Background of the Mauritanian cruise ship

In 194, the keel of the Mauritanian was laid at Swanhunt Shipyard. With John? Like Brown Shipyard, this shipyard once built many warships for the British Empire. For the first time, Lusitania and Mauritania used steam turbines instead of reciprocating steam engines to set a new speed record. Mauritania was launched in September 196, and sailed at a speed of 27 knots in the trial in September of the following year, and made its maiden voyage on November 16 of the same year. In 197, the Mauritanian received the Blue Ribbon Award from the sister ship Lusitania at an average speed of 23.7 knots. And the speed record of crossing the Atlantic was increased year by year, and finally reached a high speed of 26.6 knots. It was not until 1929 that this record was broken by the German steamer Bremen. At that time, the Mauritanian was not only the fastest ship in the Atlantic, but also the most luxurious ship. The extensive use of chestnut, teak, brass and gold-plated decoration reflects the social fashion of advocating vanity in that period.

maiden voyage

The Mauritanian left Liverpool on November 16th, 197 for its maiden voyage. Her first captain was John prichard, and she set the fastest record for crossing the Atlantic in that month, with an average speed of 23.69 nautical miles (43.87 km/h). In September, 199, Mauritania won the Blue Ribbon Award, which lasted for more than twenty years. In December, 191, Mauritania left mersey river, and sustained injuries caused her to cancel her special quick Christmas voyage to new york. In a rapidly changing event, Cunard rescheduled Mauritania's voyage under the command of Lusitania, and its captain James Charles just returned from new york. Lusitania completed the Christmas port by herself for her sister, [18] and brought the revelers back to new york. In 1912, King George and Mary were given a special tour to Mauritania, the fastest merchant ship in Britain, which will further distinguish the reputation of the ship. On January 26, 1914, when the Mauritanian was being renovated in Liverpool, the gas cylinder exploded, killing four men and injuring six others. The Mauritanian was not badly hurt, and two months later, she began to serve.

World War I

On August 4, 1914, after Britain declared war on Germany, the British government required the Mauritanian and aquitaine to become armed merchant cruisers, but their huge scale and large fuel consumption made them unsuitable for this duty. They resumed their civil ship status on August 11th. Later, due to the lack of passengers crossing the Atlantic, Mauritania was placed in Liverpool until May 1915, when her sister ship Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat. Although Mauritania was sent to fill the position of Lusitania, it was ordered by the British government to be used as a troop carrier. She served as a troop carrier for the British army in the Battle of Gallipoli. Because of Mauritania's excellent crew and its quickness, she avoided becoming the prey of German U-boats. As a troop carrier, Mauritania was disguised by elaborate camouflage to confuse enemy ships. When the British and French joint forces suffered heavy casualties in the battle of Garipoli, Mauritania was ordered to transport the wounded as a medical ship, along with the aquitaine and the White Star Britannia. In order to treat the wounded, the Mauritanian was painted white and painted with the red cross of the medical ship until January 25, 1916. Seven months later, Mauritania was once again requisitioned by the Canadian government as a troop carrier to transport troops to Europe. Her position as a troop carrier continued until the United States declared war on Germany. In 1917, she carried thousands of American troops. The ship was called HMS cordate telosma by Britain until the end of the war, but it never changed the name of the Cunard ship. When camouflage is not in use, Mauritania acts as a medical ship.