The Mauretania II was a new ship & presumable, like the QM, was too fast for convoy sailing. Convoys were made up of ships of more or less the same speed, & traveled at the top speed of the slowest. Regards, Dave JbarL@aol.com wrote: > Rick, I know that they sailed alone, no convoy. > Jessie > > > >

Hi Dave & Jessie: I remember my brother saying that the Mauretania II used to leave the Us and arrive in Britain in about five and a half days sometimes, in spite af the fact that she zig-zagged across the Atlantic to dodge the U-Boats and that was remarkable when you consider she was carrying thousands of troops. She was so sea-worthy, having great stabilizers both port and starboard beneath the waterline. Regards, Margaret ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Dixon" <dixond2@bigpond.net.au> To: <WORLDWAR2-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 1:34 AM Subject: Re: [WORLD WAR II] Troop ship > The Mauretania II was a new ship & presumable, like the QM, was too > fast for convoy sailing. Convoys were made up of ships of more or less > the same speed, & traveled at the top speed of the slowest. > Regards, > Dave > > JbarL@aol.com wrote: > > Rick, I know that they sailed alone, no convoy. > > Jessie > > > > > > > > > > > ==== WORLDWAR2 Mailing List ==== > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Military/WORLDWAR2.html > This is the link to our archives. You may search or browse. Also, subscribe or unsubscribe and contact admin. We are an international list. Please remember to tell us what country your ancestor was from and what country you are in now if different. This helps us help you. If you give dates please help us understand the date you are referring to. For example: 4 Nov 1944 or Nov 4, 1944. > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > >

It was common practice for the big, fast passenger liners and many fast cargo ships to sail 'independent'. The theory was that they could outpace any U-boat, even one running on the surface. The theory was good unless by pure chance the ship was spotted by a U-boat that was already ahead of her course and able to position itself to attack as the 'independent' passed by. In that case the 'independent', being the sole target and with no escort, became a sitting duck. Quite a number were lost in this way. That is probably why the two 'Queens' and some of the others not only sailed a zig-zag course but often had a Royal Navy cruiser or other fast ship as escort for at least part of their voyage. As many will know, the 'Queen Mary' actually rammed, chopped through and sank her escorting cruiser HMS 'Curacao' when the two got their zig-zags out-of-synch in 1942 when the Queen was heading into home waters bound for Greenock. As laid down in her sailing orders, 'Queen Mary' did not stop and some 300 men on the cruiser died, mostly drowned. The subsequent court of enquiry laid the blame on the bridge watch of 'Curacao'. ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Dixon" <dixond2@bigpond.net.au> To: <WORLDWAR2-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 6:34 AM Subject: Re: [WORLD WAR II] Troop ship > The Mauretania II was a new ship & presumable, like the QM, was too > fast for convoy sailing. Convoys were made up of ships of more or less > the same speed, & traveled at the top speed of the slowest. > Regards, > Dave > > JbarL@aol.com wrote: > > Rick, I know that they sailed alone, no convoy. > > Jessie > > > > > > > > > > > ==== WORLDWAR2 Mailing List ==== > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Military/WORLDWAR2.html > This is the link to our archives. You may search or browse. Also, subscribe or unsubscribe and contact admin. We are an international list. Please remember to tell us what country your ancestor was from and what country you are in now if different. This helps us help you. If you give dates please help us understand the date you are referring to. For example: 4 Nov 1944 or Nov 4, 1944. > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > >