1890 – 1914 / The second of White Star Line’s last ocean greyhounds, the first Majestic briefly held the record for the fastest westbound crossing of the North Atlantic. She was sent to the scrappers in the spring of 1914, not long before the outbreak of The Great War.
blue riband
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1893 – 1918 / The first twin-screw ship of the Cunard fleet, the Campania was a speed queen of her time. She held the Blue Riband of the North Atlantic, and served in World War I as an aircraft carrier. Sadly, she sank after an accidental collision, just four days before the armistice.
1893 – 1909 / An ocean greyhound, just like her older sister, the Lucania proved the fastest of the two. Setting records for both west- and eastbound crossings of the North Atlantic, she was one of many Cunard speed queens. Unfortunately, she was destroyed by fire in 1909.
1897 – 1914 / Norddeutscher Lloyd’s Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was the ship that shook the British by snatching the Blue Riband into German hands for the first time. Serving as an armed merchant cruiser in The Great War, she was sunk in battle with the HMS Highflyer.
1900 – 1925 / Also known as Victoria Luise and Hansa / An early German speed champion, the Deutschland suffered technical issues which affected her popularity. Having been used as a cruise ship in the years prior to World War I, she was eventually sent to the breakers.
1901 – 1923 / A true German greyhound, the Kronprinz Wilhelm was one of the fastest ships of her time. Serving as an armed merchant cruiser in World War I, she spent eight successful months as a raider. Seized by the US in 1917, she served as a troopship and was sent to the breakers a few years after the armistice.
1903 – 1940 / The Kaiser Wilhelm II managed to set a new record for an eastbound crossing of the North Atlantic, but was interned in the US at the outbreak of World War I. Eventually seized and used as an allied troopship, the ship then languished for almost 20 years after the war, and was in the end sent to the breakers.
1907 – 1915 / The first of Cunard’s two stunning greyhounds, the Lusitania’s life was tragically cut short during World War I, when she was torpedoed and sunk with great loss of life.
1907 – 1934 / The legendary Mauretania saw an amazing career during peace as well as war, and held the Blue Riband for more than 20 years. She became one of the most famous Cunard ships of all time.
