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          In the very first years of the 20th century, an emergence of new German ocean liners, most notably Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and Deutschland threatened Britain's dominance of the Atlantic passenger trade. Immigration to the Americas was on the rise and the new German liners were large, technologically advanced and very fast. Britain's hopes of redemption rested primarily on two lines, Cunard and White Star. White Star had been purchased by an American financier named J.P. Morgan. Although White Star ships still flew the Union Jack, they sailed for the Stars and Stripes. Cunard saw this as an indication that White Star's vessels could not be counted on in the event of war. British commercial vessels were considered part of the auxiliary navy and were, as such, required to be available to the Admiralty for conversion to troop carriers, hospital ships, and armed cruisers. Cunard's chairman, Lord Inverclyde went to the British government with these concerns...and a plan.

          Inverclyde knew that if Cunard was to compete with the new German liners and at the same time outdo its domestic rival, it would need new ships. Ships to surpass all others in size, luxury, speed and safety. Inverclyde proposed the construction of two liners which he would make readily available for conversion to armed cruisers if and when necessary. He requested a 20-year loan £2,600,00 to build the ships, but didn't stop there. He asked for an interest rate of only 2.75%, half the standard rate at the time. Despite the cost and lack of monetary incentive for the government, the prospect of two large, fast vessels was enticing enough for Parliament to grant Inverclyde's request. Lusitania, named for Roman Portugal, and her sister ship Mauretania (named for Roman Morocco) were born...

          Naval architect Leonard Peskett was charged with bringing Inverclyde's ships to life. Lusitania was to built at the John Brown Shipyards at Clydebank in Scotland. Her first keel plate was laid on June 16th, 1904. Mauretania would be brought into being at the Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson yards at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in northern England. The first concept sketches, submitted in 1902, depicted the ships with only three funnels. This was change to four funnels in keeping with the German liners the new vessels were intended to outshine. Displacing 31,550 gross tons, Lusitania's dimensions were far in excess of any ship built before. She was 787 feet long and 87 feet wide. Her hull was divided into 34 major watertight compartments. Four million rivets, weighing more than 500 tons, held her massive hull plates together. Nearly 300 miles of cabling was laid throughout her interior to supply electricity to her novel conveniences; elevators, electric fans, clocks lamps and more.

          The steam turbines that powered Lusitania were the largest ever built. More than 3 million blades drove the monstrous power plants. Geared to four massive triple-screwed propellers, the turbines would give the new Cunarder a top speed of over 25 knots. Lord Inverclyde's dream of recapturing the Blue Riband for Britain was assured. Sadly, he did not live to see his dream come true. In 1905, at the age of 44 he died suddenly, leaving his widow Mary to christen Lusitania on June 6th, 1906. More than 20,000 people flocked to the launching. The shipyard's deputy chairman, Sir Charles MacLaren, gave a long and rhetorical speech about how Britain's preeminence on the Atlantic could not be reclaimed while the Germans held the Blue Riband He stated that Lusitania was not only to be the largest, fastest, safest and most luxurious vessel afloat, that she had the potential, with 'minor' alterations, to become the world's fastest and most powerful armed cruiser..." An idealistic claim, to say the least. In reality, Lusitania's thin hull plating (as compared to the armored hull on a naval vessel) and seemingly insatiable appetite for coal made her an unlikely candidate for cruiser duty.

          After her launch, Lusitania was towed to her fitting out basin, for the installation of her machinery. Over the course of the next year, her 27 boilers and 192 furnaces were installed, as were the turbines themselves, along with refrigeration, cooking and dishwashing equipment. Furniture, hand carved oak chairs and tables, fine linens and silks, everything from soap to liquor, toilet paper to silverware. Day in and day out thousands of men climbed over every square inch of the ship, making her over from a dusty empty hulk in to the newest monarch of the seas.

On July 27th, 1907, Lusitania sets out on her sea trials with numerous guests and dignitaries on board. The first trip out into open water is anything but a rousing success for Cunard. A design flaw is discovered; one that would set back her debut by nearly a month. Inadequate bracing on her stern causes the entire after section of the ship to shudder violently at high speed. What is described as a "violent convulsion" rattles through the keel, hull plates, steel girders and the very decks themselves. Much of the stern section is uninhabitable in the presence of the vibrating. Lusitania is pulled back into dry dock and 142 Second Class cabins are gutted. The entire stern, in fact, is completely gutted. Arches, brackets, columns; anything that would serve to reinforce the structure is added to stabilize the stern. Although the results are satisfactory, the shuddering stern would dog Lucy throughout her career. Strangely enough, they never changed her prop configuration to quadruple blades like Mauretania (which hadn't been launched yet) even when, in later years, Mauretania's propellers proved superior. Lusitania passes her sea trials in August and is handed over Cunard. On September 3rd, 1907 Lusitania is opened to the public. Over the next 4 days, 20,000 people visit the new ship, marveling at her size, accommodations and technology. On September 7th she departs Liverpool on her maiden voyage. Six days later she arrives in New York, failing to win the Blue Riband but triumphant nonetheless in marking a new era in ocean travel. The age of the floating palaces had begun. The following month, Lusitania does win the Blue Riband back for Britain, holding it until her sister Mauretania claims it in December 1910.

NEXT: Life Aboard Lucy