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LUSITANIA’S LAST
VOYAGE
by
RICHARD H. WAGNER
(Originally published in The Log,
Navy League of the United States,
New York Council, Spring 2005)
VOYAGE
by
RICHARD H. WAGNER
(Originally published in The Log,
Navy League of the United States,
New York Council, Spring 2005)
No ships tie-up at Manhattan's Pier 54 these days. However, on 1 May, 1915, it was teaming with
activity as the most famous ocean liner in the world prepared to embark for England. The ship was the
LUSITANIA and she was commencing a voyage that would change the history of the world. On the
ninetieth anniversary of her sinking it is appropriate to examine three issues. First, was LUSITANIA a
military ship? Second, how did her sinking come about? Third, did the sinking cause America to enter
the First World War?
To address the first issue, one has to understand why LUSITANIA was built. At the beginning of
the 20th century, Germany was luring away transatlantic passenger business from the British with larger,
faster and more luxurious liners. Meanwhile, American financier J. Pierpont Morgan had purchased
control of all of the British passenger ship companies except Cunard Line. For an island nation
dependent upon the sea, the loss of dominance was not merely an injury to national pride but also a threat
to national security. "It was therefore [a] matter for keen satisfaction when Mr. Balfour's Government, in
1903, after long consideration and negotiation entered into an agreement with the Cunard Company in
order that the latter should be maintained as a British institution, with fast ships available at all times for
war services," a contemporary magazine wrote.
Cunard agreed to build two large steamships with an average speed of not less than 24 knots. In
return, the government would loan Cunard £2.5 million at 2.5% interest and give Cunard a £150,000
annual subsidy for 20 years. However, this was not merely a government bail-out of a beleaguered
industry. The British Admiralty obtained substantial power over the company. Cunard had to guarantee
that it would remain British and that no director, or principal officer would be "a foreigner." During the
agreement, all of the ships in the Cunard fleet - - not just the two new ships- - would be at the disposal of
the Admiralty. Moreover, the masters, chief engineers, watch officers and 75% of the crews had to be
British. Preference in hiring was to go to members of the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Fleet
Reserve.
With regard to the new ships, the plans and specifications were subject to Admiralty approval and an
Admiralty inspector would oversee their construction. The Admiralty would have storage space on the
new ships and Cunard would "afford every facility to the Admiralty for placing fittings on board in the
event of the vessels being taken up for use as armed cruisers."
When war between Britain and Germany broke out in August 1914, the two ships built under the
agreement, LUSITANIA and MAURETANIA, were requisitioned. However, the Admiralty quickly
decided that the ships consumed too much coal to justify their use as cruisers. Consequently, while
MAURETANIA was retained for use as a troop ship, LUSITANIA was returned to Cunard. Thus, at
the time of the sinking, LUSITANIA was back with her civilian owner and was crewed by civilian officers
and sailors.
After the sinking, the Germans claimed that LUSITANIA had been armed. The United States
Department of Justice investigated and found the charge to be false. Fittings for four six inch guns were
installed during a refit in 1912 or 1913 (depending upon the source) but the guns themselves were never
installed. Indeed, no guns were found during a United States Customs inspection prior to sailing and none
were seen by the passengers on the final voyage. Although the wreck is in very poor condition, no guns
have been found by those who have explored it.
The Germans also charged that LUSITANIA was transporting a detachment of Canadian troops.
Once again, this charge appears to be baseless as it is contrary to the testimony given by U.S. Customs
officials and by the survivors at the various inquests.
The charge that LUSITANIA was carrying munitions, however, is true. Her cargo included rifle
bullets, shrapnel shells, and percussion fuses. This is not surprising as the United States was supplying a
large portion of Britain's armament needs at the time. Furthermore, under contemporary international law,
the fact that LUSITANIA was carrying contraband would only have justified the Germans in seizing the
cargo, not sinking the ship without warning.
In sum, LUSITANIA clearly had Admiralty connections and was being used to aid the war effort.
However, at the time of her sinking, she was not a Royal Navy ship and not a legitimate target.
Tuning to the second issue, life onboard LUSITANIA did not return to normal after the Admiralty
returned her to trade. In November 1914, her schedule was reduced to a monthly trip from Liverpool to
New York and back. To save coal, one boiler room was closed, reducing her maximum speed to 21
knots. Also, her forward hold was enlarged to carry war supplies home from New York.
If all had gone as the war planners had envisioned, LUSITANIA's release back to trade would have
placed her out of harm's way. Both the British and the Germans had thought that the war at sea would
consist of a series of clashes between opposing lines of battleships. No one anticipated the major role the
submarine would play.
Upon the commencement of hostilities, the British declared a blockade of Germany. However,
Germany evaded the blockade by trading through the ports of its neutral neighbors. Seeing this, Britain
expanded its blockade so as to close off the Baltic and North Sea to any trade ultimately bound for
Germany. This proved very effective.
The German High Seas fleet was smaller than the British Grand Fleet, and thus the Germans were
reluctant to try to use their battleships to break the blockade. Instead, the Germans decided to use
submarines to cut off Britain from her sources of supply. Accordingly, on 4 February 1915, Germany
announced that the area surrounding the British Isles was a war zone and that Allied merchant ships
would be subject to attack without warning.
On 1 May 1915, the Germans printed a warning in the New York newspapers -- often next to the
advertisement for LUSITANIA's next voyage -- reminding the American public of their new policy.
However, as the New York Times reported a few days later: "The feeling among officials and others
appeared to be that the Germans would not go to the extreme of sinking a passenger vessel with women
and children and many American citizens aboard. Even the advertisement inserted in American
newspapers . . . by the Germans . . . did not cause alarm here with particular reference to the
LUSITANIA, although it produced a feeling of irritation." Indeed, Cunard received only one cancellation
and a few requests to transfer to other ships.
The technological limitations of early submarine warfare also made many people think that
submarines posed little threat. Even with one boiler room closed, LUSITANIA could easily outrun a
U-boat, which had a maximum underwater speed of less than ten knots. Indeed, with contemporary
torpedoes' limited range, LUSITANIA would almost have to run directly into the path of a U-boat in
order for her to have a chance of a shot. Even then, some 60% of German torpedoes failed to explode.
On the morning of 7 May, U-20, 210 feet long with a submerged displacement of 837 tons, was off
the southern coast of Ireland. She had three of her seven torpedoes left after a successful cruise attacking
merchant vessels. Since standing orders called for submarines to hold two torpedoes in reserve in case
enemy warships were encountered on the voyage home, there could be only one more attack. At 11:50,
Kaptain-Lieutenant Walter Schwieger spotted a large ship and attempted to give chase. However, the
obsolete British cruiser JUNO outran the Germans.
The British had known U-20's general whereabouts since the night of 5 May and had been
broadcasting warnings to all ships that U-boats were active off southern Ireland. Onboard LUSITANIA,
Captain William Turner ordered the lifeboats run out to facilitate quick launching. All portholes and
watertight doors not necessary for the operation of the ship were closed. The lookouts were doubled
and two quartermasters were stationed on the bridge wings to look out for U-boats. The engine room
was instructed to be ready to give full speed. The atmosphere on the bridge and amongst the passengers
became tense as additional warnings were received. However, Turner disregarded an Admiralty directive
to zigzag because he did not believe in its effectiveness.
Fog on the morning of 7 May caused Turner to worry about his position and he reduced speed to
15 knots. As the fog lifted and the Irish coast came in sight, Turner ordered speed increased to 18 knots.
Because the most recent submarine warnings placed the danger further west than where he thought his
position was, Turner decided to ignore an Admiralty directive to stay as far out to sea as possible and
ordered LUSITANIA closer to shore in order to determine his precise location.
Turner's change of course headed LUSITANIA directly for U-20. Schwieger had watched the liner
come over the horizon but had thought that it was unlikely he could get close enough to attack.
Nonetheless, he had prepared his boat, ordering the forward torpedo room to load one G-type torpedo.
He also confirmed with his pilot that the new target was either LUSITANIA or MAURETANIA, both of
which were listed in the boat's copy of Brassey's Naval Annual as armed merchant cruisers. Ignoring one
crewman's protest that the target was a passenger ship carrying women and children, Schwieger fired at
about two p.m. with the target less than 300 feet away.
The LUSITANIA's lookouts and some passengers spotted the torpedo but nothing could be done
before it struck. A few seconds later, a second large explosion occurred. (Writers have speculated that
this was an explosion of the munitions that LUSITANIA was carrying. However, explorer Robert
Ballard concluded after an examination of the wreck that it was most likely an explosion of coal dust in an
empty bunker near where the torpedo struck.) The ship took on a 25 degree list to starboard.
Following the TITANIC disaster three years earlier, LUSITANIA had been re-equipped so that
she had 48 lifeboats in her davits, 26 collapsible lifeboats, 35 life buoys, and 2,325 lifejackets. Notices
regarding how to use the lifejackets were posted around the ship and, on this voyage, a committee of
passengers had given demonstrations on how to use the lifejackets. However, circumstances did not
permit the well-ordered disembarkation contemplated in today's cruise ship life boat drills. LUSITANIA
sank in 18 minutes. Because of the severe list, it was impossible to launch the port side lifeboats.
Moreover, the list caused the starboard side boats to hang so far away from the ship that passengers had
to leap for them. Furthermore, the ship continued to plow through the water at 18 knots causing most of
the lifeboats that were launched to capsize when they hit the water. Only eight boats got away.
Meanwhile, panic gripped many passengers and crew. Fights broke out, lifejackets were stolen, and
people jumped into the water wearing their lifejackets in an unsafe manner. Of the 1,959 souls onboard,
1,198 died including 95 children.
There, thus, appears to have been no causal connection between the events in New York and the
sinking. Although the German newspaper warnings give the impression that the sinking was part of a
well-coordinated plan, the submarine that sunk LUSITANIA was not hunting her. Rather, it was just a
matter of luck that LUSITANIA encountered her. Furthermore, the justifications offered for her sinking
are clearly post-hoc rationalizations. Even assuming arguendo that there was a basis for the German
charges and that German agents had reported this information home, there is nothing to show that
Schweiger had any such knowledge or that it was why he decided to attack. Instead, the evidence
indicates that he attacked because he thought that LUSITANIA was an armed merchant cruiser.
Turning to the final issue, when Germany announced that it was commencing unrestricted submarine
warfare, it put itself on a collision course with the United States. President Woodrow Wilson termed the
German policy "unprecedented in naval warfare." International law required that a warship attacking a
merchant ship first signal the merchant ship, board her, make sure of her identity, and assist the
passengers and crew to safety before sinking her. Since the early submarines were small, slow, fragile
craft, they would be vulnerable to being rammed or to fatal fire from hidden deck guns if they attempted
to conform to these rules. Nonetheless, Wilson sent a note to the Germans warning that Germany would
be held "strictly accountable" not only if an American ship were sunk but also if any Americans were
killed or injured during a submarine attack on an Allied merchant ship.
Not all Americans, however, were upset by the German policy. For example, in April 1915, the
German government informed Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan it was going to place warnings in
American newspapers saying that ships entering the war zone could be sunk without warning. Bryan
acquiesced because in his view any American traveling on an Allied ship was taking the same chance as if
he or she decided to walk across a battlefield
Yet, when LUSITANIA was sunk, few people had time for legalistic intellectual debate. To
understand the public reaction it is necessary to understand the place LUSITANIA held in the public
view. When LUSITANIA was launched in June 1906, all of the first-class tonnage on the Atlantic
became obsolete. She was the first liner of more than 30,000 gross tons and the first to cross the Atlantic
in less than five days. LUSITANIA was not only a technological marvel. As the Washington Post wrote:
"Her cabins were designed to look more like a hotel than a ship. There were fireplaces, windows shaped
and curtained as in a private house, elaborate suites and a series of tapestried reception rooms, smoking
rooms and cafes." Even the steerage passengers had luxuries not found on other liners including electric
lights and heat. As a result, New York greeted LUSITANIA when she entered New York for the first
time in 1907 with the same excitement that surrounded the premiere of the QUEEN MARY 2 last year.
In addition, people could not believe that such an unthinkable act could occur. Regardless of the various
German justifications, the fact remained that the ship was known to be carrying innocent civilians including
many neutral Americans.
Former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft called upon Wilson to declare
war immediately. "In God's name how could any nation calling itself civilized [do] so horrible a thing."
Wilson told his private secretary. However, Wilson realized that the country was not ready for war.
Even with this outrage, much of the country, particularly the far west, wanted to have nothing to do with
Europe. Moreover, the United States Army was then smaller than the standing army of Portugal and the
fleet was in no condition to sail.
Accordingly, Wilson embarked upon a series of diplomatic exchanges that eventually led to the
Germans promising, in effect, to renounce unrestricted submarine warfare. As proof that he had correctly
judged the mood of the country, Wilson was re-elected by a narrow margin in 1916 based upon the
slogan: "He kept us out of war." When, in 1917, the Germans decided that America posed no real
threat, they resumed their submarine campaign. After several American ships followed the LUSITANIA
to the bottom, Wilson reluctantly took a still largely unprepared nation to war.
While the sinking of the LUSITANIA did not immediately lead to America's entry into the war, it
did set the wheels in motion. Because of the sinking, the United States took the position that attacks on
passenger ships were intolerable. Because, as became especially apparent after the inconclusive Battle of
Jutland, Germany had no means of breaking the British stranglehold other than to engage in unrestricted
submarine warfare, conflict with America became inevitable. Since the arrival of large numbers of
Americans in France in 1918 is generally credited with bringing the war to an end, the sinking of the
LUSITANIA can also be seen as a first step in Germany's defeat.
activity as the most famous ocean liner in the world prepared to embark for England. The ship was the
LUSITANIA and she was commencing a voyage that would change the history of the world. On the
ninetieth anniversary of her sinking it is appropriate to examine three issues. First, was LUSITANIA a
military ship? Second, how did her sinking come about? Third, did the sinking cause America to enter
the First World War?
To address the first issue, one has to understand why LUSITANIA was built. At the beginning of
the 20th century, Germany was luring away transatlantic passenger business from the British with larger,
faster and more luxurious liners. Meanwhile, American financier J. Pierpont Morgan had purchased
control of all of the British passenger ship companies except Cunard Line. For an island nation
dependent upon the sea, the loss of dominance was not merely an injury to national pride but also a threat
to national security. "It was therefore [a] matter for keen satisfaction when Mr. Balfour's Government, in
1903, after long consideration and negotiation entered into an agreement with the Cunard Company in
order that the latter should be maintained as a British institution, with fast ships available at all times for
war services," a contemporary magazine wrote.
Cunard agreed to build two large steamships with an average speed of not less than 24 knots. In
return, the government would loan Cunard £2.5 million at 2.5% interest and give Cunard a £150,000
annual subsidy for 20 years. However, this was not merely a government bail-out of a beleaguered
industry. The British Admiralty obtained substantial power over the company. Cunard had to guarantee
that it would remain British and that no director, or principal officer would be "a foreigner." During the
agreement, all of the ships in the Cunard fleet - - not just the two new ships- - would be at the disposal of
the Admiralty. Moreover, the masters, chief engineers, watch officers and 75% of the crews had to be
British. Preference in hiring was to go to members of the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Fleet
Reserve.
With regard to the new ships, the plans and specifications were subject to Admiralty approval and an
Admiralty inspector would oversee their construction. The Admiralty would have storage space on the
new ships and Cunard would "afford every facility to the Admiralty for placing fittings on board in the
event of the vessels being taken up for use as armed cruisers."
When war between Britain and Germany broke out in August 1914, the two ships built under the
agreement, LUSITANIA and MAURETANIA, were requisitioned. However, the Admiralty quickly
decided that the ships consumed too much coal to justify their use as cruisers. Consequently, while
MAURETANIA was retained for use as a troop ship, LUSITANIA was returned to Cunard. Thus, at
the time of the sinking, LUSITANIA was back with her civilian owner and was crewed by civilian officers
and sailors.
After the sinking, the Germans claimed that LUSITANIA had been armed. The United States
Department of Justice investigated and found the charge to be false. Fittings for four six inch guns were
installed during a refit in 1912 or 1913 (depending upon the source) but the guns themselves were never
installed. Indeed, no guns were found during a United States Customs inspection prior to sailing and none
were seen by the passengers on the final voyage. Although the wreck is in very poor condition, no guns
have been found by those who have explored it.
The Germans also charged that LUSITANIA was transporting a detachment of Canadian troops.
Once again, this charge appears to be baseless as it is contrary to the testimony given by U.S. Customs
officials and by the survivors at the various inquests.
The charge that LUSITANIA was carrying munitions, however, is true. Her cargo included rifle
bullets, shrapnel shells, and percussion fuses. This is not surprising as the United States was supplying a
large portion of Britain's armament needs at the time. Furthermore, under contemporary international law,
the fact that LUSITANIA was carrying contraband would only have justified the Germans in seizing the
cargo, not sinking the ship without warning.
In sum, LUSITANIA clearly had Admiralty connections and was being used to aid the war effort.
However, at the time of her sinking, she was not a Royal Navy ship and not a legitimate target.
Tuning to the second issue, life onboard LUSITANIA did not return to normal after the Admiralty
returned her to trade. In November 1914, her schedule was reduced to a monthly trip from Liverpool to
New York and back. To save coal, one boiler room was closed, reducing her maximum speed to 21
knots. Also, her forward hold was enlarged to carry war supplies home from New York.
If all had gone as the war planners had envisioned, LUSITANIA's release back to trade would have
placed her out of harm's way. Both the British and the Germans had thought that the war at sea would
consist of a series of clashes between opposing lines of battleships. No one anticipated the major role the
submarine would play.
Upon the commencement of hostilities, the British declared a blockade of Germany. However,
Germany evaded the blockade by trading through the ports of its neutral neighbors. Seeing this, Britain
expanded its blockade so as to close off the Baltic and North Sea to any trade ultimately bound for
Germany. This proved very effective.
The German High Seas fleet was smaller than the British Grand Fleet, and thus the Germans were
reluctant to try to use their battleships to break the blockade. Instead, the Germans decided to use
submarines to cut off Britain from her sources of supply. Accordingly, on 4 February 1915, Germany
announced that the area surrounding the British Isles was a war zone and that Allied merchant ships
would be subject to attack without warning.
On 1 May 1915, the Germans printed a warning in the New York newspapers -- often next to the
advertisement for LUSITANIA's next voyage -- reminding the American public of their new policy.
However, as the New York Times reported a few days later: "The feeling among officials and others
appeared to be that the Germans would not go to the extreme of sinking a passenger vessel with women
and children and many American citizens aboard. Even the advertisement inserted in American
newspapers . . . by the Germans . . . did not cause alarm here with particular reference to the
LUSITANIA, although it produced a feeling of irritation." Indeed, Cunard received only one cancellation
and a few requests to transfer to other ships.
The technological limitations of early submarine warfare also made many people think that
submarines posed little threat. Even with one boiler room closed, LUSITANIA could easily outrun a
U-boat, which had a maximum underwater speed of less than ten knots. Indeed, with contemporary
torpedoes' limited range, LUSITANIA would almost have to run directly into the path of a U-boat in
order for her to have a chance of a shot. Even then, some 60% of German torpedoes failed to explode.
On the morning of 7 May, U-20, 210 feet long with a submerged displacement of 837 tons, was off
the southern coast of Ireland. She had three of her seven torpedoes left after a successful cruise attacking
merchant vessels. Since standing orders called for submarines to hold two torpedoes in reserve in case
enemy warships were encountered on the voyage home, there could be only one more attack. At 11:50,
Kaptain-Lieutenant Walter Schwieger spotted a large ship and attempted to give chase. However, the
obsolete British cruiser JUNO outran the Germans.
The British had known U-20's general whereabouts since the night of 5 May and had been
broadcasting warnings to all ships that U-boats were active off southern Ireland. Onboard LUSITANIA,
Captain William Turner ordered the lifeboats run out to facilitate quick launching. All portholes and
watertight doors not necessary for the operation of the ship were closed. The lookouts were doubled
and two quartermasters were stationed on the bridge wings to look out for U-boats. The engine room
was instructed to be ready to give full speed. The atmosphere on the bridge and amongst the passengers
became tense as additional warnings were received. However, Turner disregarded an Admiralty directive
to zigzag because he did not believe in its effectiveness.
Fog on the morning of 7 May caused Turner to worry about his position and he reduced speed to
15 knots. As the fog lifted and the Irish coast came in sight, Turner ordered speed increased to 18 knots.
Because the most recent submarine warnings placed the danger further west than where he thought his
position was, Turner decided to ignore an Admiralty directive to stay as far out to sea as possible and
ordered LUSITANIA closer to shore in order to determine his precise location.
Turner's change of course headed LUSITANIA directly for U-20. Schwieger had watched the liner
come over the horizon but had thought that it was unlikely he could get close enough to attack.
Nonetheless, he had prepared his boat, ordering the forward torpedo room to load one G-type torpedo.
He also confirmed with his pilot that the new target was either LUSITANIA or MAURETANIA, both of
which were listed in the boat's copy of Brassey's Naval Annual as armed merchant cruisers. Ignoring one
crewman's protest that the target was a passenger ship carrying women and children, Schwieger fired at
about two p.m. with the target less than 300 feet away.
The LUSITANIA's lookouts and some passengers spotted the torpedo but nothing could be done
before it struck. A few seconds later, a second large explosion occurred. (Writers have speculated that
this was an explosion of the munitions that LUSITANIA was carrying. However, explorer Robert
Ballard concluded after an examination of the wreck that it was most likely an explosion of coal dust in an
empty bunker near where the torpedo struck.) The ship took on a 25 degree list to starboard.
Following the TITANIC disaster three years earlier, LUSITANIA had been re-equipped so that
she had 48 lifeboats in her davits, 26 collapsible lifeboats, 35 life buoys, and 2,325 lifejackets. Notices
regarding how to use the lifejackets were posted around the ship and, on this voyage, a committee of
passengers had given demonstrations on how to use the lifejackets. However, circumstances did not
permit the well-ordered disembarkation contemplated in today's cruise ship life boat drills. LUSITANIA
sank in 18 minutes. Because of the severe list, it was impossible to launch the port side lifeboats.
Moreover, the list caused the starboard side boats to hang so far away from the ship that passengers had
to leap for them. Furthermore, the ship continued to plow through the water at 18 knots causing most of
the lifeboats that were launched to capsize when they hit the water. Only eight boats got away.
Meanwhile, panic gripped many passengers and crew. Fights broke out, lifejackets were stolen, and
people jumped into the water wearing their lifejackets in an unsafe manner. Of the 1,959 souls onboard,
1,198 died including 95 children.
There, thus, appears to have been no causal connection between the events in New York and the
sinking. Although the German newspaper warnings give the impression that the sinking was part of a
well-coordinated plan, the submarine that sunk LUSITANIA was not hunting her. Rather, it was just a
matter of luck that LUSITANIA encountered her. Furthermore, the justifications offered for her sinking
are clearly post-hoc rationalizations. Even assuming arguendo that there was a basis for the German
charges and that German agents had reported this information home, there is nothing to show that
Schweiger had any such knowledge or that it was why he decided to attack. Instead, the evidence
indicates that he attacked because he thought that LUSITANIA was an armed merchant cruiser.
Turning to the final issue, when Germany announced that it was commencing unrestricted submarine
warfare, it put itself on a collision course with the United States. President Woodrow Wilson termed the
German policy "unprecedented in naval warfare." International law required that a warship attacking a
merchant ship first signal the merchant ship, board her, make sure of her identity, and assist the
passengers and crew to safety before sinking her. Since the early submarines were small, slow, fragile
craft, they would be vulnerable to being rammed or to fatal fire from hidden deck guns if they attempted
to conform to these rules. Nonetheless, Wilson sent a note to the Germans warning that Germany would
be held "strictly accountable" not only if an American ship were sunk but also if any Americans were
killed or injured during a submarine attack on an Allied merchant ship.
Not all Americans, however, were upset by the German policy. For example, in April 1915, the
German government informed Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan it was going to place warnings in
American newspapers saying that ships entering the war zone could be sunk without warning. Bryan
acquiesced because in his view any American traveling on an Allied ship was taking the same chance as if
he or she decided to walk across a battlefield
Yet, when LUSITANIA was sunk, few people had time for legalistic intellectual debate. To
understand the public reaction it is necessary to understand the place LUSITANIA held in the public
view. When LUSITANIA was launched in June 1906, all of the first-class tonnage on the Atlantic
became obsolete. She was the first liner of more than 30,000 gross tons and the first to cross the Atlantic
in less than five days. LUSITANIA was not only a technological marvel. As the Washington Post wrote:
"Her cabins were designed to look more like a hotel than a ship. There were fireplaces, windows shaped
and curtained as in a private house, elaborate suites and a series of tapestried reception rooms, smoking
rooms and cafes." Even the steerage passengers had luxuries not found on other liners including electric
lights and heat. As a result, New York greeted LUSITANIA when she entered New York for the first
time in 1907 with the same excitement that surrounded the premiere of the QUEEN MARY 2 last year.
In addition, people could not believe that such an unthinkable act could occur. Regardless of the various
German justifications, the fact remained that the ship was known to be carrying innocent civilians including
many neutral Americans.
Former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft called upon Wilson to declare
war immediately. "In God's name how could any nation calling itself civilized [do] so horrible a thing."
Wilson told his private secretary. However, Wilson realized that the country was not ready for war.
Even with this outrage, much of the country, particularly the far west, wanted to have nothing to do with
Europe. Moreover, the United States Army was then smaller than the standing army of Portugal and the
fleet was in no condition to sail.
Accordingly, Wilson embarked upon a series of diplomatic exchanges that eventually led to the
Germans promising, in effect, to renounce unrestricted submarine warfare. As proof that he had correctly
judged the mood of the country, Wilson was re-elected by a narrow margin in 1916 based upon the
slogan: "He kept us out of war." When, in 1917, the Germans decided that America posed no real
threat, they resumed their submarine campaign. After several American ships followed the LUSITANIA
to the bottom, Wilson reluctantly took a still largely unprepared nation to war.
While the sinking of the LUSITANIA did not immediately lead to America's entry into the war, it
did set the wheels in motion. Because of the sinking, the United States took the position that attacks on
passenger ships were intolerable. Because, as became especially apparent after the inconclusive Battle of
Jutland, Germany had no means of breaking the British stranglehold other than to engage in unrestricted
submarine warfare, conflict with America became inevitable. Since the arrival of large numbers of
Americans in France in 1918 is generally credited with bringing the war to an end, the sinking of the
LUSITANIA can also be seen as a first step in Germany's defeat.
| R.M.S. LUSITANIIA DISPLACEMENT 31,550 gross tons (44,000 tons full load) LENGTH: 787 feet BEAM: 87 feet SPEED: 25 knots (service): 26.7 (maximum) POWER PLANT: Steam turbine PASSENGERS: 563 first class, 464 second class, 1138 third class CREW: 802 LAUNCHED; 7 June 1906 SUNK: 7 May 1915 BUILDER: John Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland |