On the afternoon of 7 May, a German U-boat torpedoed Lusitania 11 miles (18 km) off the southern coast of Ireland inside the declared war zone. Objections were made by the British that threatening to torpedo all ships indiscriminately was wrong, whether it was announced in advance or not. When RMS Lusitania left New York for Britain on the German embassy in the United States placed fifty newspaper advertisements warning people of the dangers of sailing on Lusitania. : 28 In response Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom a war zone too, and German submarine warfare was intensifying in the Atlantic. In the spring of 1915, all food imports for Germany were declared contraband. The Royal Navy had blockaded Germany at the start of the First World War the UK had declared the North Sea a war zone in the autumn of 1914 and mined the approaches. They were equipped with lifts, wireless telegraph, and electric light, and provided 50 percent more passenger space than any other ship the first-class decks were known for their sumptuous furnishings. Both the Lusitania and Mauretania were fitted with turbine engines that enabled them to maintain a service speed of 24 knots (44 km/h 28 mph). During construction gun mounts for deck cannons were installed but no guns were ever fitted. Cunard used assistance from the British Admiralty to build both new ships, on the understanding that the ship would be available for military duty in time of war. German shipping lines were Cunard's main competitors for the custom of Transatlantic passengers in the early 20th century, and Cunard responded by building two new 'ocean greyhounds': the Lusitania and the Mauretania. Although the Lusitania 's sinking was a major factor in building American support for a war, war was eventually declared only after the Imperial German Government resumed the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against American shipping in an attempt to break the Transatlantic supply chain from the US to Britain, as well as after the Zimmermann Telegram. The sinking occurred about two years before the United States declaration of war on Germany. She was sunk on her 202nd trans-Atlantic crossing, on, by a German U-boat 11 miles (18 km) off the western coast of Ireland, killing 1,199 passengers and crew. It was briefly the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of the Mauretania three months later. RMS Lusitania (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic crossing in 1908. (Quadruple blade propellers installed in 1909.)ĥ52 first class, 460 second class, 1,186 third class 2,198 total. Torpedoed by German U-boat U-20 and sank on Friday. Liverpool to New York City via Cherbourg, France and Cork, Ireland
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