided to send the ship back to the builder's yard for an overhaul and the opportunity would be taken to convert from coal to oil burning. By March 1922 the Mauretania had resumed its usual service. 

On 25th July the ship broke its pre-war Atlantic speed record. The ships average speed was now above 26 knots. In January 1923 the ship was chartered by an American travel company and made a Mediterranean cruise. Another overhaul was undertaken in November but due to industrial disputes it was decided to complete the work at Cherbourg. Despite a difficult journey, being towed by tugs, the ship reached Cherbourg and the work was completed quickly.

In 1924 the Cowes Harbor Commission complained about the Mauretania's speed as it left the Solent. The heavy wash created had flooded Cowes main street and caused considerable disruption. The Government decided that the pilot was to blame. A refit in 1928 saw the ship's furniture and decor modernized. New ships built for the Nordeutscher Lloyd line, however, were now posing a threat to the Mauretania's domination of the Atlantic. The ships Europa and Bremen were launched in August 1928. The Bremen soon broke the Atlantic speed record but the margin of time was quite small. 

On 27th November 1929 the Mauretania collided with a train ferry near Robbins Reef, after leaving New York. Luckily no one was injured but the ships bows were damaged. The hole in the bows, however, was repaired within 24 hours. After a winter overhaul it returned to service in February 1930 and during the following years concentrated mainly on cruising. The Mauretania made its final passenger sailing from Southampton on 30th June 1934, the day Cunard and White Star Lines merged. After two cruises to the West Indies it returned to Southampton on 2nd October. The completion of the Queen Mary and the merger with White Star meant that the fleet had to be reduced.

The Mauretania was now outdated and was soon laid up at Southampton. The ship was purchased on 3rd April 1935 by Metal Industries Ltd. of Glasgow for scrap. All the fixtures and fittings were auctioned on 14th May at Southampton Docks. On 1st July the ship left for the Tyne. On 3rd July it reached the Firth of Forth and was then moved to Rosyth for dismantling. ^ TOP

AQU
Aquitania (1914 - 1950 ; 45,674 tons ; Served in two World Wars)

The contract to build Aquitania went to John Brown & Co.  Aquitania was launched on April 21 by the Countess of Derby in front of a crowd of over 101,000 people. Cunard made sure that lifeboat accommodation was provided for all those on board, learning from the terrible Titanic disaster. It was announced in February 1914 that Captain William Turner would be the first master of the ship. 

The Aquitania's passenger accommodation was superior to anything seen on the North Atlantic before. The first class drawing room was decorated in the Adam style, copied from certain features in Lansdowne House in London. The walls were adorned with prints of English seaports and portraits of Royalty and prominent people of the day. 

The smoking room was modeled on Greenwich Hospital with oak paneling and beams, the restaurant was decorated in Louis 14th style and the ships grill room was decorated in Jacobean style. With public rooms of this standard and passenger cabins superior to those on previous Cunarder's it was no surprise that the Aquitania became one of the best known, and most popular Cunard liners. 

Aquitania's maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York begun on May 30th, 1914, thus starting a very successful career. The ship made three voyages to New York before the outbreak of World War One. Aquitania was then requisitioned by the British Government to serve as an armed merchant cruiser and was converted for this role in Liverpool. It was then commissioned into the Royal Navy on 7th August and its first assignment was to patrol the Western Approaches, returning to the Mersey on August 16th. 

On her next voyage in this role, Aquitania collided with the Leyland ship "Canadian" on August 22nd, whilst in thick fog, and had to return to Liverpool. The subsequent enquiry decided that Aquitania was far too large to be used as an armed merchant cruiser, a fact that in hindsight was painfully obvious. Repair work on the ship was completed by the latter part of 1914. On 18th June 1915 she was again requisitioned by the Government, this time to serve as a troopship and assist in the infamous Gallipoli campaign. On 25th June she left Liverpool with a full complement of over 5,000 troops on board. After three voyages as a troop transport the ship was converted for use as a hospital vessel and served this role during December 1915 and January 1916. 

On 10th April 1916, "Ship Beautiful" ended British Government service and was reconditioned by Harland & Wolff in order to return to Cunard service. When this was almost complete the Government was forced to requisition the Aquitania once again to serve as a hospital ship in November 1916. The ship served in the Mediterranean for the rest of the year and was then anchored in the Solent for the whole of 1917. The entry of the USA into the war in December 1917 brought the ship back into service to transport the American Expeditionary Force. After the war it was also used in the repatriation of Canadian troops. 

From November 1919 until June 1920 the ship underwent an extensive refit at Armstrong Whitworth & Co on the Tyne. Whilst this was being done the opportunity was taken to convert the ship to oil burning, as opposed to coal, thus eliminating the need of the "black gang" of stokers. After trials north of Scotland, she made her next voyage from Liverpool to New York on 17th July. Returning from this, the ship was to operate on the Southampton - Cherbourg - New York route, along with the Mauretania and Berengaria. During annual winter refits in 1926, 1927 and 1928 the passenger accommodation was extensively modernized.

In 1932 the Aquitania was used as a cruise ship for the first time. She left New York on 3rd February and cruised around the Mediterranean. Further cruises on this route and New York Bermuda route were accomplished later in the year. In November the ship underwent considerable internal reconstruction. First class accommodation was reduced to 650, tourist class was enlarged but the passenger accommodation reduced to 600 and third class was altered to cater for 950 passengers. All public rooms were renovated and a theatre was added. For the rest of the period up until the Second World War she continued a mixture of Atlantic crossings and cruises. 

Due to World War 2,  Aquitania was again requisitioned as a troop transport on 21st November 1939. At first she was used to transport Canadian troops to Europe. During 1940 she underwent a refit in America and was defensively armed with six inch guns. From March onwards she was based in Sydney transporting Australian and New Zealand troops, also making two passages between Pearl Harbor and San Francisco. For the remainder of the war she was employed on the Atlantic, and after the war had ended in the repatriation on Canadian and American troops. Later she was also used to to carry the wives and children of Canadian servicemen over to Canada. 

On 1st April 1948 Aquitania was released by the Ministry of Transport and returned to Cunard. It was then chartered by the Canadian Government to carry Canadian emigrants between Southampton and Halifax. This contract was renewed in 1949. By 1st December 1949 this role had been fulfilled and later that month Cunard announced that the Aquitania would be withdrawn from service. She had, in fact, survived her original retirement date by 9 years. 

On 9th January 1950 Messrs Hampton & Sons Ltd were employed to auction the vessels furnishings and equipment. Later that month the ship was sold to the British Iron & Steel Corporation Ltd for £125,000. The ship then sailed from Southampton to Faslane, in Scotland where she was broken up, this the end of the last of the four funneled liners. ^ TOP

Berengaria (1920 - 1946 ; 52,226 ; Reparation for Sinking of Lusitania)

Between 1920 and the entry into service of the Queen Mary in 1936, the Berengaria was the pride of the Cunard fleet. The ship, however, was originally built for the Hamburg-America line. She was built at the Vulcan Werft shipyard at Hamburg on the river Elbe. She was launched on 23rd May 1912, and her original name was  Imperator. As  Imperator was launched only 5 weeks after the Titanic disaster, changes had been made both in hull design and the equipment on the vessel in order to increase safety. At the time of her introduction into service, Imperator was the world's largest ship. 
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During World War I, Imperator lay protected on the river Elbe. At the end of the war the Allied forces of occupation found the Imperator in a terrible state, rusted, decaying and stuck in the mud. After serving as troop transport until August 1919 she was transferred to Britain and it was made clear that the vessel would be managed by the Cunard Line. 

Retaining the name Imperator, she made her first voyage for Cunard on 11th December 1919 from New York to Southampton. On 21st February 1920 it made its first voyage from Liverpool to New York. The ship continued to serve this route but it was decided to change the name to the Berengaria. Berengaria was converted from coal burning to oil burning engines and a complete overhaul was carried out by Armstrong Whitworth & Company on the Tyne. 

Although it was common knowledge that the Berengaria was of German decent, she was made Cunard's flagship until the introduction of the Queen Mary.

The ship, however, was not without its fair share of problems. In August 1922 the liner struck a submerged object which damaged one of her propellers. Later the same year she lost 36 feet of guard rail in the Atlantic during heavy weather. For the next 6 years, however, the ship operated successfully on Cunard's express service in conjunction with the Fast ship, Mauretania and the beautiful Aquitania. 

During the early 1930's the ship ran aground twice on the approaches to Southampton, although she suffered no real damage. 1933 saw another major overhaul for the ship at Southampton, during which the interior was upgraded. The withdrawal of the Mauretania in 1934 placed further pressure on the ship to operate more efficiently and in 1935 she set a record passage on the New York to Southampton route. 

During an overhaul at Southampton in 1936 a fire broke out in the first class cabins on the starboard side of the ship. The fire was soon controlled and extinguished but there was considerable smoke and water damage. It was ascertained that the cause was defective wiring, which was eventually to lead to the Berengaria's demise. She made her final passage on the Southampton-Cherbourg-New York route on the 23rd of February 1938. 

When Berengaria arrived in New York, on 3rd March, a fire was discovered in the first class lounge. It took the ship's crew and firemen 3 hours to bring the fire under control. After officials had examined the ship it was decided that they could not give her clearance to embark passengers. The following day she sailed back to Southampton where it was discovered that, again, faulty wiring had been the cause of the fire. 

As the cost of renovation would be so high it was decided to withdraw Berengaria from service and this happened on 23rd March 1938. For the next few months she lay idle in Southampton dock until 19th October when it was decided to dispose of her. Sir John Jarvis MP bought the ship for demolition on the Tyne at Jarrow for £108,000. The ship sailed from Southampton on December. The furniture and fittings were auctioned in January 1939 and over 200 Jarrow men were employed in breaking up the old ship. The outbreak of war, however, meant that the men were required elsewhere so it was not until 1946 that the last skeletal remains of the hull were broken up. By this time few people were interested in the remains of an old liner that had been built in the Imperial Germany of 1913, however one can not question the uniqueness of this vessel or wonder what her life would have been like if she had remained Germany's Imperator. ^ TOP..//
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Franconia (1923 - 1956, 20,341 tons)

Franconia was launched on 21 October 1922 at John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank, Glasgow. She was the second Cunard vessel to bear this name; a German U-boat off Malta sank her namesake in 1916.  At 20,341 tons and 623 feet long, she had a crew of 414 and was powered by geared steam turbine engines which drove twin screws. 

She had one funnel and two masts.  Her accommodation was for 221 first-class passengers, 356 second-class and 1266 third-class. She made her maiden voyage on 23rd June 1923, sailing from Liverpool to New York. For the next ten years she sailed this route during the summer months and spent the winter cruising from New York to the Caribbean.

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In 1933 she was painted white for a world cruise, after which she sailed from London-Southampton to New York, returning to Liverpool in 1935. She made one more world cruise in 1938, before being refitted as a troopship as the storm clouds gathered over Europe. During WW2, she took part in the evacuations of Norway & France and the invasion of Sicily.

She carried almost 150,000 troops and escaped unharmed when attacked by German bombers off Brittany in June 1940. She served as the headquarters ship for the Allied Conference at Yalta in the Crimea for negotiations between Stalin, Churchill & Roosevelt in February 1945. 

Between 1945 and 1948, the Franconia was used to return Canadian servicemen and their families from Europe and was finally released from Government service and underwent an overhaul and refit, revising her accommodation to 253 first-class and 6oo tourist-class passengers, making her first sailing in June 1949 from Liverpool to Quebec. She also resumed her winter cruising and spent the summer of 1956 cruising out of New York. She made her final transatlantic voyage from Liverpool-New York-Liverpool after which she was sold off and was broken up at Inverkeithing in December 1956. ^ TOP

Information supplied by C. Wallace through the "Share Your Ship" initiative in 2003.

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