RMS Mauretania (1938)
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RMS Mauretania was launched on 28 July 1938 at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead and was completed in May 1939. A successor to RMS Mauretania (1906), the second Mauretania was the first ship built for the newly formed Cunard White Star company following the merger in 1933 of the Cunard and White Star lines.
The new liner had a tonnage of 35,739 gross, an overall length of 772 feet and a beam of 89 feet. She was powered by two sets of Parsons single reduction-geared steam turbines giving 42,000 shaft horsepower and driving twin screws. Her planned service speed was 23 knots.
She made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 17 June 1939 and switched to the London-New York service in August of the same year. She made two Atlantic crossings after World War II broke out. Converted into a troopship at Sydney in 1940, Mauretania remained in that service through the end of the war, traveling 540,000 miles and carrying over 350,000 troops. After being refitted, she returned to Cunard-White Star service in 1947, principally on the Southampton-New York route. She was also used extensively for cruising, including a world cruise in 1958, and specifically for this additional role her hull and superstructure were painted green in 1962.
Switched to the New York-Mediterranean service in 1963, she made her last sailing (New York-Mediterranean-Southampton) in September, 1965, and was then sold for scrapping at Inverkeithing.
[edit] References
- Fricker, Philip J. Ocean Liners, Reed's Nautical Books, 1992
