It ran the year 1907 and thus prayed the rotations of the time: great expectation and extraordinary interest to know the result of the match among the great transatlantic that have left Liverpool: Lusitana and Lucania, crossing numerous important bets, which has won as expected the Lusitania and the record of speed beat by some German ships.

The machinery of Lucania is very simple and ancient, not that of the Lusitania, which is very new and responds to the latest works of the shipbuilding. The Lusitania moves 45,500 tons and is the largest transatlantic that currently exists in the world, its main features being:

The length of 245 meters, sleeve 26.40 meters, displacement 45,000 tons, total power of the four machines 70,000 horses, speed 25 knots, height of the chimneys (from the furnaces) 48 meters, height of the masts (from the plant to the mast) 66 meters. The transatlantic is conditioned to receive 550 first class, 500 second and 1,300 third class passengers. The staff consists of 26 officers and 875 crew. The Lusitania can therefore house 3,700 people, has 10 floors and two spectacular elevators. The ventilation has 120 windows, 100 skylights and 90 large fans and for lighting has 5,000 lamps. The ship has been an investment for its shipowning company of 30 million francs; its twin is under construction, which will bear the name of Mauritania.

To develop the speed of 25 knots that allows you to cross in five days the 3,000 miles that separate Liverpool from New York, you have needed to consume 1,250 tons of coal daily, that is a total of 12,500 for the round trip. This ship was built under the direction of the British admirance and can serve as an auxiliary cruise, mount 12 150-mm guns and another 12 76-mm guns.

Manuel Pedro Seoane
Digital Nautical Edtor