Its fastest trip, made on
the western voyage, was four days eleven hours forty-two minutes. This
record, however, was wrested from it subsequently by the Mauretania, a
sister ship, which set the mark of four days ten hours forty-one
minutes, that still stands.
Although the Lusitania was surpassed in size by several other liners
built subsequently, it never lost the reputation acquired at the outset
of its career. Its speed and luxurious accommodations made it a
favorite, and its passenger lists bore the names of many of the most
prominent Atlantic wayfarers. The vessel was pronounced by its builders
to be as nearly unsinkable as any ship could be.
Everything about the Lusitania was of colossal dimensions.
Her rudder weighed sixty-five tons. She carried three anchors of ten
tons each. The main frames and beams, placed end to end, would extend
thirty miles. The Lusitania was 785 feet long, 88 feet beam, and 60 feet
deep. Her gross tonnage was 32,500 and her net tonnage, 9,145.
Charges were made that one or more guardian submarines deliberately
drove off ships nearby which might have saved hundreds of lives lost
when the Lusitania went down. Captain W. F. Wood, of the Leyland Line
steamer Etonian, said his ship was prevented from going to the rescue of
the passengers of the sinking Lusitania by a warning that an attack
might be made upon his own vessel.
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