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
SS Lesbian (1915) SS Lesbian (1915) SS "Lesbian" was a cargo ship built for the Ellerman Lines in 1915. On 5 January 1917 she was shelled and sunk by German U-boat , the most successful U-boat participating in World War I, without loss of life. "Lesbian" was a built as a cargo ship for the Ellerman Lines by W. Harkess & Sons of Middlesbrough. Sources do not indicate when "Lesbian"s keel was laid, but she was launched on 3 April 1915, and completed by July of the same year. The ship was long (between perpendiculars) and was abeam. She was powered by a