Launched at the River Clyde in June 16, 1906, RMS Lusitania was a grand ship and the first of the two sister ships to be launched. At 785 feet in length and 31,550 gross tons, she took the title of largest liner afloat. Her maiden voyage took place September 7, 1907, and in October 1907 she recaptured the covetedBlue Riband? from the German liner Deutschland.
The construction of Lusitania was financed by generous loans from the British government. In return for the generous loans, the Admiralty could requisition Lusitania or her sister in times of war. At the onset of World War I in August 1914, Lusitania, Mauretania and the newer 'sister ship? Aquitania were all officially requisitioned for war duties. All but Lusitania were given official orders, so Lusitania continued her regular transatlantic passenger services.
Passengers, not yet settled in their accommodations, marvelled at the ship's size and splendour. With a length of 745 feet, she was one of the largest man-made objects in the world. First-class passengers could eat in a two-story Edwardian-style dining salon that featured a plasterwork dome arching some thirty feet above the floor. Those who travelled first class also occupied regal suites, consisting of twin bedrooms with a parlour, bathroom, and private dining area, for which they paid four thousand dollars one way. Second-class accommodations on Lusitania compared favourably with first-class staterooms on many other ships. .
The day before Lusitania sailed from Pier 54, U-20, skippered by thirty-two-year-old Kapitãnleutnant (Lt. Cmdr.) Walther Schwieger, left the German naval base at Emden on the North Sea. Schwieger's orders were to take U-20 around Scotland and Ireland to the Irish Sea. There he was to operate in the approaches to Liverpool for as long as his supplies permitted. He was told to with or without warning, sink enemy ships and any other vessels whose appearance or behaviour suggested that they might be disguised enemy vessels.
