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Line 21: − On May 7, 1915, still relatively early in World War I, a German [[U-boat]] sunk a massive [[British]] passenger liner known as the '''RMS Lusitania''' off the coast of [[Ireland]]. This one sinking killed 1,198 people, including 128 U.S. citizens. A member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, known for its railroad empire, was among the fatalities. The overall number of casualties was only a few hundred less than those who died on the [[Titanic]] when it hit an iceberg in 1912.+ − On April 30th, 1915, the Lusitania was being loaded in New York with supplies, and was secretly being loaded with ammunition. Over on the other side of the world, in Germany, on the same day, Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger was ordered to take his U-boat-20 German submarine to take patrol of part of the Atlantic. The Lusitania started its trip across the Atlantic to Great Britain on May 1st, 1915, carrying 1257 passengers and 702 crew members under the command of Captain William Turner. On May 7th, the Lusitania and the German Submarine entered the Irish Channel. The Submarine had been sinking other ships before the Lusitania.+ + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + +
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[[Image:NYT01May1915.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Advertisement and shipping news page for the ''New York Times'', 01 May 1915, detailing the schedules of the various ocean liners and other ships due to sail. Below and to the right of the Cunard Line's notice of the departure dates for RMS ''Lusitania'' is the notice from the Imperial German Embassy in Washington, D.C. stating that all such vessels departing for Great Britain would enter a war zone at their own risk. Six days after this paper was printed, ''Lusitania'' was torpedoed and sunk off Ireland.]]
[[Image:NYT01May1915.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Advertisement and shipping news page for the ''New York Times'', 01 May 1915, detailing the schedules of the various ocean liners and other ships due to sail. Below and to the right of the Cunard Line's notice of the departure dates for RMS ''Lusitania'' is the notice from the Imperial German Embassy in Washington, D.C. stating that all such vessels departing for Great Britain would enter a war zone at their own risk. Six days after this paper was printed, ''Lusitania'' was torpedoed and sunk off Ireland.]]
'''RMS ''Lusitania'' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] passenger liner notable for its sinking in [[World War I]] with heavy loss of life.
==History==
''Lusitania'' was first conceived as a way of returing the [[Blue Riband Trophy]] to Britain, and ensuring British dominance of steamship passenger service across the Atlantic. In 1902, while the trophy was still in German hands (since 1897, by the Nordeutscher Lloyd ship ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''), negotiations began between members of the government and [[Cunard]] with the purpose of building several liners capable of up to 25 knots; Cunard would retain all rights to use the ships, but in exchange for a government loan of £2,600,000 the vessels would be turned over to the government during a national emergency for use as troop transports or hospital ships. The ships would be named ''Lusitania'' and ''Mauritania''.
Running low on fuel Kapitänleutnant Schwieger decided to turn back. On his way back he ran into several ships, and sunk them. When he met up with the Lusitania, he submerged and fired one torpedo. The torpedo was noticed, but nothing was able to be done about it. Right after it hit, it triggered a secondary explosion within the ship (the leading theory is this was a coal dust explosion; the Lusitania burned coal for fuel, and by this late stage of the crossing her bunkers were nearly empty. The theory states that the detonation of the torpedo stirred up this dust and simultaneously ignited it.) Due to the list (tilt to one side) of the ship, it was impossible to launch half of her lifeboats. A distress signal was sent out and picked up at Queenstown (now called [[Cobh]], Ireland. The Lusitania sank 18 minutes after the torpedo hit.
To meet the speed requirements the ships were fitted with new Parsons steam turbine engines powering four three-bladed propellers; their hulls were designed around a "nine-to-one" ratio of length versus beam, ensuring their power would push them easily to meet the projected speed requirements, and after tank testing in the Admiralty, the length of each was fixed at 787 feet.
''Lusitania's'' keel was laid in May, 1905, and when she was launced in June, 1906, she was the largest vessel afloat. Passenger accomodations rivaled the finest hotels in Europe; even third-class accomdations, changed from standard open-berthing to four-to-six berth cabins, were palatial when compared to other ships. In her sea trials her engines performed as expected, generating 68,000 horsepower while driving the ship forward at 25 knots.
Thinking of her possible wartime service in the future, ''Lusitania'' was designed with her coal bunkers placed along side her boiler rooms, the theory being that a hit by a torpedo or ramming would be absorbed by these compartments and not affect her vital machinery.
Her first voyage on September 7, 1907 did not result in regaining the Blue Riband, but on her second voyage she did, completing the crossing in 4 days, 19 hours, and 52 minutes. ''Lusitania'' would break her own speed records several times, even as the Blue Riband passed to her sister ship, the slightly-faster ''Mauritania''.
==World War I==
With British entry in World War I, many available liners were requisitioned for use by the government: ''Olympic'' and ''Britannic'', once sisters to the ill-fated [[RMS Titanic|''Titanic'']], were taken from rival White Star Line and used as a troop transport and hospital ship, respectively. ''Mauritania'' as well as Cunard's third entry, ''Aquitania'', were also taken and used. ''Lusitania'' remained under Cunard control, as passenger service was still expected and needed; a possible clandestine use as a deliverer of military arms was not overlooked.
====Last voyage====
On April 30th, 1915, ''Lusitania'' was being loaded in New York with supplies, and was secretly being loaded with ammunition. Over on the other side of the Atlantic in Germany, Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger was ordered to take his U-20 German submarine on patrol. ''Lusitania'' started its trip to Great Britain on May 1st, 1915, carrying 1257 passengers and 702 crew members under the command of Captain William Turner. The same day she sailed, the ''New York Times'' ran its shipping shedules; business was normal as far as the neutral United States was concerned. On the same page below the Cunard advertisement for ''Lusitania'', the German embassy ran a printed add of its own:
:'''''NOTICE!'''''
:''TRAVELLERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.''
:'''''IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY,''' Washington, D.C. April 22, 1915''
On May 7th, ''Lusitania'' and the German submarine both entered the Irish Channel. Captain Turner had
Running low on fuel Kapitänleutnant Schwieger decided to turn back. On his way back he ran into several ships and sunk them. When he met up with ''Lusitania'', he submerged and fired one torpedo. The torpedo was noticed, but nothing was able to be done about it. Right after it hit, it triggered a secondary, larger explosion within the ship. Due to the list of the ship, it was impossible to launch half of her lifeboats. A distress signal was sent out and picked up at Queenstown (now called [[Cobh]], Ireland. The Lusitania sank 18 minutes after the torpedo hit.
Queenstown sent out several boats to see what they could do. They arrived at the scene two hours after the sinking, and were able to rescue 761 people from the wreckage. The total number of deaths was 1,198.
Queenstown sent out several boats to see what they could do. They arrived at the scene two hours after the sinking, and were able to rescue 761 people from the wreckage. The total number of deaths was 1,198.
The sinking of the Lusitania was extensively used in British [[propaganda]] to promote recruitment for the armed forces in the war against Germany, and to promote anti-German sentiment in the still-neutral United States.
==Aftermath==
[[Image:Lusitania.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Poster about the Lusitania]]
The sinking of the Lusitania was extensively used in British [[propaganda]] to promote recruitment for the armed forces in the war against Germany, and to promote anti-German sentiment in the still-neutral United States. 128 Americans lost their lives, and there was clamor to get America in the war. President [[Woodrow Wilson]], despite this, made every effort to steer the country towards a neutral course ("He kept us out of the war!" would be a campaign slogan in 1916). However, in the ensuing two years since ''Lusitania'' went down, it would take Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare combined with the shocking revelation of the [[Zimmermann Telegram]] that would ensure U.S. entry into the war.
One of the leading theories as to the secondary explosion was coal dust; ''Lusitania'' burned coal for fuel, and by the late stage of the voyage near Ireland her bunkers were nearly empty, the detonation of the torpedo stirring up this dust and simultaneously igniting it. This theory has found credence in several grain elevator explosions in the American midwest during the 1970s-1980s. But listed on the ship's manifest, and reported in the London ''Evening Post'' of May 8, 1915, which cannot be overlooked were:
*Casings, 10 pkgs
*Military goods, 189 pkgs
*Ammunition, 1,271 cases
*Bronze powder, 66 cases
*Cartridges and ammunition, 4,200 cases [http://www.titanicandco.com/lusitania.html]
That ''Lusitania'' transported military small arms material is clear; what was never clear was how much more, if indeed she covertly carried more, and where it was stored onboard. The ship currently lies in a severely-degraded condition on her starboard side, preventing any inspection of her holds and torpedo damage.
[[Image:Lusitania.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Poster about the ''Lusitania'']]
[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Ships]]