Does this site have any merit? http://smoter.com/america’.htm
Is this true: On Sept 17, 1914 the huge ocean liner, Lusitania, had her armament mounts installed and entered the Admiralty fleet registered as an “armed auxiliary cruiser.” Four days later, Churchill was viewing the Lusitania towering above him when an acquaintance remarked that the navy had nothing like her. Churchill mumbled: “We have. To me she is just another 45,000 tons of live bait.”
That site seems to be fairly accurate. But I would also advise reading some of the books mentioned by others above. The more you read about it the better off you will be since everyone has an axe to grind over something.
Like all UK liners of the time, the Lusitaina was built for rapid conversion to Armed Mechant Cruiser. Had mounts for 12 6” guns.
There is some reporting that the Titanic did not slow down for ice warnings because its maiden voyage was also its engineering shakedown trials for RN service and the RN observers wanted to get the speed-trials done...
Sounds legit to me.