Were Lusitania and Mauretania true sister ships

[Tarn Stephanos]

True sister ships, to my mind, are vessels practically identical to each other in design and layout, as was the case with Olympic and Titanic.

Were Lusitania and Mauretania true sisters? At first glance they look very similar, with same placement of public rooms, machinery configuration-but there are countless differences- from the type of vents on deck to the shape of the bridge, to the radical differences in public room decor . The first class dining room on Lusitania and Mauretania were split level and capped by a dome, but had totally different decor. But were there any parts of the the Lusitania and Mauretania where the decor was identical?

The Aquitania seemed the odd man out- almost a Cunard attempt at an Olympic class liner. The Aquitania looked more White Star than Cunard...



regards

Tarn Stephanos

 

[Adam Leet]

I would imagine you'd hear both answers from different people. I, for one, believe Lucy and Maury were both the same class. Both were derived from the same specifications determined by Cunard and the Admiralty, and sent to both John Brown and Swan & Hunter shipyards, as was commonly done with similar projects. As such, both yards were given leeway to make small changes to the design, without impacting the general layout.

It could be argued weakly that Aquitania was a distant descendant of the class. I have pictured it as a mix of both Olympic- and Lusitania-classes, with the boxy superstructure of the Olympic, and lower hull and engine arrangements like the Lucy.


Adam

 

[Tarn Stephanos]

Then this would mean Mauretania was a "Lusitania" class liner?

regards

tarn Stephanos

 

[Adam Leet]

In my opinion? Yes.


Adam

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Tarn, differences between sister ships are not unusual at all. One of the reasons for this is because even with ships in series production such as warships, improvements are incorperated into the design with each new addition to the class. Even the Titanic and Olympic had hundreds of differences in everything from vent arrangements to the accomadations, the way they were furnished, and even the layout of the A La Carte Restaurant. The Britannic was slated to have even more differences/improvem ents from a slightly wider hull, to a children's playroom. Owners always want to make each new ship a little better and/or have some unique characteristics which destinguish one from another...and shipbuilders are quite happy to accomadate them.

In the case of the Lusitania and the Mauritania, one of the most noticable differences is that the Lucy had a new type of vent cowl installed...which ultimately proved too fragile for service. The Mauritania had the older type all throughout her lifetime.

I'm sure Eric Sauder could tell you more about that as he's one of the resident Lustiania experts.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Tom Bates]

I would say no i counted 28 mayjor diffenes in the layout of the Lusitania and Mauretania eg the the aul condenser rooms on the Mauretania were evaporator rooms on the Lusitania. the condensers diffent. the starting platform was diffent. I am not going to name the other 25 diffenes but you get the picher.