View source for RMS Lucania

{{Short description|British ocean liner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=RMS Lucania.jpg
|Ship caption= '''RMS ''Lucania'''''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name= ''Lucania''
|Ship namesake = [[Lucania]]
|Ship country=[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship owner=[[Cunard Line]]
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry=[[Liverpool]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] yard in [[Govan]], [[Scotland]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=365
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=Thursday, 2 February 1893
|Ship completed=
|Ship christened=[[Sir William Pearce, 2nd Baronet|Sir William Pearce]], MP
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=2 September 1893
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate=Scrapped by [[Thos. W. Ward]] after being damaged by a fire at Liverpool on 14 August 1909
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Ocean liner]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|12,950|disp=long}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|622|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|65|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth={{convert|41|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=* 12 double-ended Scotch [[boiler]]s
* 2 funnels
* 102 furnaces
* Two five-cylinder [[triple-expansion engine]]s producing {{convert|31000|IHP|abbr=on}} 
|Ship propulsion= Two triple-blade [[propeller]]s.
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed=* Service speed {{convert|22|kn|km/h mph}}
* Top speed {{convert|23.5|kn|km/h mph}}
|Ship capacity=* 2,000 passengers total
* 600 first class
* 400 second class
* 1,000 third class
|Ship crew=424
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''RMS ''Lucania''''' was a British  [[ocean liner]] owned by the [[Cunard Line|Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company]], built by [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] of [[Govan]], [[Scotland]], and launched on Thursday, 2 February 1893.

Identical in dimensions and specifications to her sister ship and running mate {{RMS|Campania}}, RMS ''Lucania'' was the joint largest passenger liner afloat when she entered service in 1893. On her second voyage, she won the prestigious [[Blue Riband]] from the other Cunarder to become the fastest passenger liner afloat, a title she kept until 1898.

==Power plant and construction==
[[File:Campania Lucania Engine by Fairfield.jpg|thumbnail|left|One of ''Campania's'' triple expansion engines.]]
''Lucania'' and ''[[RMS Campania|Campania]]'' were partly financed by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]. The deal was that [[Cunard Line|Cunard]] would receive money from the Government in return for constructing vessels to admiralty specifications and also on condition that the vessels go on the naval reserve list to serve as armed merchant cruisers when required by the government. The contracts were awarded to the [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]], which at the time was one of Britain's biggest producers of warships. Plans were soon drawn up for a large, twin-screw steamer powered by [[steam Engine|triple expansion engines]], and construction began in 1891, just 43 days after [[Cunard Line|Cunards']] order.<ref name=Warren>{{cite book|last=Warren|first=Mark|title=The Cunard Royal Mail Steamers Campania and Lucania|year=1993|publisher=Patrick Stephens Limited|isbn=1-85260-148-5|pages=xli}}</ref>{{rp|xli}}

''Lucania'' and ''[[RMS Campania|Campania]]'' had the largest [[steam Engine|triple-expansion engines]] ever fitted to a Cunard ship. These engines were also the largest in the world at the time, and still rank today amongst the largest of the type ever constructed. They represent the limits of development for this kind of technology, which was superseded a few years later by turbine technology. In height, the engines were 47 feet, reaching from the double-bottom floor of the engine room almost to the top of the superstructure – over five decks. Each engine had five cylinders. There were two high-pressure cylinders, each measuring {{convert|37|in|abbr=on}} in diameter; one intermediate-pressure cylinder measuring {{convert|79|in|abbr=on}} in diameter; and two low-pressure cylinders, each measuring {{convert|98|in|abbr=on}} in diameter. They operated with a stroke of {{convert|69|in|abbr=on}}. Steam was raised from 12 double-ended [[scotch boiler]]s, each measuring {{convert|18|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter and having eight furnaces. There was also one single-ended boiler for auxiliary machinery and one, smaller, donkey boiler. Boiler pressure was 165&nbsp;lb, and enabled the engines to produce {{convert|31000|IHP|abbr=on}}, which translated to an average speed of {{convert|22|kn|km/h}}, and a record speed of {{Frac|23|1|2}} knots.<ref name="Warren" />{{rp|xli-xlii}} Normal operating speed for the engines was about 79 rpm.

Each engine was located in a separate watertight engine [[Compartment (ship)|compartment]]. In case of a hull breach in that area, only one engine room would then be flooded, and the ship would still have use of the adjacent engine. In addition to this ''Lucania'' had 16 transverse watertight compartments, with watertight doors that could be manually closed on command from the telegraph on the bridge. She could remain afloat with any two compartments flooded.<ref name="Warren" />{{rp|xli}}

==Passenger accommodation==
[[File:Lucania Log Book.jpg|left|thumb|Handbook issued to passengers on RMS ''Lucania'' and RMS ''Campania'']]
In their day, both ships offered the most luxurious first-class passenger accommodations available. According to maritime historian [[Basil Greenhill]], in his book ''Merchant Steamships'', the interiors of ''Campania and Lucania'' represented [[Victorian era|Victorian]] opulence at its peak – an expression of a highly confident and prosperous age that would never be quite repeated on any other ship.<ref name="Greenhill" />{{rp|39}} [[Basil Greenhill|Greenhill]] remarked that later vessels' interiors degenerated into "grandiose vulgarity, the classical syntax debased to mere jargon".<ref name=Greenhill>{{cite book|last=Greenhill|first=Basil|title=Merchant Steamships|year=1979|publisher=B.T. Batsford Limited|location=London}}</ref>{{rp|40}}

All the first-class public rooms, and the en-suite staterooms of the upper deck, were generally heavily panelled, in oak, satinwood or mahogany; and thickly carpeted. Velvet curtains hung aside the windows and portholes, while the furniture was richly upholstered in matching design. The "French Renaissance" style was applied to the forward first-class entrance hall, whilst the 1st class smoking room was in "Elizabethan style", comprising heavy oak panels surrounding the first open fireplace ever to be used aboard a passenger liner.

Perhaps the finest room in the vessels was the first class dining saloon, over {{convert|10|ft|m}} high and measuring {{convert|98|ft|m}} long by {{convert|63|ft|m}} wide. Over the central part of this room was a well that rose through three decks to a skylight. It was done in a style described as "modified Italian style", with a coffered ceiling in white and gold, supported by ionic pillars. The panelled walls were done in Spanish mahogany, inlaid with ivory and richly carved with pilasters and decorations.<ref name="Warren" />{{rp|xlii-xliii}}

==Wireless history==
[[File:Cunard Daily Bulletin.jpg|left|thumb| An early example of ''The Cunard Daily Bulletin'']]On 15 June 1901 ''Lucania'' became the first Cunard liner to be fitted with a [[Guglielmo Marconi|Marconi]] wireless system. Cunard made a long trial of the installation, making their second installation to the [[RMS Campania|RMS ''Campania'']] on 21 September.<ref name=Hancock>{{cite book | last = Hancock| first = H.E.| title = Wirekess at Sea| publisher = Marconi International Marine Communication Company| year = 1950 | location = Chelmsford }}</ref>{{rp|30–31}} Shortly after these installations, the two ships made history by exchanging the first wireless transmitted ice bulletin.

In October 1903, [[Guglielmo Marconi]] chose ''Lucania'' to carry out further experiments in wireless telegraphy, and was able to stay in contact with radio stations in Nova Scotia and [[Poldhu]].<ref name=Kennedy>{{cite book|last=Kennedy|first=John|title=History of Steam Navigation|url=https://archive.org/details/historysteamnav00kenngoog|year=1903|publisher=Charles Birchall Limited|location=Liverpool}}</ref>{{rp|235}}  Thus it became possible to transmit news to ''Lucania'' for the whole duration of the Atlantic crossing. On 10 October, ''Lucania'' made history again by publishing an onboard news-sheet based on information received by wireless telegraphy whilst at sea. The newspaper was called ''Cunard Daily Bulletin'' and quickly became a regular and successful publication.<ref name="Hancock" />{{rp|41}} <ref name="Kennedy" />{{rp|235}}

==Final days==
[[File:Lucania at sea.jpg|thumb|''Lucania'' at sea]]
''Lucania'' and ''Campania'' served as Cunard's major passenger liners for 14 years, during which time both liners were superseded in speed and size by a succession of four-funnelled German liners, starting with the {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse}} in 1897. The German competition necessitated the construction of replacements for the two Cunarders, which came to fruition in 1907 with the appearance of the {{RMS|Lusitania}} and {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|6}}. It was soon decided that ''Lucania'' was no longer needed, and her last voyage was on 7 July 1909, after which she was laid up at the [[Huskisson Dock]] in [[Liverpool]]. On the evening of 14 August 1909, she was badly damaged by a fire and partially sank at her berth. Five days later she was sold for scrap and the contents of her interior auctioned.

== See also ==
[[Govan#Ships built at Govan|Ships built at Govan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://sanctaflora.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/cunard_line_liverpool_ny_boston1.jpg Cunard Line hall poster]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlEQbzdSQyo&ab_channel=Nineteenthcenturyvideos.Backtolife. Film footage of Lucania circa 1901.]
*Images of Lucania's First Class [https://www.reddit.com/r/OceanLinerArchitect/comments/qa0jdy/rms_campania_rms_lucania_firstclass_interiors/#lightbox 1] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/OceanLinerArchitect/comments/qa0of8/rms_campania_rms_lucania_firstclass_interiors/ 2]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[RMS Campania|''Campania'']]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Blue Riband]] Eastbound record) |years=1894 – 1897}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse|''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'']]}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=[[Blue Riband]] (Westbound record)|years=1894 – 1898}}
{{end}}
{{Largest passenger ships}}
{{Cunard ships}}
{{1909 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucania}}
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Ships of the Cunard Line]]
[[Category:Blue Riband holders]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built in Govan]]
[[Category:Steamships]]
[[Category:1893 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1909]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the River Mersey]]