07 September 2016
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Lusitania is launched, 7 September 1907
RMS Lusitania set sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 7 September 1907
On this day in history, 1907: The RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City, USA.
Briefly the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her running mate Mauretania, Lusitania was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and made a total of 202 trans-Atlantic crossings.
However, Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-Boat on 7 May 1915, 11 miles (18km) off the southern coast of Ireland. A second, internal explosion sent her to the bottom in just 18 minutes, causing the deaths of 1,198 passengers and crew. By some miracle 764 people survived. The Daily Express reported the news of the sinking of the luxury passenger liner with the headline, 'The world's greatest and foulest crime'.
Discover more about the final voyage of RMS Lusitania with Family Tree May 2015, available as a digital back issue here.