Though submarine technology had progressed by leaps and bounds in recent years, the effort got off to a slow start, with only seven vessels going down in the first two weeks.

Even neutral ships, it declared, would be fair game. In February 1915, in an attempt to stop just such war material shipments-and to counter a crushing Royal Navy blockade-Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around the United Kingdom. What’s more, as secret documents and evidence gathered at the wreck site would later show, Lusitania had 4.2 million rounds of rifle ammunition, 1,250 cases of shrapnel shells and 18 cases of non-explosive fuses hidden away in its cargo hold, bound for the Western Front.Ĭredit: Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images They were joined by a former British member of Parliament, an amateur boxing champion and a special envoy to the king and queen of Belgium, not to mention businessmen, nurses, would-be soldiers and children. On its ill-fated final voyage, for example, those onboard included millionaire heir Alfred Vanderbilt, Broadway producer Charles Frohman and actress Rita Jolivet, as well as art collector Hugh Lane, who was purportedly traveling with Rembrandt and Monet paintings stashed away in sealed lead tubes. Said to be “more beautiful than Solomon’s Temple and big enough to hold all his wives,” Lusitania attracted a plethora of wealthy, prominent passengers. At more than 30,000 gross tons each, they were also the world’s largest liners from their launch in 1906 until being surpassed by Olympic and Titanic in 19, respectively. Known as the “Greyhounds of the Seas,” Lusitania and its sister ship, Mauretania, were the fastest passenger liners of their age, capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in under five days.

Titanic video game fighting