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
RMS Mauretania (1906) of Mauretania on the northwest African coast, not the modern Mauritania to the south. Similar nomenclature was also employed by "Mauretania"s running mate , which was named after the Roman province directly north of Mauretania, across the Strait of Gibraltar in Portugal. "Mauretania" remained in service until 1934 when Cunard White Star retired her; scrapping commenced in 1935. In 1897 the German liner became the largest and fastest ship in the world. With a speed of , she captured the Blue Riband from Cunard Line's and . Germany came to dominate the Atlantic, and by 1906 they had five four-funnel