100 years ago today: RMS Lusitania sunk by U-Boat. 1198 dead.

[Cooley Hurd]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania

The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on 7 May 1915 during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in 18 minutes. The vessel went down 11 miles (18 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale,[1]:429 Ireland, killing 1,198 and leaving 761 survivors. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought.

Lusitania had the misfortune to fall victim to torpedo attack relatively early in the First World War, before tactics for evading submarines were properly implemented or understood. The contemporary investigations in both the UK and the United States into the precise causes of the ship's loss were obstructed by the needs of wartime secrecy and a propaganda campaign to ensure all blame fell upon Germany. Argument over whether the ship was a legitimate military target raged back and forth throughout the war as both sides made misleading claims about the ship. At the time she was sunk, she was carrying a large quantity of rifle cartridges and non-explosive shell casings, as well as civilian passengers. Several attempts have been made over the years since the sinking to dive to the wreck seeking information about precisely how the ship sank, and argument continues to the present day.

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[Art_from_Ark]

1. I'm not so sure the sinking of the Lusitania actually contributed so much to US entry into WWI

since the sinking was almost two years before war was declared on the Central Powers. The more immediate contributions were the Zimmerman Telegram and the sinking of 5 American merchant ships by U-boats in February-March 1917.

[Omaha Steve]

2. Like the sinking of the Maine

It changed attitudes. Like W's propaganda after 911.

It is now believed the Maine blew up because of a design defect in the coal storage area.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. I think it was in people's minds, after those merchant ships were sunk

From the Wikipedia article:

In January 1917 the German Government announced it would now conduct full unrestricted submarine warfare. Once again, Woodrow Wilson was furious and on 6 April 1917 the United States Congress followed Wilson's request to declare war on Germany.

That the actions of the submarines had been restricted for a time was largely because of the sinking of the Lusitania.

[TexasProgresive]

4. Some more info onthe Lusitania

the Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat

http://www.lusitaniacentenary.ie/disaster/default.html At 14.10 hrs, the torpedo struck the ship with a sound which Turner later recalled was "like a heavy door being slammed shut." Almost instantaneously there came a second, much larger explosion, which physically rocked the ship. A tall column of water and debris shot skyward, wrecking lifeboat No. 5 as it came back down. On the bridge of the Lusitania, Captain Turner could see instantly that his ship was doomed. He gave the orders to abandon ship. He then went out onto the port bridge wing and looked back along the boat deck. The first thing he saw was that all the port side lifeboats had swung inboard, which meant that all those on the starboard side had swung outboard. The starboard ones could be launched, though with a little difficulty, but the port side boats would be virtually impossible to launch.

When this Lusitania tragedy occurred, children at play in nearby Butlerstown National School in the Parish of Barryroe suddenly stopped as they heard two loud explosions in the distance. A witness to the event, Ciss Crowley of Coolbawn told us in 2005 when she was 98 years old “It sounded like thunder”. Ms Crowley still vividly remembers the events of that fateful day “We heard a huge explosion and went outside. Then I saw the ship on the Horizon, with smoke pouring out. For days, I saw nothing but dead bodies washing up on the beaches” she said (1).

At approx. 2.30pm, intelligence was received by Rev William Forde; the then Hon Secretary of the Courtmacsherry RNLI Station of a large four funnel steamer in distress South East of the Seven Heads. Rev Forde immediately went to summon the volunteer lifeboat crew. On his arrival at the Lifeboat Station, then located at Barry’s Point he was met by the Coxswain and his 14 man crew.

http://www.southernstar.ie/News/Re-enactment-of-Lusitania-rescue-24042015.htm
Re-enactment of Lusitania rescue

Volunteers will row out on Sunday, May 3rd, to the Lusitania wreck site in a similar RNLI pulling and sailing lifeboat to the Kezia Gwilt (pictured) that was used in the original

[JoDog]

5. Great book on the subject

I just read Dead Wake by Erik Larson, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in RMS Lusitania. In addition to breaking down what happened on the ship, he also explores the politics of the time (right down to Woodrow Wilson's courtship of the woman who would be his second wife) and the aftermath of the disaster.

What is really chilling is that U-boat warfare in WWI was only about 60% effective--there were a lot of misses, duds, and torpedoes that simply did not fire. U-20's targets before and after the Lusitania both survived (I think one torpedo was a misfire; the other was a miss). In addition, the torpedo struck in the right spot on the ship and at the right time to multiply the damage. Captain Turner lost all helm control in the explosions, and the ship was at almost full speed at the time. He could not slow the ship down, and that contributed to the lifeboat problems and how fast the ship sank. Since the ship was less than a day out of port, a lot of the ship's "muscle" was down below preparing luggage and cargo disembark. Those were the people the ship depended on to launch the lifeboats. Unfortunately, because of where the torpedo struck, those men were some of the first trapped and killed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Someone here at work is reading that now.

He just emailed me a few minutes ago to point out that today was the centennial of the even.

[closeupready]

8. I am, too - funny how small the world seems sometimes.

[FLPanhandle]

9. It is a good book

Just a quibble with your post, the Lusitania was traveling far below it's full speed at the time (her speed was her greatest defense and would have made her a difficult target). Unfortunately, they were traveling slow to time their arrival in port.

[JoDog]

10. Thanks for the correction

I likely am misremembering the ship's speed at the time of the impact.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. New undersea images show WWI shipwreck.

RMS Lusitania sinking: Incredible new undersea images shows WWI shipwreck that claimed 1,200 lives

Actually, I'm not impressed with the images. The RMS Lusitania is only 300 feet down. I watched a show on PBS last night. Robert Ballard, who found the wreckage of the Titanic, was out in the Gulf of Mexico looking for the wreckage of a U-boat that had been sunk there. It's a mile down, and the images are much clearer. What gives?

German submarine U-166 (1941)

Wreckage located in 2001

However, in 2001, when the wreck of Robert E. Lee was located in more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of water, the wreck of U-166 was also located, less than two miles from where it had attacked her. An archaeological survey of the seafloor prior to construction of a natural gas pipeline had led to the discoveries. Petroleum companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf are required to provide sonar data in areas that have archaeological potential. BP and Shell sponsored additional fieldwork to record detailed images, including a gun on the deck aft of the submarine’s conning tower. On investigation, it was discovered that another U-boat, U-171, also operating in the Gulf of Mexico, had reported coming under attack from an American aircraft on 1 August 1942, with little damage. Therefore, the credit for the sinking of U-166 should have gone to PC-566. Charles "C.J." Christ, from Houma, spent most of his life searching for U-166 and was involved in the final identification of the U-boat.

The site where U-166 lies, at 28°37′N 90°45′W, has been designated a war grave because its crew of 52 is entombed there. It is protected against any future attempts to salvage it.

Oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Robert Ballard explored and mapped the wreck in the summer of 2014 with remotely-operated vehicles and determined that the bow of the submarine was destroyed, apparently by a depth charge which caused an internal explosion of the submarine's own torpedoes. On 16 December 2014, the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus posthumously awarded the captain of PC 566, Herbert G. Claudius, the Legion of Merit with a Combat "V" device for heroism in battle and credited him with the sinking of the U-boat. "Seventy years later, we now know that (Claudius's) report after the action was absolutely correct," he said. &quot Claudius's ship) did sink that U-boat, and it's never too late to set the record straight."