The growth of travel, tourism and emigration coincided with technological advances in the art of naval warfare. These changes were set against the background of nations across the world that were lurching toward the Great War for Civilization that would break out a year later. Whether luxurious or practical, most of these ships were caught up in World War I in some way, usually as weapons or transports for the navies of the world.
Ships and Submarines, 1913: Images from Scientific American’s Archives [Slide Show]
The state of the art in civilian and military nautical technology, from the year before World War I broke out in Europe
