RMS Mauretania (1906) and launched with passengers. When "Britannic", working as a hospital ship during World War I, sank in 1916 after hitting a mine in the Kea channel the already davited boats were swiftly lowered saving nearly all on board, but the ship took nearly three times as long to sink as "Lusitania" and thus the crew had more time to evacuate passengers. "Mauretania" departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907 under the command of Captain John Pritchard, and on the return voyage captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic, with an average speed of
German hospital ship Ophelia by German U-boat "UB-10" off the Boulogne light vessel. German hospital ship Ophelia The Ophelia was a steamship originally built by a German shipping company, but requisitioned for use as a hospital ship by the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. After being viewed acting suspiciously, the "Ophelia" was boarded on 17 October 1914 and seized by the Royal Navy for violating Hague Convention X of 1907 concerning hospital ships. After her seizure, she operated in British service as SS "Huntley" until sunk in December 1915. On 17 October 1914 a number of German torpedo boats were destroyed