Hello readers, and welcome back to the Library blog. Today, we are going to take a break from the topic of piracy to explore the world of steamships 100 years ago today. This past summer, we saw a lot of coverage of the world’s fastest transatlantic steamship, the SSUnited States. But what was the fastest ship in the world a century ago today? After consulting the Herbert and Norma Beazley collection, which contains ephemera from hundreds of notable steamships, I found that the fastest steamship – and holder of the Blue Riband – was none other than the RMSLusitania’s sister ship the RMSMauretania.
The RMSLusitaniaheld the Blue Riband from 1907-1909, and the RMSMauretaniaoutdid her sister by taking the Riband in 1909 and holding it for 20 years straight! RMSMauretaniatraveled 2,784 nautical miles in 4 days, 10 hours and 51 minutes, for an average speed of 26.06 knotts, beating RMS Lusitania’s speed of 25.65 knotts. During World War I, RMSMauretaniawas docked in Liverpool until her sister, RMSLusitania, was torpedoed and sunk in 1914. RMSMauretaniawas thereafter used as a troopship and a hospital ship, and would resume ferrying passengers once the war was over.