RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania (named after the Roman province corresponding to modern Portugal) was an ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. She was the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of the Mauretania three months later and was awarded the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic crossing in 1908. The Lusitania was sunk on her 202nd trans-Atlantic crossing, on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat 11 miles (18 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,197 passengers and crew.[2] The sinking occurred about two years before the United States declaration of war on Germany but significantly increased public support in the US for entering the war.
This article is about the British ship. For her sinking, see Sinking of the RMS Lusitania.Overview[edit]
German shipping lines were Cunard's main competitors for the custom of Transatlantic passengers in the early 20th century, and Cunard responded by building two new 'ocean greyhounds': the Lusitania and the RMS Mauretania. Cunard used assistance from the British Admiralty to build both new ships, on the understanding that the ship would be available for military duty in time of war. During construction gun mounts for deck cannons were installed but no guns were ever fitted. Both the Lusitania and Mauretania were fitted with turbine engines that enabled them to maintain a service speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph). They were equipped with lifts, wireless telegraph, and electric light, and provided 50 percent more passenger space than any other ship; the first-class decks were known for their sumptuous furnishings.[3]: 45
A series of tit-for-tat moves intensified the naval portion of World War I. The Royal Navy had blockaded Germany at the start of the war; as a reprisal to German naval mining efforts, the UK then declared the North Sea a war zone in the autumn of 1914 and mined the approaches. As their own reprisal, Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom a war zone too, wherein all allied ships would be liable to be sunk without warning. Britain then declared all food imports for Germany were declared contraband.[4]: 28 When RMS Lusitania left New York for Britain on 1 May 1915, the German embassy in the United States placed fifty newspaper advertisements warning people of the dangers of sailing on Lusitania. Objections were made by the British and Americans that threatening to torpedo all ships indiscriminately was wrong, whether it was announced in advance or not.[4]: 6–7
On the afternoon of 7 May, a German U-boat torpedoed Lusitania 11 miles (18 km) off the southern coast of Ireland inside the declared war zone. A second internal explosion caused her to sink in 18 minutes, killing 1,238 passengers and crew. Only 12 bodies were ever recovered or found from ther wreck [3]: 57
The German government attempted to find justifications for sinking Lusitania. Special justifications focused on the small declared cargo of 173 tons of war materiels on board the 44,000 ton ship, and false claims that she was an armed warship and carried Canadian troops. In defense of indiscriminately sinking ships without warning, they asserted that cruiser rules were obsolete, as British merchant ships could be armed and had been instructed to evade or ram U-boats if the opportunity arises, and that the general warning given to all ships in the war zone was sufficient.[4]: 273 [5][6][7][8]
After the First World War, successive British governments maintained that there were no "munitions" (apart from small arms ammunition) on board Lusitania, and the Germans were not justified in treating the ship as a naval vessel.[9] But the most important protests at the time came from the US. Under neutrality inspections, the US was aware the ship was not armed, was acting in accordance with American law, and was chiefly a passenger vessel carrying almost two thousand civilian passengers and crew, including 128 American citizens (including many celebrities) among the dead. The US government argued that whatever the circumstances, nothing could justify the killing of large numbers of un-resisting civilians, and that America had a responsibility to protect the lives of law-abiding Americans. The Americans had already warned the Germans repeatedly about their actions, and the Germans had also demonstrated that submarines were able to sink merchant ships under cruiser rules[10].
The sinking shifted public and leadership opinion in the United States against Germany. US and internal German pressure led to a suspension of German Admiralty policy of deliberately targeting passenger ships, as well as later stronger restrictions. War was eventually declared in 1917 after the German Government chose to violate these restrictions, deliberately attacking American shipping and preparing the way for conflict with the Zimmermann Telegram.
Rogue wave crash[edit]
On 10 January 1910, Lusitania was on a voyage from Liverpool to New York,[49] when, two days into the trip, she encountered a rogue wave that was 75 feet (23 m) high. The design of the ship's bow allowed her to break through waves instead of riding on top of them. This, however, came with a cost, as the wave rolled over the bow and slammed into the bridge.[50] As a result, the forecastle deck was damaged, the bridge windows were smashed, the bridge was shifted a couple of inches aft, and both the deck and the bridge were given a permanent depression of a few inches.[51] No one was injured, and the Lusitania continued on as normal, albeit arriving a few hours late in New York with some shaken-up passengers.