How Did RMS Mauretania Hold the Blue Riband for 22 Years?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
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The RMS Mauretania, launched in 1907, and her infamous sister RMS Lusitania, were the first true superliners. Their size and speed revolutionized the transatlantic passenger trade and they easily became two of the Cunard Line's most iconic liners. After the tragic loss of the Lusitania in World War One, the Mauretania went on to enjoy an incredible career, spanning nearly three decades, and her unrivaled speed helped her maintain the Blue Riband for an incredible 22 years.
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Sources:
RMS Mauretania (1907): Queen of the Ocean by David Hutchings: amzn.to/3osPl2w
The Unseen Mauretania by Kent Layton: amzn.to/3cB8uwx
The Only Way to Cross by John Maxtone-Graham: amzn.to/3lLVFjA
The Liner by Philip Dawson: amzn.to/31SAOBK
Video Credits:
Prelinger Archives
US National Archives
Internet Archive
US Library of Congress
British Movietone - Pond5
Music provided by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 RMS Mauretania
1:09 Chapter 1: Speed
5:57 Chapter 2: Luxury
11:24 Chapter 3: Triumph
14:57 Chapter 4: Tragedy
19:33 Chapter 5: Perseverance
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Many years ago in Los Angeles I was walking around a large antique store and found a table made from the Mauritania’s teak decking after she was broken up. It has RMS Mauritania carved on the top so of course I bought it. It is one of my most prized possessions.
Wow, that is really nice. You have an authentic piece of history in your home :)
maybe it is from the later mauretania?
Give ya $29
If ever you’d sell it, I’m in the uk too, I’d give you £1000 for it
Thats incredible
"All ships have a soul, but the Mauretania had one you could talk to" - damn right in the feels
My mother sailed on the Mauritania as a child in the late 1920's. She loved it and talked about it for decades afterwards.
That intro was very interesting to me. I find it sad that all efforts to preserve the Mauretania and Olympic were unsuccessful. It would have been amazing to still have them around today.
IT wouldn't. Queen Mary is a good example of how they would end up. You wouldn't be able to see naything other than gutted interiors, nor learn naything how it was like back in the day
The intro was also uncannily prescient ("Who knows but that we may need all our shipping in the near future..."), the Mauretania and the Olympic would have invaluable troop transport assets just a few years later.
@@HyperVegitoDBZ it would be awesome if they preserved both. The Olympic deserved much better after her service. Such a negative way of thinking, oh look what happened to queen Mary. What if the funding was appropriate and they learned from their mistakes? So yes it would
@@jeffelmore5614 Wishful thinking, at it's finest.
@@HyperVegitoDBZ True fact. I know we all have a super soft spot for the Olympic, because all of us probably wound up here via interest in the Titanic as a kid. But Queen Mary is truly THE ocean liner legend, and even she has basically become impractical as a floating attraction.
The Olympic, Mauritania, and Aquitania should’ve all been preserved and never have been scrapped. All 3 liners are legendary!
Aquitania would have probably had the best chance considering Queen Mary was preserved 17 years after Aquitania was scrapped.
The scrapping of the Olympic and Mauretania put men to work as Britain was still suffering under the Great Depression. Had they been preserved, they'd have no doubt been hit by German bombers in the early days of WW2. When the Aquitania reached her end, she was pretty much the definition of "rode hard and put away wet." Britain was still under the austerity measures implemented during the war; where would the funds have come from? Sadly, not everything can be saved. 😔
I’m always saddened when hearing stories of the scrapping of Olympic and Mauritania but especially Olympic. From everything I’ve been able to find for evidence Mauritania’s hull was getting pretty rough but most sources agree Olympic was still remarkably structurally sound save for some minor but repairable cracking in the engine mounting framework, and she even put up a fight at the scrappers taking far longer to cut up than estimated. The Great Depression killed these great liners before their time and it really is a tragedy.
While it is sad that we lost them, we do have to factor in that they provided jobs for those in need during their scrappings
When the economy is in the toilet, it's hard to keep anything big and fancy!
Well said, Olympic would surely have been a better ship to keep in service as opposed to Aquatainia. But I doubt Cunard had much of a desire to preserve a ship that or most of it’s life was a large thorn in their side.
Great depression and stiff competition with modern ships such as Normandie, Rex and Bremen had forced Cunard-White Start to retired these ships, despite being in good condition, they are too dated and building larger new ships is a more economical option for them. Even in alternate timeline of White Star getting the funding and not merging with the Cunard, Olympic retirement is inevitable to make room for the new Oceanic III. Nobody are interested with "retro Edwardian" designed ships at that time, everyone wanted trendy art deco design.
True, ultimately they would’ve needed to gut her interiors and redesign them to keep her competitive, which would’ve been possibly more expensive than building a new ship. Besides, while Olympus was no slouch she wasn’t fast enough to really compete with the newer express ships and Cunard already had the likes of the modern Britannic and Georgic for their secondary and reserve routes, no real place for Olympic and Mauritania sadly. Though in my alternative-history head canon it would’ve been great to have seen Canadian Pacific buy her up and base her out of Halifax.
These four "stacker" ships from that period had such refined graceful lines. They made a statement.
The rake of the funnels and masts in conjunction with the counter stern makes for an elegant yacht like silhouette..... unlike liners of today.
my grandparents went to England for business many times in the 1920s. I remember my grandmother telling me the Mauretania was her favorite ship because it was so luxurious. Though by the time she was in her 90s, she would sometimes call her the "Lusitania" .
Her final crossing averaged 24 knots...matching her contract speed at twenty seven years old
I can't imagine how scary it must be to have been out in the middle of the Atlantic on a crossing when World War breaks out.
You don't have to imagine **cough* Lusitania...
As an organist, I am OVER THE MOON that the introduction music included the pipe organ. Thank you!!!!
I have always been shocked that the Olympic was scrapped. You'd think it would've always been kept due to how famous the Titanic disaster is. People would've loved to tour it as a museum to this day.
Troy, I trailer my little boat. Land access is beach where trailer is hauled by hand and walked home for maintenance. Considering 1 of 10 Commandments ‘Thou
Shalt Not covet’, cost of maintaining a boat at the other size of spectrum would
include mucho to pay dock fee up a deep River + museum personnel wage + paint + painter fees. Isn’t 1 of 7 Deadly Sins Sloth Jealousy? Coal power for
machinery or diesel power for bad pollution pricey. Phoenician and Norse boats
a safer coastal oar and sail power?
@@robertknowles2699 i bet the olympic would carry itself with the maintenance costs... you could make millions by using it as a museum-ship.
everyone wants to see the sister of the famous titanic! even people who dont know anything about those liners or have no interesst at all have heard of the titanic.
imagine you could actually walk on a ship like that? especially in the 90s when the movie dropped :P
Mr. Abensberg , and Mr. Bailey,, Once we can agree big sip need many folks to build & operate ( it ). County taxis might
be lowered for us . Global heating nice, yet what cost for wood, coal, and nuclear
heat whether home or transport.
Oslo & Danish museums along
same lines yet encouraged countless
people interested in more active LIFE.
@@robertknowles2699 i dont really get what you are trying to say?
you dont need to build any ship or operate it (okay, a bare minimum for maintenance) and its not even cruising arround. just staying in port like the queen mary, open for visitors. so global heating is no argument :D
@@Abensberg I like to move about. Participation on a tent Byrdingr , smaller
rowboat would be close to Shore; several hands can haul and roll a boat on
on-board Beach rollers, splitting the Cost. Those Trans Atlantic boats were provided by builders to help with Religious freedom, dumb high taxes, and
people capable of lot...... of wholesome worc.
Mauretania is my favorite cunard liner out of all ships, i really admire that she stood high keeping the blue ribbon away from newer liners
I heard Rostron himself was the lasdt official captain.
The best cunard captain ever.
Blue Riband, not ribbon.
It's a very sad fact that Britain has an appalling record when it comes to ship preservation. So many great vessels lost forever.
Well honestly its always wet there. It’s probably very difficult to maintain a massive piece of steel when all it wants to do is rust
Great Britain has had serious money problems since the First World War. They just can't afford it.
Shame that a nation who's entire history and identity is based of its maritime and naval tradition, preserves so little of it to such an extent that today you could scarcely recognize or see any of that former maritime heritage.
All but a handful of ships still left.
Even the Queen Mary was only saved because it was bought by long beach and preserved. Says something about Britain's legacy perhaps that even their most famous ocean liners had to be preserved by the Americans.
What a disgrace. How far Britain has fallen from it's roots.
i woukldnt say little the UK has the majority say in maratime laws, standards and regulations. a big one of this is the UK is responsible fire safety on all ships in the world. you go on any ship and youll find fire alarms, fire extinguishers fire fighting equipment even watertight doors all designed and manufactured in thr UK. they havent lost all influence i mean disney cruise line although nothing to do with the UK had to make a number of appeals to proper authorities in the UK so they could be allowed to chnage the life boat color @@livethefuture2492
The S.S. United States is looking at the end because Philadelphia wants it's dock space. Meanwhile, the filthy rich build rockets and buy companies they ruin, rather than do anything good. One of them could have her refurbished and open as a museum.
Big Old Boats - Your production values increase with every video you make. I'm so impressed. I have no doubt you could construct documentaries on any subject, and any scale. How you only have the subscribers you do can only be down to the niche subject you cover, or that people are yet to find your channel. That's their loss. One of the best and growing TH-cam channels by far. Education is easy, when the creator has spent so much time, it would be rude not to learn so much from you.
Mauretania is my absolute favorite ocean liner of them all. Her design, interior, speed and reputation hits all the spots for me. Thanks for this video.
Just came across the video and loved it. My great grandmother immigrated to the US from Sweden on Mauretania in 1913. Ironically her future husband (my great grandfather) had preceded her,immigrating from Sweden in 1908 aboard the Lusitania! We keep a large framed profile photo of the Mauretania hanging in the family room. My great grandmother passed away when I was 17 and I regret I never talked with her about her voyage.
Now this is the type of video I wake up to see
One of the grandest liners of all time, Mauritania
Love that you showed us yourself on camera! Exterior pfreference for Mauritania but the interior spaces of the Lusitania are definitely my preference. Both ships are beautiful in their own right. Thank you for your passion for a time gone by and for broadening my appreciation and understanding of these fantastic liners.
Ahh, the Mighty Mauretania. My favourite steam liner of them all, and (no bias here for sure) arguably the greatest, too. Glad to see such an in-depth video on her!
Mauretania pretty much was the pinnacle of oceanliners. She may not be "that" luxurious as the Olympic class but she did muster what no other oceanliner had. A soul.
And 'Old Reliable' didn't?
I think there were many others that had a soul. Like Olympic, Oceanic, Aquitania, etc
"Every ship has a soul"
Splendid documentary about the Mauretania. The mauri and lusi certainly did set the benchmark high for great big ocean liners.
I remember my Dad telling me about watching Mauritania pass Sandsend a village close to Whitby in North Yorkshire and our family home. Mauritania was on her final voyage from Southampton to Rosyth. I can still remember him telling me the entire village turned out to see her pass by and even with some sections of her masts already removed she still looked magnificent.
The Grand Old Lady, and the greatest ship ever to sail (in my opinion). President Roosevelt (FDR) even petitioned Cunard to preserve her.
Imagine if Roosevelt could buy the Mauretania from Cunard, probably he would have ordered to preserve her and could have her docked in NY like the Queen Mary in Long Beach today...
It's too bad one of the German 4 stackers could not have been preserved
I love these history lessons!! Thank You so much B.O.B. My dad always said 'never stop learning.' So glad I listened and you are here to teach me things I can pass on to my sons and grannies.
The music choices for the videos on your channel is really on point. They always set the mood perfectly. Impeccable taste.
Stunning as always, although if I could hazard a suggestion I'd love to see some more videos on the Australian and Asian shipping lines (NYK would be particularly interesting but I acknowledge that getting good information might be difficult).
seconding this
I suggest you look at the Aussie / Kiwi immigrant ship Euterpe / Star of India...
Today this iron hulled ship built Isle of Man 1863 is at the San Diego Maratime museum... She sails a few hours every year...
Lewis
Ha! Everyone knows those things are just a myth 😏. Just kidding- a little self-deprecating humor from an American, because I really never have heard of an Australian line and it never occurred to me that Asia had a boat, much less a line. It would definitely be all new stuff for most Americans. It's always a good thing when we are reminded that the world extends beyond America and Europe, and other cultures/nations have even been known to do significant things on occasion.
The beautiful thumbnail at least partially answers the question of why Mauretania was so unbeatable; just look at that profile. There's no mistaking the look of a thoroughbred racing machine. All business. Breathtaking.
Here's an interesting fact: All six of the quad stackers built for Cunard and White Star actually still hold a world record to this day. They all shared the same model of steam whistle (of which were only built for those specific ships), and those were the largest whistles ever produced.
Some other liners (such as Normandie) had sets from the same company, but they weren't quite as large.
The largest chime on the Smith-Hyson whistles for the quad stackers was, I think, 15 inches in diameter.
Quite a few recordings of the Mauretania, Olympic and Aqauitania in the 30s where you can listen to recordings.
This should also give you a good idea of how Titanic sounded, not that pitiful set of whistle blasts they did in the 90s on air.
Whistles never sound right unless they're on steam.
Also i believe Olympic class has the largest triple expansion steam engines ever put on a ship
Truth. The Queen Mary's whistle played a lower pitch on steam. Depending on the recording and how the day way going, it's pitch would change constantly. IT WAS GLORIOUS. Such a great whistle. I have a thing for old school steam whistles
@@erikzidan2601 that is correct, at 720tons each, plus an additional 195tons for the baseplates, they rank as the second largest ever made (beat by the Kempton Park steam engines 6 and 7), but the most powerful ever made, with an output of 11 000 kW each.
Fine account of a tough and stately ship which served her nation and her owners so well in war and peace. Thanks so much for sharing this story!
You AND Oceanliner Designs uploaded today. Today will be a good day.
So happy to see this. I've been binge watching all the Ocean Liner greats, and this is one outstanding ship.
When it comes to liners, I've always preferred the vertical bow to one that leans out forward. They're far more imposing to my mind. But I'm no sailor, and I appreciate that there may be comfort and other handling aspects in heavy seas.
I enjoy your videos, and never miss one. More please!
Happy New Year, too. 👍
Mauretania was one of the first liners I was interested in as a kid, for we had a set of encyclopedias from about 1914, and it had many photos and descriptions of the ship, transporting me back to that wonderful era of ocean travel. Those encyclopedias joined the Mauretania in the great dustbin of history, but the ship lingers as my favorite, perhaps now more than ever since, though it had a sad but inevitable end, it was not tragic as with its sister ship, and the Titanic. My taste for tragedy has waned as I age! Thanks for an evocative and informative video.
Never ceases to amaze me particularly when standing by it ( it being so small) that the turbinia went to sea at all much less was groundbreaking and such an important piece of seafaring history. Also can be sad occasionally as I live yards from the Tyne on the banks of a tributary remembering how much has gone from what was a world leading ship building industry. I believe you can still see roughly where the Mauretania was built on Google maps. It’s beneath what is now Segedunum.
Phenomenal job on the video. I love the footage that you used throughout the video. I have a video suggestion, and that is to go over Cunard’s intermediate liners of the 20s. These vessels are forgotten, and helped Cunard be the dominant company during the White Star Line merger.
Indeed. While the superliners were the bread and butter and showpieces of their different fleets, it is without a shadow of a doubt to me that it was the smaller liners who made up the base of the fleet, and in turn, also made it possible for them to rise to such heights.
Agreed! I'd love to learn more about the Pretty Sisters.
Another fantastic video from one of my favorite creators. You make me cry (good tears) and I really loved the face-to-face chat at the end. Thank you for your work.
The Mauretania is my favourite trans Atlantic ocean liner. Just wish people had the foresight to preserve her for the future.
very glad that I live in the era I do, but also feeling quite sad that I was not able to sail on these magnificant vessels
I got into learning about the Titanic when I was in probably fourth grade. It's great that so many people on TH-cam are doing videos about the other major liners of her time. Especially good to hear about a ship that was neither lost to an iceberg nor the last two world wars! Thanks for sharing!
A beautiful ship and sad that she was scrapped. Very compelling story telling and I thank you for the information regarding her domes. Very informative. It seems that one can never learn all that there is to know about these great liners. Thank you for your efforts and please keep going. You are very much appreciated.
David, Interesting one of Top Box presentation mention tribe of Asher and Cohens chose west-of-trouble Tunisia to survive. Rubber rafts, kayak lifeboat,
weren’t available yet. How can we work beside builder to effect more safe survival in a storm with huge waves ?
Many, many thanks for sharing your love of these beautiful old ships with us!
One has to remember the time in which these grand old liners were retired. The world was in a deep depression, and their scrapping brought much needed work and wages to people that had lost everything. While they likely would’ve proven useful as troop ships during WWII, no doubt Mauritania, Olympic and the others would’ve all wound up like Aquitania: used, abused, and ready for the torch. That is, if they survived WWII to begin with.
Great vid as always. The Mauretania has always been one of favourites. I received a book on ocean liners as a kid and the Mauretania was the one that really got me into ships and wanting to know more about them. Such an incredible history!
You have a great grasp on history and your videos are very well thought out down to the music... MUCH appreciated.
The Maury was one of the very few truly great liners. Thank you for a wonderful video!
I always enjoy your work, your depth of research and clarity of speech. Keep it up!
Very well done video, probably your best one yet. Interior wise I do prefer the Lusitania but she was a really special ship, really the first superliner of the golden age of ocean liners. Her influence can't be overstated.
She ? you gay ?
Great video and I like the objective commentary about its interior spaces. All to often videos about older ships gloss over or don’t mention problems with interior designs.
Excellently done. Some great scenes of shipboard life!
Good to see you. Thanks for a fabulous video on a great ship.
Not only is this Mauretania video not upsetting, it's fantastic! Thanks for this!
Wow, just... awesome!
Great research and archival footage and graphics!
The Mauritania is my favorite liner. Rather than the extravagant Versailles like interiors of contemporary and somewhat earlier liners, or the Art Deco exuberance of later liners, she had an understated Arts and Crafts influenced style. That and a clean, slightly curved, purposeful exterior. And speed, and technology. She had it all!
That was both beautiful and sad at the same time. Wonderful video, thank you.
Your videos just keep getting better and better in terms of production quality! Kudos and good job!
Absolutely amazing, a days always a good day when a big old boats vid comes out!
Excellent video of a truly beautiful ship. I've looked for the newsreel footage you used at the beginning for years.
YESSSS so good. Keep up the great work. Love my shirt!
This video was INCREDIBLE. Thank you for sharing!
Your best yet. Brilliant. PBS quality. Thank you so much.
I read a story about the RMS Mauretania's scrapping. There was a man who cut off the mast at the front and as soon as it fell he just wept
I would too...🥺♥
@@inukshuksixtyfour1164 Inukshuk, Flying Cloud, Lightning, Stag Hound Titania, Ariel?, Lord of the Isles, Clan McDonald, Highflyer, Taitsing, Vision
re-employed spars if rust below WL too much?
Great Video, Man. Love The Billy Zane clip at The End.
Amazingly done video as always!!!!
The Turbinia cameo was very cute.
Amazing work as always.
Very well done. Your best video yet!
Enjoying all of these old ship vlogs.
What a fantastic video about the rms mauretania as i sit here surrounded by my collection of items from her sitting here typing this next to some of her wooden paneling its great to see such a great video and to learn more about the rms mauretania the grand old lady of sea
The greatest ship to ever cross the Atlantic. This is the best ocean liner channel on TH-cam!
You really do excellent work; your videos are so rich and entertaining! Love your channel!
Beautifully edited video. .Cheers!
The “ah good ol’ days” comment made me laugh so hard! Extraordinary video as always!!
Wow, awesome video, keep up the spectacular work!
Could you make one about titanic
She was a tough old girl! Very touching to know that mourners lined up in droves to bid her adieu. An unsung WW! Heroine in my opinion. And as another viewer correctly mentioned , "she put up a fight at the scrappers" - @J.R.in_vw . She certainly didn't make it easy as her structure was still quite strong, despite all of her years in service. The 30's were a tough time so difficult decisions had be made. However, this was a ship I would have loved to have seen preserved and made into a museum, or at the very least, parts of her. Rest in peace Mauretania and thank-you for your service!
The SS Normandy gets my vote as best ship from the bygone era of Transatlantic crossings.
Very interesting. Well detailed and presented. I have heard Mr Graham’s lectures while on board QM2. He was outstanding and a fine gentleman. RIP, Mr Graham.
I enjoy your ship videos very much. Im getting educated here. thanks!!
Love your channel keep it up! ❤
great video, I love your content!
Olympic would've been so valuable as a museum
I could find how that could have been a fantastic source of revenue for at MINIMUM a century. The human race will be fascinated with RMS Titanic and the tragic events surrounding her for centuries. Not only for the mostly close physical resemblance to Titanic, it would also give the public the opportunity to explore the inside, and appreciate the value of the handcrafted interiors and what was considered the best of the best in 1911.
Exuberant innocence -- something we can only dream about, I suppose. Thanks for another beautiful retrospective!
Excellent video and narration. Thank you and like 🙂
This is a really great channel
Beautiful video 😎👍!!!!
Excellent video!!! I subscribed. 😎
As always, a great video. Than you
I love these pieces on the great liners not to mention those big pretty hazel eyes of yours.
Excellent video!
❤love your insightful vids, and YES, be nice to people!😊
Thank you!
Wonderful film. Thank you and well done.
this video has one of the BEST INTROS EVER, It really captures how the Mauretania was in the middle of every world event during her career. She was a reflection of her time, by all means...
I'm so glad you used the Titanic clip at the end! Couldn't stop thinking about it the entire video. Just like a video clip earworom.
Great Video! I hope you will do one on the great battle of the SMS Cap Trafalgar and the Carmania ..
Another new video, and you picked a legend to cover. As to be expected, not only did you do a bang-up good job covering her, but I also learned a few new things such as how the colors and lighting in her various rooms coupled with the North Atlantic weather could make her appear a bit bleak if you will inside, and even condensate every now and then. But, if I had to guess, that probably only added to her charm, and perhaps I understand a bit more now on what President Roosevelt meant when he said she had a soul unlike any other liner, that which you could talk to.
Here is a big liner, the fastest in the world, who has earned international praise and fame in peace and war, with an interior and exterior that are grand though humble in comparison to her peers, which perfectly reflects the elements she makes her trade in. She was one of the few liners who did everything that a liner could possibly do, and there is perhaps no other ship I can name besides the United States who didn't just represent her country, but embodied it. In some ways, she may have even embodied what it means to be human, and isn't that a thought? An honest, hard-working ship, relatable, and who remained a champion to the very end.
It's for pretty much this reason that Mauretania ranks above Lusitania for me even though I consider her older sister to be the prettier of the two, and she currently holds the #8 spot in my top 10 list. Lovely liner, and for that I think you'll like this. :) th-cam.com/video/_tM1jwLo18I/w-d-xo.html.
Also, it looks like you're beginning to show your face more often now. If it's truly something you now feel comfortable doing, then I'm glad. 👍
Her ?
Brilliant video thank you ❤️👀👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Great job! Very interesting!
Love your content ❤
In the beginning you can see the true size difference between the Mauritania and the Olympic, wow!