The Lusitania
R.M.S. Lusitania, which was owned by the Cunard Line, was built to compete for the highly lucrative transatlantic passenger trade. Construction began in 1904, and, after completion of the hull, the Lusitania was launched on June 7, 1906. The liner was completed the following year, at which time it was the largest ship in the world.
Measuring some 787 feet (240 metres) in length and weighing approximately 31,550 tons.
In May 1915 the Lusitania was returning from New York to Liverpool with 1,959 passengers and crew on board. The sinkings of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland and reports of submarine activity there prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area. The ship’s captain, William Thomas Turner, chose to ignore these recommendations, and on the afternoon of May 7 the vessel was attacked. A torpedo struck and exploded amidships on the starboard side, and a heavier explosion followed, possibly caused by damage to the ship’s steam engines and pipes. Within 20 minutes the Lusitania had sunk, and 1,198 people were drowned. The loss of the liner and so many of its passengers, including 128 U.S. citizens, aroused a wave of indignation in the United States, and it was fully expected that a declaration of war would follow, but the U.S. government clung to its policy of neutrality. - Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor of britannica.com
R.M.S. Lusitania, which was owned by the Cunard Line, was built to compete for the highly lucrative transatlantic passenger trade. Construction began in 1904, and, after completion of the hull, the Lusitania was launched on June 7, 1906. The liner was completed the following year, at which time it was the largest ship in the world.
Measuring some 787 feet (240 metres) in length and weighing approximately 31,550 tons.
In May 1915 the Lusitania was returning from New York to Liverpool with 1,959 passengers and crew on board. The sinkings of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland and reports of submarine activity there prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area. The ship’s captain, William Thomas Turner, chose to ignore these recommendations, and on the afternoon of May 7 the vessel was attacked. A torpedo struck and exploded amidships on the starboard side, and a heavier explosion followed, possibly caused by damage to the ship’s steam engines and pipes. Within 20 minutes the Lusitania had sunk, and 1,198 people were drowned. The loss of the liner and so many of its passengers, including 128 U.S. citizens, aroused a wave of indignation in the United States, and it was fully expected that a declaration of war would follow, but the U.S. government clung to its policy of neutrality. - Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor of britannica.com
