RMS Lusitania

RMS Lusitania
George Grantham Bain · Public domain · source
Ship image	300px
Ship caption	Arriving in New York City on her maiden voyage, September 1907.
Ship country	United Kingdom
Ship owner	Cunard Line
Ship builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Ship laid down	16 June 1904
Ship launched	7 June 1906
Ship completed	26 August 1907
Ship fate	Torpedoed and sunk by SM ''U-20'', 7 May 1915

RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Launched in 1906, she was, with her sister ship RMS ''Mauretania'', a celebrated holder of the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing. Her sinking by a German U-boat in 1915 with the loss of 1,198 lives became a pivotal event of World War I, influencing American public opinion and contributing to the later entry of the United States into the conflict.

Construction and design

The ship was constructed at the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, under a contract with the British Admiralty that included provisions for her potential use as an armed merchant cruiser. Her design, overseen by naval architect Leonard Peskett, incorporated revolutionary turbine propulsion from Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, which powered four massive propellers. The liner's hull was divided by numerous bulkheads and she was lavishly appointed with interiors designed by architects like Harold Peto, featuring a grand First Class dining saloon and a multi-deck Louis XVI style lounge. At the time of her launch, she and her sister were the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ships in the world.

Maiden voyage and service

She departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York City on 7 September 1907, immediately capturing the public's imagination. On her second westbound crossing, she secured the Blue Riband from the German liner SS ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'', averaging over 23 knots. For nearly eight years, she maintained a regular transatlantic schedule between Liverpool and New York, becoming a favorite of wealthy travelers and celebrities, including millionaire Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt. Her operational career was briefly interrupted at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when she was placed on the official Admiralty list of armed merchant cruisers, though she was quickly returned to civilian service.

Sinking

On 1 May 1915, she departed New York bound for Liverpool, despite a published warning from the German Embassy placed adjacent to Cunard Line advertisements in American newspapers. On the afternoon of 7 May, off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, she was struck by a single torpedo fired by Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger's SM ''U-20''. A second, larger explosion followed immediately, causing the ship to sink in just 18 minutes. Of the 1,962 people aboard, 1,198 perished, including 128 American citizens. The cause of the second explosion remains debated, with theories ranging from a coal dust ignition to the detonation of contraband munitions secretly carried in her cargo hold.

Aftermath and legacy

The sinking caused international outrage, particularly in the United Kingdom and the neutral United States, where it was widely portrayed as an act of barbarism. The British government, led by Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, and figures like the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, used the incident for propaganda, emphasizing the deaths of women and children. While it did not immediately bring the United States into the war, it severely strained diplomatic relations and fueled the growing Preparedness Movement. The event was a major factor in Germany's 1916 suspension of unrestricted submarine warfare, a policy whose later resumption in 1917 directly led to the U.S. declaration of war.

Wreck

The wreck lies approximately 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale in County Cork, Ireland, at a depth of about 93 meters. It was first located by a team led by Robert Ballard in 1993. The site is severely deteriorated, with the hull collapsed, due to depth, strong currents, and salvage operations. Over the decades, various salvage attempts have recovered items such as the ship's telegraph and propellers. The wreck is now protected under the National Monuments Act of Ireland, designated as a war grave. Periodic ROV surveys continue to monitor its condition, revealing the ongoing effects of corrosion and serving as a somber memorial to the disaster.

Category:Maritime incidents in 1915 Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Category:1906 ships