She was once the largest ocean liner in the world and her sinking caused shockwaves across the globe when 1,198 passengers and crew lost their lives after a U-boat attack.

Now a newly discovered image suggests previous claims that the name of RMS Lusitania was painted out to protect her on her fateful final voyage in 1915 were untrue, making her a legitimate target for German submarines.

Officials at the time had said everything had been done to try and protect the British boat - including painting out its name - meaning that enemy vessels would have struggled to work out if she was a civilian ship, or an armed merchant cruiser as the Lusitania was.

This picture, which has only just emerged, is believed to be the last one ever taken of the RMS Lusitania in New York - and it clearly shows her name had not been painted over as authorities had said

The RMS Lusitania (pictured) was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915 killing 1,198 passengers and crew

Kent Layton, 35, from New York, said: 'It was said they had done everything to make her less 'findable' to the enemy, camouflaging her for protection, helping protect her from attack.

'It was stated that the ship's name was obscured at the same time, in an attempt to conceal her identity. The photo in question helps to clear up a long standing myth.'

The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in 1915, 11 miles off the southern coast of Ireland and inside the declared 'zone of war'.

A second internal explosion sent her down in just 18 minutes.

Much like the Titanic, the Lusitania did no carry enough lifeboats for all the passengers, officers and crew, and was actually carrying four lifeboats fewer than the Titanic carried in 1912.

This was common practice for large passenger ships at the time, as it was believed that in busy shipping lanes help would never be far away.

However, due to the lack of life boats nearly 1,200 people lost their lives, making it one of the greatest maritime tragedies of all time.

One of the new pictures to emerge of passengers onboard the RMS Lusitania before its sinking

The ship was attacked off the coast of Ireland after leaving New York for Liverpool in May 1915

She was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906, alongside her sister ship, the Mauretania.

HOW THE SINKING LED TO THE U.S FINALLY JOINING WORLD WAR ONE It was the incident that helped convince the Americans to enter the First World War. The sinking caused a storm of protest in the United States as 128 Americans were among the dead. President Woodrow Wilson said 'America is too proud to fight' and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. The ship's sinking provided Britain with a propaganda opportunity and turned public opinion in many countries against Germany. This helped shift public opinion in the US against Germany and influenced America's eventual declaration of war two years later in 1917. The RMS Lusitania became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought. In January 1917 Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. After submarines sank a further seven US merchant ships Wilson finally went to Congress on April 6, 1917, calling for a declaration of war on Germany Advertisement

The Lusitania and the Mauretania were launched at a time of fierce competition for the North Atlantic trade.

The German shipping lines were aggressive competitors in the transatlantic trade, and the Lusitania and the Mauretania were built to outperform their German counterparts.

They were fitted with then-revolutionary turbine engines, enabling them to maintain a service speed of 25 knots.

They were also equipped with lifts, wireless telegraph, electric lights and provided 50 per cent more passenger space than any other ship.

Lusitania was subsidised by the British government, in the hope that she could be converted into a military vessel if needed.

A secret compartment was designed for the purpose of carrying arms and ammunition, and when war was declared the Lusitania was requisitioned by the British Admiralty.

She began her new role as an armed merchant cruiser, and was put on the official list of AMCs.

The Declaration of Paris codified the rules for naval engagements involving civilian vessels.

The Cruiser Rules required that the crew and passengers of civilian ships be safeguarded in the event that the ship is to be confiscated or sunk.

Popular myth says that to protect the Lusitania, her name was painted over - so that she could not be identified as a military vessel.

One of the new pictures to emerge of passengers onboard the RMS Lusitania before its sinking

A survivor of the sinking pictured after being brought back to shore - 1,198 passengers and crew died

The Cruiser Rules mean that she could have been searched, but thanks to her secret compartment her military cargo would have remained undetected.

THE LUSITANIA: ONCE THE WORLD'S FASTEST SHIP The ship was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Compan in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. The ship was 787ft long and featured nine passenger decks. She was kitted out with 25 Scotch boilers and four direct-acting Parsons steam turbines producing 76,000 hp. The ship also boasted four triple blade propellers. Lusitania was fitted with revolutionary new turbine engines and was able to maintain a service speed of 25 knots. She was equipped with lifts, wireless telegraph and electric light. The ship provided 50 per cent more passenger space than any other boat. She held 552 passengers in first class, 460 in second, 1,186 in third class, alongside 850 crew members and 7,000 tons of coal. Advertisement

However, this new evidence shows that immediately before her final journey from New York to Liverpool she was still showing her livery, and Lusitania is clearly visible.

With a life-long interest in ocean liners, Mr Layton has a vast knowledge of the subject and has spent a lifetime reading about ships such as the Titanic and the Lusitania.

He decided to write a book about the Lusitania, to debunk all the myths that lie around its history, and to illustrate the book he collected photos from other fans of the subject.

One of the photo contributors sent Kent an image that came from a collection he had purchased, clearly showing the name 'Lusitania' printed on the side of the boat as it prepares to make its final journey.

Kent said: 'My main focus is in trying to sort through a veritable minefield of idiotic conspiracy theories-such as deliberately setting up the ship to be sunk in order to bring the US into the war, the bizarre theories of high explosive cargo causing the second blast.

'About 10 years ago I realized that the history of the Lusitania's early career, which was eminently successful over the course of about seven and a half years, had gone largely unexplored.

'Most authors simply wrote that the ship was big and fast, entered service in 1907, and then the war started.

'This was something that truly needed to be researched and told, and this book followed a lot of leg work in pinning down some of that history's highlights.

The Lusitania was subsidised by the government so she could be converted into a military vessel if needed

'The Lusitania, in particular, has been the victim of a great deal of bad information and even conspiracy theories over the years.

'As far as this particular image, it's currently held in the collection of Lusitania historian Mike Poirier.

'Mike purchased the album some time back, and I think over the years the original information was sadly lost.

'The photograph shows that the ship's name was not painted out. They weren't trying to conceal her identity, as has been claimed.

'Lusitania - An Illustrated Biography',book is published by Amberley Publishing

Captain Raimund Weisbach was the torpedo officer on the German U-boat, the U20, who saw to the preparation and firing of the torpedo that sank the RMS Lusitania on May 7 1915