This fantastic ship was built to regain the blue ribbon from the German liners. She was equipped with 4 direct-action Parson steam turbines; two high pressure and two low pressure, producing 70,000 HP. Quadruple propellers of improved design gave her a service speed of 25 knots. On her trials she attained a speed of 27.04 knots. Assuming that she could maintain her best record speed of 27.04 knots, along the line of the equator, she would encircle the globe in 38 days, 12 hours, 33 minutes and 22 seconds. To increase the speed with 1.5 knots they had to go from 40,000 HP. to 70,000 HP. She had 11 watertight bulkheads and 6 decks. The doors between the bulkheads could be closed from the bridge, where the captain stood 100 feet above the sea level. For her hull they used 4 million steel rivets, at a total weight of 500 tons. Her four funnels were each 155 feet high and the two masts 216 feet high, which was actually 2 feet longer than the length of the S/S Britannia, the first steamship of the line. There were 3 anchors weighing 10 tons each, and anchor chains of 1,800 feet. There was accommodation for 563 first class passengers, 464 second class passengers and 1400 third class (steerage) passengers. The majority of the emigrants travelled as steerage passengers. The number of officers and crew was 812. There were two electric elevators for the passengers, and 6 elevators for cargo and mail. She had 1200 windows and 5000 electric lamps. Below is a selection of images of the famous oceanliner which brought thousands of passengers across the Atlantic to their new homeland in America
 

 

 

 

This image is from a Cunard Line comparisions booklet, it shows the S/S Mauretania's enormous Pulling Power. 780 100-h.p. racing cars would be required to hold this record speed ship with its 78,000h.p.

A voyage from Norway to America in 1911 - An account of a voyage from Bergen to Newcastle on the S/S Hera, then from Liverpool to New York on the S/S Mauretania.