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The last video of the RMS Lusitania shows the full impressive glory of what was once the world's longest ocean liner the day it cast off from New York City in 1915. It successfully sailed more than 200 times, even avoiding the very iceberg that sank the Titanic:
Well-dressed passengers anxious to visit England arrived at the docks:
The nearly 2,000 passengers boarded as US flags waved:
The 787-foot British liner was more than twice the length of an American football field:
And contrary to historic British government claims, the ship did carry war munitions.
Lusitania was used for both wartime and civilian purposes, according to documents declassified last year. It sank on May 7, 1915, after a German submarine shot a torpedo into it, killing nearly 1,200 passengers. The silent footage is a reminder of how the vigor of the modern industrial age was not always synonymous with human safety, especially during times of war.
