Lusitania and Mauretania were commissioned by Cunard, responding to increasing competition from rival transatlantic passenger companies, particularly the German Norddeutscher Lloyd(NDL)

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Lusitania, commanded by Commodore James Watt, moored at the Liverpoollanding stage for her maiden voyage at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday 7 September 1907 as the onetime Blue

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On 10 January 1910, Lusitania was on a voyage from Liverpool to New York, when, two days into the trip, she encountered a rogue wavethat was 23 metres (75 ft) high. The design of the ship's bow allowed for her to break through waves instead of riding on top of them.

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By early 1915, a new threat began to materialise: submarines. At first, they were used by the Germans only to attack naval vessels, something they achieved only occasionally but

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On 7 May 1915, Lusitania was nearing the end of her 202nd crossing, bound for Liverpool from New York, and was scheduled to dock at the Prince's Landing Stage later that afternoon.

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The sinking caused an international outcry, especially in Britain and across the British Empire, as well as in the United States, since 128 out of 139 U.S. citizens aboard the ship lost their lives. On 8 May, Bernhard Dernburg, a German spokesman and a former

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When Lusitania was built, her construction and operating expenses were subsidised by the British government, with the proviso that she could be converted to an armed merchant cruiser(AMC) if need be. A secret compartment was designed in for the purpose of carrying

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