Much like her short-lived rival, Titanic, RMS Lusitania is a ship now famous mainly for her sinking in 1915, an event which changed the course of the First World War as the new threat of submarine attack was realised. Also like her rival, Titanic, Lusitania's sinking has been subject to a number of conspiracy theories, including one which even suggests that her sinking was deliberate in order to bring the Americans into the war. I will touch on all this later as I delve into the details of that fateful day, but first, I wish to talk about the story of RMS Lusitania, from her initial conception in 1902, to her sinking on 7th May 1915.
1902-1907: Competition from IMM and the plans for two new greyhounds
By 1902, International Mercantile Marine Company, a new holding company comprised of a number of international shipping lines, including White Star, had been all but fully formed. This company, headed by American financier J.P. Morgan, represented his attempts to dominate the transatlantic passenger shipping trade. With White Star already acquired, Morgan set his sights on the acquisition of Britain's other major shipping company, Cunard Line. If both were acquired, it would mean a hit to British national prestige as their two largest shipping companies would now effectively be in American hands. As a result, the British government granted chairman Lord Inverclyde's request for assistance, with a loan of £2.6 million pounds (around £406 million today). This loan would finance the construction of two new liners, built to British Admiralty specifications to enable their conversion into auxiliary cruisers in the event of war.
Cunard wanted these new liners to be the fastest in the world, so they commissioned engineer Charles Parsons with designing the engines of the ships. Parsons had invented a new type of engine, known as steam-turbine engines. Although new and relatively untried, these engines could operate far more efficiently at high speeds. By the time she was operational, Lusitania would be able to achieve a speed of up to 25.8 knots, a speed which could be beaten only be her partner, Mauretania.
Like Mauretania, Lusitania would be designed by Naval Architect Leonard Peskett, and built by John Brown and Co. at Clydebank shipyard. Although originally designed with three funnels, a fourth was later added to act as a vent, after an additional steam turbine engine was added to increase the engine power. The four-funnelled design, with one acting as a vent or 'dummy' would also feature on White Star's Olympic Class ships.
On 17th August, 1904, the keel was laid down at Clydebank. Construction of Mauretania would begin three months later in Newcastle by Swan Hunter, so the two would be built and launched in similar time. The fact that both were constructed at different shipyards led to slightly different design features and also means that the two, although commonly called sister ships, were not actually sisters.
The size of the new ship required the construction of a new slipway.
By 7th June 1906, the ship was ready for launch, and at 12:30pm, touched the water for the first time. The launch happened eight weeks later than planned, due to labour strikes and the death of Lord Inverclyde. The new ship would be christened by his widow, Mary, Lady Inverclyde, and thousands came to watch the event.
Over the course of the next year, Lusitania was fitted out and on 27th July, Lusitania began her sea trials. She reached a speed of 25.6 knots, an impressive speed, but it was not all plain sailing. The high speed created much vibration, especially in Second Class accommodations at the stern. Structural alterations were made to reduce this but vibrations continued to be a problem for Lusitania throughout her career, to the point where accommodations could become uninhabitable.
Another unique feature of Lusitania and Mauretania was the design of the bow, shaped in such a way that it would break through waves to improve the speed, but it came at the cost of reduced stability and increased rolling.
Below are some of the design specs by the time of Lusitania's maiden voyage in 1907:
Tonnage: 31,550 GRT
Length 787ft
Capacity: 2,198 passengers, approx. 850 crew
Engines: Four steam-turbine engines
Propulsion: Four triple-blade propellors
Engine power: 76,000 horsepower
Lusitania's Maiden Voyage and Service 1907-1914
Captained by Commodore James Wyatt, Lusitania began her maiden voyage in the evening, of 7th September 1907, departing Liverpool and stopping at Queenstown before heading to New York. Hundreds of thousands of spectators watched as she departed the two cities. RMS Luciana, a Cunard ship launched in 1893 and a former Blue Riband holder, also departed Liverpool just a few hours earlier, but she was quickly passed by Lusitania before either had reached Queenstown.
Five days and 54 minutes after departing Liverpool, Lusitania arrived at Cunard's Pier 56 in Liverpool, just missing out on the Blue Riband. However, it wouldn't take long for her to make her mark, as she won the Blue Riband on her second westbound voyage towards Sandy Hook, making the journey in 4 days, 19 hours and 53 minutes, averaging a speed of 23.9 knots. Beaten by Mauretania just two months later, Lusitania would briefly regain the title in 1909, at an average speed of 25.85 knots after her triple-blade propellors were replaced with four-blade propellors. However, the record was quickly retaken by Mauretania, which held it until 1929! It is worth noting though that the two ships both recorded very similar speeds during their careers.
Lusitania arriving in New York for the first time, 1907
Lusitania's position as the largest passenger ship in the world would also be brief, lasting until November 1907 with the maiden voyage of her slightly bigger partner, Mauretania.
From 1907 to 1914, Lusitania made 201 voyages between Liverpool and New York, and a total of over 260,000 passengers.
On 10th January 1910, a wave measuring around 75 feet hit the Lusitania, damaging the bridge and forecastle deck, leaving a small depression on the deck and the bridge. Luckily, there was no serious damage to the ship.
Following the Titanic disaster, Lusitania was equipped with extra boats, bringing the total up to 48 lifeboats, with 22 collapsibles located under davits.
The First World War
On 28th July 1914, Arch Duke Ferdinand was shot, triggering the outbreak of the First World War. Over the course of the next year, most large passenger liners were either laid up, or requisitioned by the British Admiralty for troop transport or as hospital ships. Lusitania, however, continued to remain in passenger services. However, given the threat of potential attack, passenger numbers dwindled as many would travel to and from Europe only out of necessity.
Lusitania was initially given a grey paint scheme as camouflage and her fourth boiler room was shut down, reducing her service speed to minimise running costs. Her original colours were later restored after the threat of attack was considered to be reduced. Given that Lusitania was a passenger ship, she was not allowed to carry any form of weapons, and an attack by an adversary on civilians was basically considered unthinkable during warfare; throughout modern history, wars were fought between armies only. However, in late 1914 this would all change, and the development of submarines would bring Lusitania to a tragic fate just months later.
At this point, submarine technology was relatively new, and their effectiveness was unreliable. Yet, by World War One, Germany had improved their submarine technology and had began successful attacks on Western naval and merchant ships.
On 4th February, Germany announced that the area surrounding Britain was now a war zone, and any ships, military or civilian, would be sunk. Their strategy was to board the ship, allowing passengers and crew to escape before sinking the ship.
The Sinking of Lusitania
On 1st May 1915, Lusitania began her final crossing from New York, scheduled to arrive in Liverpool on 8th May. The threat was high, a fact known to crew, the captain, the Admiralty and to a lesser extent, the passengers. Despite this, Lusitania was booked at full capacity and the atmosphere onboard was described as pleasant and fairly usual.
Lusitania was restricted from sending any telegraph communications, to prevent interception by Germany which could reveal their location and threaten their safety.
The man in charge of Lusitania on her final voyage was a man named Captain William Thomas Turner, an experienced Cunard captain who had previously been in charge of Lusitania's half-sister, Aquitania. Turner was advised to take a number of counter-measures to minimise risk of attack by a German U-boat, including travelling in a 'zig-zag' pattern, to travel closer to shore in some areas and away from shore in others. However, given the relatively new nature of passenger ships involved in naval warfare, these orders were often unclear and difficult to follow.
A photo of Captain Turner
At the same time, a German U-boat, U-20 was in the waters off the coast of Ireland, headed by Captain Schwieger. The British Admiralty was aware of the submarine and the high risk of a potential attack of a merchant liner, but for reasons we will never truly know, this fact was not disclosed to Captain Turner.
On 7th May at 2:10pm, when Lusitania was sailing approximately 11 nautical miles off the coast of the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, she was hit by a torpedo on the starboard side of her bow. Less than thirty seconds later, a second explosion occurred, caused by the torpedo, causing even further catastrophic damage to the ship.
The damage was quick to start Lusitania's sinking, and she quickly began to list towards the starboard side. Crew immediately began to launch the lifeboats, with the first boats launched at around 2:20pm. However, the heavy list and rapid rate of sinking made this endeavour virtually impossible. Two of the first boats launched; lifeboats 18 and 2, fell inward and a number of lives were immediately lost.
At 2:28pm, only 18 minutes following the attack, Lusitania sank, with only six lifeboats successfully launched.
Out of the 1,959 passengers and crew onboard, only 764 survived, in many ways an impressive number given the circumstances, but the heroism of many on that day helped saved many lives.
An illustration depicting the sinking of Lusitania, by Norman Wilkinson
Aftermath and Legacy of the Sinking
Captain Turner himself went down with the ship, but was rescued and survived. He was questioned following the disaster, but exonerated of all charges.
123 of those onboard who perished were American, and the disaster played a huge role in changing global public opinion against Germany, regarding it as an unnecessary and evil attack against innocent civilians. Despite popular opinion, the sinking of Lusitania was not the main reason for the American entrance into the war, which would happen two years later in 1917, but it shifted and solidified U.S opinion towards Germany and led to increased American support of weapons for Britain and France.
Germany argued that the attack was justified, as they believed that Lusitania had been carrying ammunition to Britain from the United States, but evidence to suggest that this was the case remains unclear and hotly debated among historians.
Another theory is that the British Admiralty deliberately allowed Lusitania to sink in order to bring America into the war. The truth of this is that we will never really know. If you'd like to learn more about this, Erik Larsson's Dead Wake does an excellent job of analysing that fateful day within the broader context of the First World War.
The attack on Lusitania, however, ultimately contributed to changing the face of war forever. War was no longer considered a battle between gentleman on the front lines, rather, a new era had begun in which everybody, soldier or civilian, was at risk.
Today, the Lusitania Museum and the Old Head Signal Tower can be visited to learn more about the Lusitania. It also contains a memorial garden where visitors can go and remember those who were sadly lost that day.
All in all, Lusitania was a stunning marvel which had its life cut too short, yet its legacy in changing the face of wartime history will never be forgotten.
The Lusitania Museum and Old Head Signal Tower, the closest point on land to the sinking of Lusitania
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