She was the fastest vessel in the world's oceans and it seems the RMS Mauretania is still making waves - as a 12ft long model of the ship is set to sell for £50,000. The beautifully-crafted 1:64 scale model of the luxury British liner  was made to celebrate the actual ship's launch in 1906. The model will be auctioned in May - 100 years after Mauretania's ill-fated sister ship Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat killing 1,198 passengers and crew. Scroll down for video . Set for auction: A beautifully crafted 100-year-old model of the RMS Mauretania is expected to fetch £50,000 at auction when sold in May . The actual ship: The vessel, once the fastest in the world, is seen in a photo taken from its sister ship RMS Lusitania before the First World War . RMS Mauretania held the record for the fastest Transatlantic voyage for 22 years until 1929, making it the world's fastest ship for almost a quarter of a century. She was built in 1906 after the cruise-liner company Cunard won a £2million loan from the Government to construct two vessels. RMS Mauretania made her maiden voyage the following year, setting off from Liverpool for New York on November 16, 1907. Weighing 31,938 tons, the ship had enough space for 563 1st class passengers, 464 in 2nd class and 1,138 in 3rd class. In 1909, just two years after its maiden voyage, RMS Mauretania obtained the Blue Riband title for the fastest eastbound and westbound journeys across the Atlantic. It held the title for 22 years until 1929 when it was surpassed by the German liner Bremen. As part of Cunard's original deal with the Government, the ship was made available to the Armed Forces during times of national emergency. So on August 4 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany, it was redirected from its path to New York and docked at Halifax to be named an armed cruise liner. The following week however the Mauretania and the Lusitania, its sister ship, were relieved of Government duties. She was docked at Liverpool with dwindling demand for transatlantic passages during the war until May 2015 when the Lusitania was sunk by Nazi torpedoes. Returned to service, the Mauretania was used to transport troops during the Gallipoli Campaign before being turned into a hospital ship. Later she was used to transport Canadian troops to France before being laid up on the Clyde until 1918. She resumed commercial passages in 1919, sailing from Southampton to New York via Cherbourg and in 1922 broke its pre-war transatlantic record for the fastest crossing, her average speed above 26 knots. In 1934 she made her final passenger voyage before being laid up in Glasgow following the merger of Cunard and White Star Lines. Now outdated and with the companies' required to reduce their fleet, she was sold for scrap the following year. The wooden replica was loaned by Swan Hunter, the company that built both ships for cruise line firm Cunard, to the Science Museum in London in 1938. The institution displayed it in their Shipping Gallery which was closed in 2012 and the model was removed and put into storage. It is still owned by Newcastle-based Swan Hunter but the company have decided to sell it. The model, which is 17in wide, 42in tall and weighs half a tonne, will be sold in London on May 12. London-based auctioneer Charles Miller said: 'The model is extremely decorative and detailed. It is one of the most glamorous models you will see. 'We are expecting interest from private collectors and museums in this. You can imagine it would make a great conversation piece in someone's home.' Cunard commissioned Swan Hunter to build the Lusitania and the Mauretania in response to the increasing threat of its domination of the Transatlantic passenger trade posed by the White Star Line, which went on to build the Titanic. The Mauretania held the prestigious Blue Riband title for the fastest Transatlantic voyage for 22 years until it was beaten 1929 by the German liner Bremen. A scale model of the Lusitania was also made but after the ship was torpedoed with the loss of 1,198 passengers in 1915 it was turned into a second miniature version of the Mauritania as it was thought it could have brought bad luck. That model still exists and its last known location was on board the QEII. The boat and model were both built by Swan Hunter, and the model was lent to London's Science Museum in 1938, where it stayed until 2012 . The 1:64 scale model of the ship was built by the Swan Hunter to commemorate ithe launch of the RMS Mauretania- which went on to break the record for the fastest sail across the Atlantic . London-based auctioneer Charles Miller said: 'The model is extremely decorative and detailed. It is one of the most glamorous models you will see' Auctioneer Charles Miller is pictured with the 12ft long model of the RMS Mauretania. It is being sold by Swan Hunter in May . The model, which is 17in wide, 42in tall and weighs half a tonne, will be sold in London on May 12. It was created in 1906 . The Mauretania held the prestigious Blue Riband title for the fastest Transatlantic voyage for 22 years until it was beaten 1929 by the German liner Bremen .
The 12ft long model of RMS Mauretania is to be auctioned off more than 100 years after the ship's launch . It was created by Swan Hunter which built the ship and its sister vessel Lusitania which was sunk in 1915 . RMS Mauretania weighed more than 31,000 tons and accommodated more than 2,000 people . The wooden model, which is 12ft-long and 17in wide, is to be sold at auction in May .